In February, the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization released a report titled “Beyond the Price of Paradise.” The report concluded that while affordability remains a challenge in Hawai‘i, it has been an issue for decades.

What has accelerated more recently is outmigration, driven largely by a lack of economic opportunity.
For years, public discussion has focused on the symptoms of a struggling economy: housing costs, grocery prices, workforce shortages, stagnant wages, and the rising cost of doing business.

These conversations are important, but they all point to a larger issue: Hawai‘i is not intentionally building an economy that creates enough opportunity for local people to stay and thrive.


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Too many families believe they must leave Hawaiʻi to build a future. Employers struggle to recruit workers, and businesses face increasing challenges remaining competitive. These are not isolated problems. They are signs of an economy that is not creating enough pathways for sustainable growth.

Economic opportunity does not happen by accident. It requires leadership, coordination, and a long-term strategy. It also requires government to play a constructive role in supporting entrepreneurship, small business development, and innovation.

Successful communities invest in institutions whose sole responsibility is economic development. These institutions coordinate between government, business, nonprofits, and education. They identify barriers to growth, attract investment, and ensure that economic initiatives work together rather than in isolation.

On Oʻahu, that institution is the Office of Economic Revitalization.

Across the country, communities that succeed in retaining talent and attracting investment are intentionally building ecosystems that support startups and entrepreneurs.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and today’s startups are often tomorrow’s major employers. If we want greater economic opportunity in Hawaiʻi, we must make it easier for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses.

On Oʻahu, the Office of Economic Revitalization is the one office focused on doing that work and continues to attract and support local startups and entrepreneurs.

This need for a strong economic revitalization office has become even more important as artificial intelligence revolutionizes the global economy. The hyperscaling of AI is creating new industries, transforming existing jobs, and accelerating competition among regions for talent and investment. OER has embraced innovation and is preparing Oʻahu’s workforce for these changes that will create opportunities for future generations.

That is why the Office of Economic Revitalization is providing AI training for local businesses and individuals. While elements of this type of work appear across agencies, OER is the only agency thinking every day about how to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, including amongst students and professionals.

Unique Role

This is how we help the next generation of business leaders build technology skills, access mentors, launch businesses, and pursue new ideas without feeling they must leave the islands to succeed.
OER’s effectiveness comes from both its expertise and the trust it has built with local businesses, entrepreneurs, and community partners.

It plays a unique role in connecting stakeholders, reducing fragmentation, and helping align investments around common economic goals. It has uplifted small businesses, entrepreneurs, and local farmers.
Reasonable people can debate whether OER has fulfilled its full potential.

The City Auditor identified legitimate concerns, and several Council Members have called for improvements. Those concerns should be addressed, but not through the elimination of the office.
Public agencies receive audits, and those audits find fault and suggest improvements. That’s how the system works.

But if an audit finds that TheBus could perform better, the answer isn’t to eliminate TheBus. It’s to fix it. The same principle applies here. The logical response to a critical audit is not elimination — it is improvement. Especially where, as here, there is no groundswell from the community demanding OER’s elimination.

OER is the only city agency whose core mission is economic development. Eliminating it would send the wrong signal at a time when economic opportunity, entrepreneurship, innovation, and workforce development should be among Hawaiʻi’s highest priorities.

Progress moves at the speed of trust, especially in Hawai‘i. If the trust OER has built over the years is allowed to erode through its elimination, it will not easily be rebuilt. Rather than dismantle our economic development infrastructure, we should strengthen it, thereby creating an economy where businesses can grow, entrepreneurs can innovate, young people can build their futures, and local families can confidently choose to stay in Hawaiʻi.