2 ms·

It's a bad thing. It prevents people from investing in developing the land. Areas without a clear title tend to be poor because as soon as someone tries to bui

• aaron-lebo 10y ago
  It's kept that land from becoming a strip mall. Development isn't an unambiguous good. It's very possible the owners are happier with possession of family land over whatever sum of money they could get.
• devoply 10y ago
  Though this is true to some extent. In the end the richest areas are not those that open themselves up to development via foreign investment. It's those that create a ton of protectionism and develop the resources themselves. Countries like China and South Korea. Probably why local Hawaiians are extremely poor while the rich gobble up the land. Foreign investment can take you a step up. To move beyond that you need local development. Local developers would need to develop the land with local workers, and sell out small parcels for a lot of money. Think 1,000 million dollar houses on the same plot Zuckerberg bought for 100 million.
  • goodcanadian 10y ago
    A nitpick, but local Hawaiians are not, generally speaking, extremely poor. They are, for the most part, fairly typical Americans. They and other long term locals face the same problems that locals in all desirable areas face: outsiders coming in with money and driving up prices.
    • local_kauai 10y ago
      This is with good intentions but simply not true. Someone driving up prices is very different than from someone stealing land handed down from your ancestors. This is a forced sale and effectively removes Hawaiians from the land giving it to a rich mainlander.