Justin writes live from General Treasurer Gina Raimondo’s second comprehensive pension reform workshop for municipal leaders, Part II: Creating a Secure & Sustainable Pension Plan.
Reviewing the unemployment picture for RI cities and towns, the Current finds that Bristol has actually been gaining population and workers, over the past decade, but they’re finding jobs in insufficient numbers. And the circumstances for Warren appear dismal from every angle.
Reviewing the unemployment picture for RI cities and towns, the Current finds that Barrington lost 3% of its population from 2000 to 2010 and almost 7% of its employment. Meanwhile, in the quarter leading up to February, 1% of all residents left the town’s work force.
Justin writes live from the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources hearing, including (for one thing) creation of a new public consortium with powers of eminent domain.
Justin wonders why the concern of left-wing commentator Robert Reich that state-run gambling is a regressive tax receives no voice in Rhode Island.
Justin writes live from the Senate Committee on Special Legislation, with particular interest in casino-related legislation submitted on behalf of the attorney general.
Democrats in Congress are looking to slow the expanding cost of financing college while people are beginning to notice the questionable priorities of the institutions that ultimately collect their money. Justin suggests that it would be better to rethink the entire system.
Updated “budget to actual” numbers show that the extra state revenue once heralded as a sign of economic recovery continues to fade.
A bill originating in the attorney general’s office transfers all authority over casino gambling in RI to the Division of Lotteries and omits “conflict of interest” rules for its employees.
Justin expresses concerns that a windfall forfeiture from Google to government agencies is further evidence of dangerous incentives for an entity that has the authority to tax, regulate, imprison, and kill.
Rep. Joseph Trillo supports a casino ballot question, but he has submitted legislation for a broader study of ways to increase RI’s gambling revenue, possibly including a casino on Allens Ave. in Providence.
From digital cameras to cancer treatments, the supply chain is not immune to disruption, and the drive to build the perfect system cannot rely on an assumption that the status quo will hold.
Comparing job loss estimates related to casino gambling with those related to taxing the rich shows that the latter will be four times more destructive than avoiding the former. However, in one case, the government’s incentive is in opposition to the workforce’s.
In the space of three minutes, the Senate Committee on Special Legislation and Veterans Affairs had amended and approved legislation calling for a public vote allowing state-run casino operations in Newport Grand and Twin River without further economic analysis.
Justin checks out a (warm and uncomfortable) Senate Special Legislation hearing concerning Newport Grand table games.
Justin notes the movement of Newport Grand casino gambling through the General Assembly and suggests that a government-run casino may not benefit the people of Rhode Island.
Justin writes live and extemporaneously from the House Committee on Labor hearing concerning E-Verify.
A study being touted by left-leaning think tanks defines economic health dubiously by leaving out population and workforce growth.
Justin finds in an RI Future post by Bob Plain evidence of the rhetorical method of barricading the door to discourse.
Unemployment only “ticked” up, this month, but the overall labor force dropped more from December to February than it has since the dot-com bust. Public officials looking for a turnaround should consider the power of their message.
Photos from the rally against Governor Chafee’s proposed tax increase on meals and beverages.
A letter by Providence business owner John Palmieri might provide a good indicator of the problems that Rhode Island fundamentally needs to address.
The Current interviews Roman Catholic Bishop of Providence Thomas Tobin, part 1 of 3: welfare and charity; “a global authority”; solidarity and subsidiarity; giving authority over to the state.
BLS data shows real earnings on a slide, nationally, and although RI might be doing slightly better by this marker, it’s hardly enough to overcome unemployment problems.
The Providence Journal is pumping up the common wisdom on how to turn RI around, but Justin suspects the project is going in the wrong direction from the start.
The 2010 tax reform had winners and losers in every income range. Increasing taxes this year, even if only on wealthier residents, would arguably represent two straight years of tax increases.
Every bit of legislation raising taxes, every apparently corrupt action, contributes to the culture and sense of hopelessness that is driving people away from Rhode Island. Justin argues that that’s the first thing that has to change.
Rhode Island’s unemployment rate fell, from December to January, but the exodus from the labor force has accelerated.
Hal Meyer reflects on his move from Rhode Island to Idaho.