More than two-thirds of Hawaii voters have altered their household spending due to high inflation, and half want a state gas tax suspension, new Hawaii Poll results suggest.
Some 70% of the survey’s respondents said their household had to adjust purchase habits because of higher prices, while the balance did not.
Inflation has been on a tear this year locally and nationally, and despite a recent dip the rate of inflation for Hawaii is forecast to reach a 31-year high of 6% for the full year.
The most recent measurement of inflation in Hawaii is a rolling 12-month average rate for Oahu that was at 7% in May, down from 7.5% in March, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Kaneohe resident Wendy Gady said rising costs for goods and services this year, especially groceries and gas, have had a “big-time” impact on her household of six.
To compensate, the Gady family is eating more beans in place of meat, and being austere about car trips, among other things.
“We are very, very prudent about where we go and when we go,” Gady said. “We just can’t afford it.”
A plurality of 450 poll respondents identifying as primary voters rated the condition of the economy together with inflation as the first or second most important issue when considering which candidates to support, with the difference depending on the respondent’s political party.
This issue was foremost for 56% of Republican respondents.
Housing costs, which are a component of inflation, were regarded as the topmost issue for another 12% of Republican respondents.
For Democrat respondents, 19% regarded the economy and inflation as the single most important issue. More Democrat respondents — 26% — called housing costs the most important issue.
Kauai resident Kai Morrighan said she notices how much more groceries cost, but what is most stunning to her is the price of gas, which costs more on Kauai than other counties in Hawaii.
“Filling up my tank went from about $45 to $89 last week, and before that it was $108,” she said. “It definitely does play a factor. I’m not driving as much.”
The average price for a gallon of regular gas Monday was $5.81 on Kauai, according to AAA. That is up from $4.31 a year earlier.
The statewide average Monday was $5.53, up from $4.08 a year earlier.
Transportation represented the biggest component of higher inflation for Oahu during the 12 months through May, with a 16.5% increase over the respective year-ago period and mainly driven by the price of gas being up 37.7% along with the cost of new and used vehicles being up 11.4%.
By comparison, the cost for groceries, or food at home, was up 10.1% while the cost for food away from home was up 6.8%.
Morrighan, who owns a Jeep Wrangler, said she has considered buying a gas- electric hybrid but is sticking with her current vehicle for now. “It’s easier to drive the car you got than get a new one right now,” she said.
One thing Morrighan would like to see is a suspension of the state’s gas tax, which is 16 cents per gallon.
Kauai residents who responded to the poll favored a state gas tax suspension more than respondents who live in other counties. The share was 58% for Kauai, compared with 50% in Maui and Hawaii counties and 49% on Oahu.
By party identification, 59% of Republicans participating in the poll favored a suspension, compared with 46% of Democrats and 50% of independent voters.
President Joe Biden, a Democrat, made a public plea in June for states to temporarily suspend their gas taxes and also encouraged Congress to suspend the 18-cents-a-gallon federal gas tax for 90 days.
Gov. David Ige, also a Democrat, has expressed concerns with a state gas tax suspension, saying it would be of limited value because of the small amount of the tax and uncertainty as to whether retail distributors, which pay the tax, would pass savings on to consumers.
A suspension also would be up to the Legislature, which is not in session.
While it’s unclear whether such a suspension would result in lower gas prices at the pump, Morrighan would still like to see it happen. She said anything that holds potential for lowering gas prices, “I’m all for.”
Gady, who drives long distances as part of her job helping manage farms on Oahu, also wants to see the state gas tax suspended because it could deliver a little relief in the face of such a stunning run-up in prices.
“It’s such a steep increase in such a short time period that it’s so hard to pivot,” she said.
Gady also is concerned about long-term losses from inflation because she’s not hopeful that the high rate of price increases will go away in the next year or two.
The Hawaii Poll was conducted for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser by Mason- Dixon Polling & Strategy of Washington, D.C., from July 12 to 17 and randomly surveyed 800 registered voters statewide, of which 450 identified as primary voters. The poll’s margin of error is no more than 3.5 percentage points.
The primary election is Aug. 13, and the general election is Nov. 8.
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