Samuel Bell’s op-ed in today’s Providence Journal is hard to take seriously, but it must be taken seriously, because its like is doing terrible harm to the people of Rhode Island.
Calls to be “prudent” and pay the 38 Studios bonds miss the cost of allowing schemes that trap responsible people into paying other people’s commitments to work.
About a month ago, I wrote here about whether the 38 Studios bondholders should be repaid. At the time, I didn’t think so. In part because I believed the insurance would cover it, but later found out the policy is held by the bond buyers, not the state. Also because it was a moral obligation […]
Under the rationale being offered for repaying the 38 Studios “moral obligation” bonds, Rhode Islanders would be justified in believing that the General Assembly and the financial ratings agencies are guilty of fraud against them.
In a State House system designed to keep people apathetic, legislators voice strange economic ideas while business advocates advocate against the interests of their members.
Video and reports from Tiverton’s financial town hearing show that one side wants to increase taxes when it doesn’t need to and the other side believes the people need a break.
Brain imaging of managers offers evidence that a particular economic philosophy is on the right track (and others, not)
Arguments that point to the government’s paper trail for its actions miss the point of what’s required for the American way of life and government to persist.
A North Providence gym that was invited in and then shut down by local government illustrates the wisdom of avoiding economic activity where government’s role is overly strong.
The secular and radical movement of separatists and censors has spread even to the point of demanding banishment of Catholic priests from Catholic schools, if they fail to conform to the demands of popular culture.
The 38 Studios bond buyers got an extremely high interest rate on the bonds because of the risk they took, and the state purchased insurance against the chance of default. But should we still repay the full amount of the bonds?
Steve Ahlquist has published a portion of the testimony he will be giving in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Senate Bill 2641, which is an attempt to revoke Rhode Island’s current Voter ID law. Calling upon the memory of “Governor” Thomas Dorr, Ahlquist writes: Arguably, next to Roger Williams, no Rhode Islander has […]
Two things struck me today about the master lever bill and Senator Harold Metts’ words and actions. I wish I had an exact transcript but he made two comments about it that I will do my best to paraphrase and others are more than welcome to correct me if they have the exact words. He […]
Responding to the state arts bureaucracy’s response to the Center’s spending report.
A new report from the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity should convince Rhode Islanders that government officials’ priorities are what they fund, and there’s plenty of room to adjust those priorities.
Rhode Islanders who want their state to turn around from the back of the national pack and forge a more hopeful future should give the new Speaker of the House space to prove their expectations wrong.
Past: It was difficult to look at the (unsuccessful) Marcello coalition and believe they were offering reform, as much as they were offering a refashioned oligarchy to replace the old one.
Present: Here are three specific proposals for rules reform, consistent with Speaker Mattiello’s call for a House of Representatives that is truly run by its members:
Future: Trying to downplay the serious differences and avoid explaining the errors of progressivism and the excesses of unionism in order to ease the process of political coalition building isn’t likely to stop the progressives from immediately coming after Speaker Mattiello, or the unions from shifting their support elsewhere, if they don’t get their top agenda items. With the help of some standard-issue Rhode Island political inertia, the new Speaker may be able to maintain the coalition he has assembled for a time, but to prevent it from being whittled away, he will need to resolutely work at convincing a broad swath of Rhode Islanders about why his version of “jobs and the economy” is superior to competing versions which have strong constituencies amongst activists in the Democratic party.
A statement on NBC 10 Wingmen about Providence hotels was not what it’s been stated to be, and a look at the other side of the labor dispute suggests that the controversy may not be what it’s been stated to be, either.
Voters of the United States should learn a lesson about leadership and leverage from President Obama’s utter impotence in the face of Vladamir Putin.
The legal regime making its way into Rhode Island and American law is indicative of a new secular religion being established under the government.
Many among the conservative commentariate have quickly gotten past their brief flirtation with “I told you so” and are moving toward a tone of slow, aching disconcertment.
The Rhode Island Tea Party says freedom is the cure for the illness that the Ocean State’s leaders have brought upon the state.
As progressives in the Democrat Party and the media vilify the Koch Brothers, it’s difficult not to question which side really corrupts the political system.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) spent February releasing research findings that showed the flaws of progressive policies.
The poll results put out by the Hassenfeld Institute at Bryant University are unsurprising and really don’t tell us anything new.
Former Central Falls mayor Charles Moreau is about to be set free “after serving half his two-year sentence” on corruption charges (background available from Michelle Smith of the Associated Press, here), as a result of a First Circuit Court of Appeals opinion from June of last year. Two key factors made the decision in USA vs. Fernandez directly relevant to the Moreau case.
1. Moreau was apparently convicted of accepting not a “bribe” but a “gratuity”. What’s the difference? The First Circuit quotes a 1999 Supreme Court opinion to explain…
[F]or bribery there must be a quid pro quo — a specific intent to give or receive something of value in exchange for an official act. An illegal gratuity, on the other hand, may constitute merely a reward for some future act that the public official will take (and may already have determined to take), or for a past act that he has already taken.
2. The court then notes the structure of Federal statute…
§ 201(b) targets (primarily) federal officials, while § 666 targets non-federal officials who happen to have a connection to federal funds. It is reasonable to assume that the federal government viewed corrupt federal officials involved in the receipt of bribes as more culpable.
…where § 201(b) makes “bribes” and “gratuities” illegal, while § 666 (yes, that’s really the number) makes only “bribes” illegal.
According to Ms. Smith’s report, with the gratuity conviction no longer valid in the First Circuit because Moreau was a local and not a Federal official, Moreau and the prosecutors have made a deal where he will plead guilty to a bribery charge, in return for a sentence of time served.
If you need one sentence to explain to your friends and neighbors the law that led to this outcome, this should do: While it’s illegal to engage in a la carte bribery of state or local officials in the US, you’re OK under Federal law if you’re able to buy them off on a retainer basis.
To the Providence Journal, the only thing anybody needs to know about the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity is that we can’t disprove allegations that we’re just a phony front group for the forces of evil.
The Ninth Circuit says that California’s requirement that “good cause” be shown in order to obtain a concealed carry firearms permit is unconstitutional. Rhode Island law requires “a proper showing of need”, when trying to obtain a concealed carry permit from the Attorney General.
Rejected alternate title: “It’s Not a Right, if it Depends on Some Guy in Sarasota”.
One policy that would serve President Obama’s objective of reducing income inequality is school choice.
The Providence Chamber of Commerce joins those who think of government revenue first.