We’re getting older, faster here, and that’s a problem. According to U.S. Census Bureau 2020 numbers reported in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 19.4% of our local population is in the 65+ age group, versus just 14.3% of the population in 2010. That’s quite a leap in a decade. And without enough safety net systems in place (including housing and medical answers) this aging situation will become a bigger drag on our local communities.
While we lament the need for more doctors, nurses, teachers, affordable housing, and higher-paying jobs, to name a few wish list items, what we’ve gotten over the past decade is many more tourists and thus, a renewed sense of economic complacency. Tourism is absolutely essential for our economy, but the pleasant tax dollars and jobs provided have precluded forward-thinking efforts at establishing opportunities for more industries (and jobs) to locate here. You’ve heard this before…
If more working age residents move from Hawai`i, as has been the case for the past six years, and if many newcomer residents are retirees or remote workers, where will that leave us in a decade or so? If more middle-aged residents become senior family caregivers- whether they choose to or not- due partly to local cost factors, what will that do to our social networks, workforce, and sense of well-being as a state?
Hawai`i is not unique with its aging population, but we are unique in the limited scope of places one can go locally when the rent gets too high and services necessary for elderly care are simply not available. This growing (and aging) dilemma is compounded as younger generations opt to have fewer kids. Cost issues (employment, housing, childcare, child rearing, economic uncertainty, et al.) and concurrent mental consternation are providing natural barriers to potential parents.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) in Hawai`i applauded the 2023 legislative efforts to help our elderly in need, with bills passed and personnel added in state positions to help meet growing needs. The pandemic simply exacerbated an aging population issue that’s been percolating here for years.
More energy placed on economic diversification plus continued focus on the needs of the elderly must be the action plan… let’s not regress to traditional “same old, same old” stasis as local tourism numbers rebound, like we accepted after the Kobe earthquake, 9-11 tragedy, 2008 worldwide recession, and 2011 Sendai tsunami. Our kupuna deserve better.
Think about it…