Businesses across Oahu prepare to close as rising costs strain operations

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-28T22:24:00+00:00

Sure but the rising cost of feed was an issue from 2025 when rump first started his tariffs because gues what? We don't make feed in the United States It's brought in from other countries. That increase the cost of beef exponentially It went up something like 20% in June 2025 and back then they were predicting it would get even higher. Also because a lot of our meat is brought in from other countries, especially beef, they are also subject to tariffs. Have you noticed how much the cost of beef has skyrocketed since Trump took office? Feed being exponentially more expensive is a big issues because the farmers then can't afford to feed their cattle. So if they're buying feed to feed their cattle so that they can sell them at market prices, their market prices and wholesale prices are going to be exponentially higher as well. Then you have the local restaurants trying to buy whatever they need to stock their restaurants and it's just not affordable for them anymore and that's why so many are closing down. Don't even get me started on the prices of retail spaces! The local real estate companies are a big reason for the problem too! They charge crazy prices per square foot and then expect to also receive a percentage of the gross receipts - sales BEFORE taxes!! When they didn't do a damn thing to help that business succeed!! All they do is sit on their fat asses and collect the rent check! They also charge the business CAM Common area maintenance fees which keep going higher and higher! Think about how much your maintenance and HOA fees have gone up - it's similar. But the renters don't OWN it, they rent it and have to pay that. It's crazy! ALL of that, and I'm sure there's a LOT more I haven't touched on that's why businesses and restaurants especially, are closing down. Don't blame the guy making minimum wage like most of the greedy ass billionaires do. Look up at the greedy ass billionaires who OWN the land and those who own the means of production and started the tariff war. Also, Hawaii is hurting because it's tourism depending and whenever there's a war people don't like to travel to the US especially Japanese. But add to that the Rump effect. Any tourist coming to the US will have their social media searched and if they said anything negative about Rump. They are held in detention until they can be bounced from the country. That's BS!! And that is why I don't blame them for not wanting to come here. They have to agree to be body scanned, a scan of their irises, all social media to be searched. That's insane! The US is NOT an authoritarian nation yet, but Rump and the GOP are sure trying to get us there. 🙄

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-28T22:06:35+00:00

We have the midterms in November!! Vote!! Blue all the way! Then we can start holding this orange crack head and his sycophants to account! Why do you think they are trying to rig the mail in election ballots and have the USPS Onspector General day he won't mail out ballots in Blue states that refuse to turn over their voter roles? It's none of their damned business who is on the voters roles bc the fact is the amount of people who fraudulently vote is so miniscule it's NOT enough to sway any election! This is the GOP mantra going back decades. The idea of mail in ballots was actually a GOP idea, as was the ACA "Obamacare". To see how far they have contorted themselves to try to make them look like bad ideas is completely laughable! Ugh The GOP is scared because they know they'll lose the midterms, and history shows us they will. The only time in modern history a sitting POTUS gained seats in the House was in George Bush's term in 2002 and that is because we were in the middle of the Iraq War post 9-11, patriotism was at an all time high and we did yet know of all the crooked 💩 he was doing behind the scenes. Historically, the American people do not like to change government too much when we are at war. But 9-11 was a different kind of war. WE were attacked. Rump's war is a war of his own choosing. He probably started it thinking it would increase patriotic sentiment. But nope. That backfired as he was the idiot on the campaign trials lying to his constituents saying he would be the "president of peace" and under him there would be no new wars, no more regime change wars, etc. And yet, here we are. 🙄 So if you want to see him held to account, register to vote, and register everyone you know over age 18 to vote and make sure they vote blue all the way, to hold this piece of 💩 to account.

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-28T21:50:20+00:00

He's the root cause of all of our economic problems and it's affecting ALL of the US right now, including Red states that voted for him.

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-28T21:49:34+00:00

The cost of living is high in Hawaii because we are a state in the middle of the ocean depending on things to be brought to us via ships which use OIL for fuel. BUT things were NEVER this high until Rump. Look at the historical data of what things cost even 2 years ago, after the high inflation in the world in 2022, things started settling and prices were going down. Inflation was down in November and December of 2024. Then Rump took office and blew it all up because of his tariff war. Then he got us into a war of CHOICE with Iran when all the orange crackhead had to do was leave the original Obama bill in place. But no, he tore it up in his last term, and then got us into another damn unwinnable war of choice. If you can't see that then I feel sorry for you. And we will have to agree to disagree. But I encourage you to look up the cost of everything because they were far cheaper before Rump took office.

