Democratic Senators, including Sheldon Whitehouse, urge Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to address housing affordability. Concerns rise as mortgage rates hit 20-year highs, impacting both homebuyers and the rental market. The letter emphasizes the need for relief amidst soaring costs.
Budget proposals are being directed at housing development and creation for vulnerable residents.
Senator Elaine Morgan introduces legislation to eliminate state tax on Social Security income Senator Elaine Morgan introduced legislation to completely eliminate the tax on Social Security income in Rhode Island. Bill S84 specifies for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, an individual may subtract from federal adjusted gross income all Social Security income. PROGRAMMING […]
If Big Brother held unprecedented control over the decisions of tech companies, there’d be little stopping the government from pushing political agendas and silencing dissent.
Public employees in the Ocean State enjoy fewer freedoms than their counterparts in most other states The state of Rhode Island scored a disappointing “D” on the annual 50 State Labor Report produced by the Commonwealth Foundation, entitled “The Battle for Worker Freedom in the States: Grading State Labor Laws.” States that suffer from this […]
Communities throughout the U.S. are experimenting with social programs that give a “guaranteed income” to some residents with few or no strings attached. An economics professor says universal income could be a more efficient use of taxpayer dollars as long as it replaces many of the more than 100 welfare programs already out there.
Most of the programs are funded by taxpayer dollars and are generally described as “universal basic income” and “guaranteed income,” which share many characteristics but differ slightly. Universal basic income programs are generally open to everyone in the community. Guaranteed income programs target a specific sector of the population, often lower-income individuals.
A taxpayer watchdog group has released an “anti-inflation agenda” that it says the federal government should follow to combat the persistent inflation felt across the country. The Washington, D.C.-based National Taxpayers Union said in the recent policy paper that the agenda “could make modest and near-term contributions to reducing inflation, even though monetary policy at the Federal Reserve will still have the largest role to play.”
A new one-stop website has been created to help Rhode Islanders navigate the 2022 Child Tax Rebate. The Rhode Island Division of Taxation has set up an online portal to give guidance to families in the state to take advantage of the rebate of $250 for up to three children, Gov. Dan McKee said.
Tasked with protecting lives and property, police officers have one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States. Responding to emergencies, conducting traffic stops, patrolling high-crime areas, and arresting suspects are all part and parcel of the job – and each year, dozens of police officers are killed in the line of duty, feloniously or accidentally.
City transit in Newport, Rhode Island, is getting a jolt from taxpayers with a RAISE grant. The $22.3 million project, news of which was shared through congressional news releases on Tuesday, will enable the Rhode Island Public Transit Authority to procure 25 battery-electric buses enabling all Newport-based services to be electric. A release from U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse also said charging infrastructure and facility upgrades are coming.
A pair of bills that will aid Rhode Island residents in more easily finding affordable housing have been signed, Democratic Gov. Dan McKee said. The governor announced Tuesday that he signed House Bill 7944A, sponsored by Rep. Arthur Corvese, D-North Providence, and Senate Bill 3051, sponsored by Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio, D-Providence, on June 30.
The governor announced Monday that $115,667 in grants have been awarded through the state’s Department of Environmental Management and Office of Energy Resources that will be used to support solar projects at six farms.
A trio of Rhode Island gun control bills are headed to Gov. Dan McKee’s desk. The General Assembly passed the bills that would raise the age limits for purchasing guns and ammunition to age 21, ban carrying rifles and shotguns in public, and outlaw high-capacity magazines.
(The Center Square) – Ahead of a congressional subcommittee hearing being held Tuesday, the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis announced that over $10 billion worth of fraudulent payments made through federal pandemic relief programs has been recovered and returned to the federal government. “These relief programs were vital to helping Americans in need during […]
Massachusetts suffered one of the highest rates of outmigration in 2020, according to a new report that studied population trends during the pandemic-fueled year. Wirepoints, an Illinois-based research and commentary organization, delved into population fluctuations in its latest analysis, using Internal Revenue Service data as the backdrop for its findings.
Repealing a law that permits employers to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage is making its way to the Rhode Island Senate.
Marijuana legalization is the focus of a pair of identical bills that will be heard in the Rhode Island General Assembly this week.
On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Senate Bill 2430, sponsored by Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston, at 3:30 p.m., while the House Finance Committee will host a vote on House Bill 7593, sponsored by Rep. Scott A. Slater, D-Providence, at 5 p.m.
As it currently stands, the price point for Canadian generics (the same drug without the name brand) is, on average, 38% lower than the comparable brand price in Canada. In stark contrast, generic prices within the United States were 74% lower than the comparable U.S. brand price. Comparing the two, patients who purchase drugs in America are paying up to 88% over their Canadian counterparts.
