Jobs:
The wage scale on Maui falls well short of meeting the heavy demands of the cost of living, especially at the working class level. Think the expense of New York City with the relative wage scale of Mississippi as most jobs are tied to the low paying tourist industry. While certainly not recommended by the author, many people take "cash under the table" jobs in order to avoid income tax and thus have a better shot at survival. Construction is hot right now (Aug. '05), those jobs pay better than most. For most working class people on Maui, especially those with families, it takes several jobs of very long hours to break even. As of June 2006, there is a big labor shortage on Maui for the typical low paying jobs, hence those jobs are plentiful. Workers are leaving because it takes 2-3 jobs to survive. You know it's bad when even the illegal Mexicans are saying "no mas", and heading back to California. This is leading Maui into a genuine labor crisis because local businesses cannot afford to pay more to attract workers, it's a vicious cycle. Starting a Business:
If you have the silver bullet, go for it. As you might have guessed, starting a business can be expensive. For instance, a 10 ft by 10 ft retail space on Front St. Lahaina can lease for $14,000 per month. Competition is stiff which drives wages down. The result is that the intelligent and talented worker will quickly burn out and move to greener pastures on the mainland. The talent pool on Maui is very thin with a high turnover rate. The good news, from an employer perspective, is that you can fire any employee at any time for any reason. There is no such thing as wrongful termination except in cases of discrimination. The unemployment office will require a good reason for termination if you are denying the employee their unemployment benefits. The result, there are a lot of layoffs in the islands! Trustafarians:
The preferred profession on Maui. Come one, come all, Maui is a veritable paradise for you and you'll commune with many of your trustafarian brothers and sisters. For those who don't know, trustafarians are the trust fund beneficiaries who in appearance look like street bums, but in reality, are living large off their trusts. Maui is a world capital for the trust fund demographic. Feel free to submit any questions you have about the Maui business climate. Once I have a better idea of what people want to know, I'll add more info to this page. | 