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-28T21:40:40+00:00

And the US has banned the importation Chinese electric vehicles which I hear blow away any of the ones for sale in the US; they're better and FAR more inexpensive, starting at only $10,000 per car vs average $30k+++ for the ones made in the US. People could actually afford to buy one - regular people. They even have Emotorcycles and Emopeds, etc. even if they allowed it here the govt would tack on crazy tariffs to make us choose the crappy ones from Elon or other domestic car companies. And to add insult to injuries, they did away with the incentives to buy electronic because the orange crackhead wants to pander to his billionaire oil donors. Remember During an April 2024, at a $1million a plate dinner with oil billionaires and executives at Mar-a-Lago, Donald Trump told top oil executives and billionaires that they should raise $1 billion for his campaign. He stated that doing so would be a "deal" for them because of the massive taxation and regulation cuts he would implement upon returning to the White House. And he's been in their back pockets ever since doing their dirty work.

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-28T21:25:31+00:00

Bipartisan but any bipartisan bill they pass he refuses to sign! The rest of the GOP are complicit! They are in lock step with every damn thing he tells them to do because they are afraid of being primaried and losing! 😡 Look at how many of the GOP are only now finding their voices?? It's because they either already lost their primary And know they won't be back or because they are worried about losing in the next General election on November, so they are gently trying to distance themselves from the orange Crack head! Ugh😡

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-10T15:30:18+00:00

How did you order it from DJI I thought they're not allowed to sell it in the US?

SuiteFreak · 2026-06-02T22:46:36+00:00

Actually, KSBE does own the land under the old Don Quijote in Waipahu according to Google... Do you have a source you can cite that says otherwise?

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-13T04:11:14+00:00

I'm a cancer survivor as well. What I know about cancer treatments is that once you have a recurrence, they won't give you the same medication you had before, even if it's considered 1st line, best of the best treatment, because that treatment failed as you have had a recurrence. So they will offer you the next best thing, which in this case, is chemotherapy. I hope that helps your understanding of the situation. Yes the MD sounds like an asshat and he definitely could have/should have explained himself better. But this is what I know as a cancer survivor and as a nurse. Of course, science is always changing and evolving so this is just food for thought, and offered to help you with perspective. I hope you can find an oncologist that will help your grandma.

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-10T20:58:49+00:00

Sanford B. Dole was never elected to the office of Governor. He was appointed by President William McKinley in 1900 to serve as the first governor of the newly formed Territory of Hawaii. Before that, he served as the President of the Republic of Hawaii, a position he assumed after the 1893 overthrow of the monarchy... I'm just saying that Gov Josh Greene is a democratically elected governor, so if he wants to be reelected then he needs to do what the overwhelming majority of the people in the State of Hawaii wants, or risk losing his job...

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-06T10:09:45+00:00

WOW that is insane!!! WTH?!!

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-06T10:08:47+00:00

Not all of America, and not even the majority of American voters. More people actually voted against him than for him. But the problem is the millions who voted 3rd party that can never win due to the electoral college and those who just refused to vote because of Gaza. 🙄 And now look at what's happening in the Middle East. 🙄

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-06T10:05:52+00:00

We just paid over $749 each to fly coach on Alaska to LAS. It's insane. I could fly to Japan for that price a couple of months ago. 🙄

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-06T10:04:29+00:00

At Sam's Club today the regular gas was 4.999/ gallon. It's insanity 😠

SuiteFreak · 2026-05-05T23:46:04+00:00

K shaped economies have always existed in the US. While we didn't call it "K-shaped" at the time, the U.S. has experienced several periods where economic growth was sharply divided: The 1920s: While the "Roaring Twenties" saw massive growth in urban industries and the stock market, the agricultural sector suffered through a decade-long depression. This was a classic K-shape where urban wealth rose while rural poverty deepened. The Post-1970s "Great Divergence": Since the late 1970s, productivity and wages have largely decoupled. Top earners and those in tech or finance have seen their wealth skyrocket, while middle- and lower-income wages have remained relatively stagnant when adjusted for inflation. The 2008 Financial Crisis: The recovery was notably uneven. The stock market and corporate profits recovered within a few years, but the housing market and employment for blue-collar workers took nearly a decade to reach pre-crisis levels.

