Attorneys Arthur G. Smith and Urban E. Wild founded the firm on April 1, 1922 as Smith & Wild. Over the past 100 years, the firm has been involved in some of the most notable cases and transactions in the State of Hawai‘i.
Hawaii State Sen. Stanley Chang, shown here when canvassing for his seat in October 2016. Chang has reintroduced a package of bills aimed at increasing the supply of housing in the state. (AP Photo/Cathy Bussewitz)
Sock Yong Phang is a professor of economics at Singapore Management University, and every month, when she gets her paycheck, 20 percent of her income is automatically diverted to a savings account managed by the Singaporean government. Like all Singapore workers, her contribution is required by law. So is an additional 17 percent contribution from her employer. The savings account, called the Central Provident Fund, is meant to help Singaporeans pay for healthcare, retirement, and housing. When workers like Phang want to buy a house, the CPF typically covers both the down payment and the monthly mortgage. Because the Singapore government also builds most of the housing in the city, homes also tend to be priced at levels that typical workers can afford.