For almost two centuries, the Hawai'i economy has worked on a cash crop system: from sandalwood to sugar to pineapple to defense and finally tourism, our island economy has usually over-invested in one sector, leading inevitably to problems. A diversified economy, I believe, is important
Some of the problems with tourism that I see:
Tourists, because of the dollars they bring, are often favored at the expense of residents.
In this thread, I'd like to open a discussion on new economic sectors that go beyond our current tourist-centered economy. For example, I think strong technology and finance sectors would benefit Hawai'i. How can we achieve these goals? What skills would workers in these sectors need? What are the likely consequences? What can we do to manage these? To become a technology center, for instance, Hawai'i would need a labor force with exceptional mathematical and science training. Do we have the educational infrastructure to accomplish this? What steps could we take to ensure this?
Anyway, I'd like to hear ideas on this.
Some of the problems with tourism that I see:
- Exploitation of Hawaiian culture.
- Lower paying jobs
- Decreased quality of public schools
- Distorted real estate market
- Environmental impacts
Tourists, because of the dollars they bring, are often favored at the expense of residents.
In this thread, I'd like to open a discussion on new economic sectors that go beyond our current tourist-centered economy. For example, I think strong technology and finance sectors would benefit Hawai'i. How can we achieve these goals? What skills would workers in these sectors need? What are the likely consequences? What can we do to manage these? To become a technology center, for instance, Hawai'i would need a labor force with exceptional mathematical and science training. Do we have the educational infrastructure to accomplish this? What steps could we take to ensure this?
Anyway, I'd like to hear ideas on this.
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