The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public policy

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

based in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. The organization's stated mission is to "educate people about the values of individual liberty, economic freedom, and accountable government." It promotes free market values and produces research on subjects like the Jones Act and pension issues. The current Chief Executive Officer is Dr. Keli'i Akina. The Institute was formed on February 12, 2001 by Richard Rowland. The organization is a member of the State Policy Network, a conservative and libertarian network of state-based

Issues

The Grassroot Institute has published commentary on a variety of political issues, from a legal minimum wage to Hawaiian sovereignty. The Grassroot Institute conducts research and analysis of various issues from a free market perspective. Academic works are inspired by the writings of scholars such as Frederic Bastiat,

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School,Ronald Hamowy, ed., 2008, The Encyclopedia of Libertarianism', Cato Institute, Sage, , p. 62: "a leading economist of the Austri ...

Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and ...

, F.A. Hayek, and

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

. Generally, the institute opposes tax increases, such as Hawaii's General Excise Tax.

The Jones Act

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports reform of the Jones Act that would address its disproportionate shipbuilding and cargo shipping restrictions effect on Hawaii.

Honolulu rail project

The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii has been a vocal critic of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation's rail project in Honolulu. The Institute hasn't made any public comments on whether the rail should stop at Middle Street, which is a popular belief among opponents. The only official position of the Institute is that HART be subject to an independent audit for fraud, waste and abuse. In 2017, the Institute launched the campaign to audit the rail, which eventually gained momentum and resulted in a financial and management audit by Hawaii state auditor Les Kondo in 2018.

Hawaiian sovereignty

The Grassroot Institute joined with other groups to file suit against the State of Hawaii's efforts to form and gain federal recognition of a race-based, sovereign nation. The lawsuit, filed in 2015, seeks to block state-funded race-based elections in Hawaii.

References

External links

*
Organizational Profile
–

National Center for Charitable Statistics The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is a clearing house for information about the U.S. economy as it relates to nonprofit organizations. The National Center for Charitable Statistics builds national, state, and regional databases ...

( Urban Institute)
Source Watch
( Center for Media and Democracy) {{authority control Politics of Hawaii Political and economic think tanks in the United States Libertarian think tanks Libertarian organizations based in the United States 2000 establishments in Hawaii Research institutes in Hawaii Charities based in Hawaii