LIHU‘E — On Wednesday, Gov. David Ige announced the state’s new unemployment restaurant program, another federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act supportive initiative that will allow unemployed individuals to eat out at or take out from restaurants using a $500 prepaid card.
LIHU‘E — On Wednesday, Gov. David Ige announced the state’s new unemployment restaurant program, another federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act supportive initiative that will allow unemployed individuals to eat out at or take out from restaurants using a $500 prepaid card.
During the pandemic, many businesses closed permanently due to loss of revenue because of the mandatory shutdown.
To help boost the restaurant industry, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Unemployment Insurance Division coordinated the new program, which will give the unemployed a debit card to eat at restaurants statewide for free.
Ige shared his plans with the state House Select Committee on COVID-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness on Monday. The new restaurant card program is expected to pump over $70 million of federal money into the local economy.
The restaurant card program is a private-public partnership that will provide pre-paid $500 cards to qualified Hawai‘i UI recipients negatively impacted by COVID-19, according to the state. The cards can be used at any Hawai‘i restaurant.
“Since March, it’s estimated that about 60% of Hawai‘i’s businesses have fully or partially closed,” said Sherry Menor McNamara, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i.
“This is a win-win because it provides people who’ve qualified a little extra cash, and also helps local small businesses that are struggling,” she said.”
The state said there will be more details on the program in the coming days. For now, those who are qualified for unemployment insurance will receive a $500 dining card to be used between Oct. 20 to Dec. 15.
Eligible individuals will receive a pre-loaded, non-transferable card in the mail.
Ige also said the state’s rental-assistance program, which set aside $100 million to nonprofit partners to assist renters and owners with payments between March 1 and Dec. 28 of this year, is rolling out.
“They are working to coordinate the program statewide,” Ige said. “We are extending applications across to all four counties. We intend to release the funds as quickly as we can.”
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This story was edited from it’s original version. To clarify how many cards recipients would receive.
Right on..
But why only the jobless?
I mean, I bust my hump all week long
I wouldn’t mind 500 bucks to go eat out.
good idea….maybe a way around it….buy a $5.00 sandwich, leave a $495 tip, have the waiter give you back $395.00 in cash, the waiter makes $100…. use the rest of your new cash to buy beer and cigs……haha;
If there was $5 sandwiches in Hawaii, we’d be in much less trouble. Good for restaurants, but you’ll spend the whole card in one decent family dinner
Perfect…governments across the country shut down their economies, people lost their jobs and income, tax revenues plummeted; Ige announces these handouts. Just where do these dimwits (Ige, McNamara et al) think the money for this comes from? The feds you say? But federal tax revenues have also collapsed.
Time to wake up. Governments have NO money of their own (basically they produce nothing of marketable value). Every penny they spend must first be TAKEN from someone or some entity in the private sector. The only way the fed can provide the “money” to fund these handouts to the states is by inflating the money supply–via credit creation out of thin air…rolling the printing presses so to speak. This is a disaster in the making and will saddle the next generations with an oppressive debt. This “money” will grow increasingly worthless as the excess demand pushes up against drastically reduced supplies of goods and services driving up prices. These government types are ignorant knuckleheads.
RSW
Ofcourse they are getting more freebees. What is going to encourage them to go back to work at this point? NOTHING.
Here’s a thought… perhaps Ige could let the kids go back to school and their parents back to work to make their own living instead of giving them gift cards as consolation prize for destroying their livelihoods.
How about the residence that live on Molokai. We have limited restaurants here and most of us cook and eat at home. “HOW” is this program going to help us we have limited resources. And besides that most of the people here are struggling paying our monthly bills. So please inform me how is this program going to help us. My household do not qualify for welfare or other programs.
Elections right around the corner! Choose Wisely!
And we have Breadlines! Kind like in Cuba and Venezuela!