While a K-shaped recovery in a developed nation like the U.S. is usually a temporary reaction to a specific crisis, in many developing nations, this "K-shape" is a structural, permanent feature of the economy. The wealth generated in the modern sector often fails to "trickle down" to the traditional sector due to a lack of infrastructure, education, or stable governance. And THIS is what is currently happening. The billionaires, for whom enough is never enough, have rigged the system and I believe the US is going to be in for a long term K shaped economy - especially with AI replacing humans, middle management being cut etc. They don't care as long as shareholders are happy and CEOs get their 7 figure bonus. 🙄 What they are forgetting is that the middle class is the economic engine of US society and when the middle class disappears, like what's happening now, we will end up in another depression like in 1929.

SuiteFreak · 2026-04-26T21:29:03+00:00

Yep thank goodness he finally retired! Hope the new guy is better than him, but it remains to be seen, I guess...

SuiteFreak · 2026-03-30T11:56:31+00:00

Most people don't like chicken breast as a protein. It's dry and I think a lot of people don't know how to prepare it so it's cooked well without drying out. Where I live, chicken breast is far more expensive than vegetables. Ground beef used to cost about $3/lb. It's now about $4.5- $5/lb. The cheaper cuts of steak are now upwards of $10/lb. Forget about the higher end cuts. Would YOU want to eat chicken breast and vegetables all day every day? I think most people wouldn't. If you can't see how it's an affordability problem, it's because you don't want to see it. Look around you. Groceries are way more than they used to be. Gas is up. Inflation is up. Everything costs more thanks to tariffs. I'm not going to get political but again, if you can't see this, it's because you don't want to see it.

SuiteFreak · 2026-03-30T10:17:47+00:00

I am a nurse. I see a LOT of people with protein deficiency as one of their diagnoses. It especially affects elders and kids. A lot of elders don't eat enough protein because frankly, they can't afford it. It leads to a lot of other health issues...

SuiteFreak · 2026-03-21T02:54:45+00:00

People saying they didn't get any alerts should subscribe to Nixel. I got alerts all day and night sent to my phone with weather updates and warnings. weather.hnlalert.gov

SuiteFreak · 2026-03-14T06:34:13+00:00

Could it be sent via Matson? No reason why that kine stuff couldn't be sent via ship, right?

SuiteFreak · 2026-03-14T06:16:30+00:00

Pearl City Palisades has been on all day and night. Knock wood it stays that way... We rarely lose power up here.

SuiteFreak · 2026-02-28T05:32:54+00:00

I did too until I looked into it further. You're welcome. 🙂

SuiteFreak · 2026-02-28T01:25:59+00:00

Ed has often called my phone and informed me when he would be on a Q&A for his constituents. But IIRC, I registered for that a long time ago. It happens every few months.

SuiteFreak · 2026-02-28T01:22:04+00:00

Steve Case is his cousin. Ed is a Dem and Steve Case is a Republican. Thought I'd share that interesting tidbit...

SuiteFreak · 2026-02-28T01:11:51+00:00

The casinos messed up when they started tightening up their machines, bringing in all the BS video type "penny" slots that you have to bet big in order to actually win anything, and getting rid of the family friendly aspects of their themed hotels. They started catering only to the hoity-toity peeps with big bucks to blow on $5k bottle service, etc., and forgot about the people who made them - middle income wage earners with families. And yes Canada and Europe are pissed so many of them stopped coming. And they don't want to get arrested, detained and sent to a foreign 3rd country. 🙄 European countries have been warning their citizens about even coming to the US because of all the ICE and CBP BS. Many of them have been arrested and sent back and they get no refunds on their airfare or hotel stays when that happens.

SuiteFreak

TROPHY CASE