The Dying Sugar Economy
Kaua'i used to be an island dominated by sugar plantations and company towns for sugar mills. Unfortunately, globalization has resulted in Hawaiian sugar being priced out of the market due to high labor and other costs (Hawaii is an expensive place to do business). Therefore, only two of the nine sugar mills are still operating on Kaua'i, which means many of the small towns have had to come up with other sources of economic sustenance. Luckily, increased tourism has helped Waimea and Hanapepe, among others, continue to prosper, but the loss of agricultural jobs is one of the reason that thousands of Hawaii natives move to the mainland every year.