Grover Norquist is the president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at the request of President Reagan. ATR works to limit the size and cost of government and opposes higher taxes at the federal, state, and local levels. In this clip from the #InTheDugout podcast, he tells […]
Dear Governor McKee, I am a life-long Rhode Islander, a practicing physician, and an independent voter. I am writing to you regarding the potential for another indoor mask mandate in Rhode Island, and any other potential COVID-related restrictions that people around you may suggest would be helpful. I can tell you that myself, and the […]
Today LIVE at 4:00pm on the Ocean State Current- Click here to watch on The Ocean State Current! STEN & guests discuss: -#ParentsUnited file APPEAL to RI Supreme Court re school mask mandate -CT Gov says #NoTCItax on gas -NK “fat test” update -Hopkinton Town Council chickens out -RI Freedom Fighter targeted – Domestic Terrorist? […]
While upgrading EV charging infrastructure may sound good on the surface to some: giving electric car owners more places to charge their glorified go-karts, it does nothing more than help the state’s wealthy. Looking at RI’s median household income of $67,167, a large majority of RI residents cannot afford an electric vehicle, making the spending virtually useless.
No doubt Critical Race Theory and Gender theory has covertly seeped in and taken over our schools, and everyday Americans are fighting back. This pushback is good because students should not be taught radical racial theory and incoherent gender theory. However, what is the alternative? It is easy to support jettisoning CRT and gender theory, but without a set alternative we leave the teaching of history to college graduates who increasingly believe in the teachings of Howard Zinn and the 1619 project. The curriculum we should put forward should be one of liberty.
The citizens of Central Falls would much rather see less money taken out of their taxes and better results from the money already being taken out. They like filled potholes, clean streets, and would like to take that money and invest it into their children’s education…
Last night, the Rhode Island General Assembly session came to a close without a final vote on the TCI Gas Tax. This puts the tax hike on hold for now as General Assembly leaders consider a special session later this year.
Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform tells us why a proposed gas tax will take a bite out of your liberty. After all we’ve been through in the past year, why should we be punished for driving our vehicles? The prices for gasoline could soon rise dramatically for your family if a new stealth […]
It would be cruel for lawmakers to impose this fuel tax, which will especially harm rural and low-income residents, just so the elite can receive a subsidy for their expensive electric vehicles.
The Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI) is just another big-government attempt to manipulate the people.
On its one year anniversary, it would be irresponsible not to look at the effectiveness of the COVID-19 lockdown. Florida and California vividly demonstrate that the answer is “completely ineffective”: the two states have had similar outcomes to very different approaches, making it clear that lockdowns did not and do not work to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19.
What about Rhode Island? Well, we locked down. And we have the third highest COVID-19 deaths nationally.
Lockdowns, even if they worked exactly as hoped, were never a good solution because of the enormous public health and other consequences they inflict. One year later, it is clear, as they do not achieve even their hoped-for goal, that they are entirely destructive with zero public health benefit.
Now, let’s look at where Rhode Island stands on the original reason for a lockdown: two weeks to flatten the curve and not overwhelm hospitals. Below is the trend of Rhode Island’s hospitalizations; specifically, Column U, “Currently Hospitalized” of this sheet:
4/28/2020: 375 (Spring, 2020 peak)
12/15/2020: 516
1/25/2021: 380
3/9/2021: 141
By this original goalpost, Rhode Island can open up fully, now. (Please stop with the agonizing and ineffective baby steps.) More to the point, the state never needs to lock down again for this (or any) reason. This is because, to her credit, former Governor Gina Raimondo set up COVID-19 field hospitals. While they were recently shut down because COVID-19 cases have dropped markedly, they will remain in place in the event of a surge.
The evidence and observed science one year into COVID-19 lockdowns is blaring and indisputable: they do not work. All states can and should open up immediately, fully, without restrictions – including nursing homes with reasonable protections. Refusing to do so is to deny the plain evidence and prolong the needless suffering and very serious health and other consequences of lockdowns.
The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity calls on the newly sworn-in Governor of Rhode Island, Daniel McKee, to officially withdraw the Ocean State from the regional gasoline cap-and-trade scheme, known as the Transportation & Climate Initiative (TCI).
“For years as Lieutenant Governor, Dan McKee expressed verbal support for the small business community. Now is the time for the Governor to take action and to separate himself from his predecessor’s anti-business policies. The Governor should immediately put to rest any notion that his administration will impose a job-killing, budget-destroying gasoline tax on businesses and families who are struggling to recover from the pandemic,” commented Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. “Today, our Center calls on the Governor to take executive action to formally withdraw Rhode Island from the TCI compact.”
In December, former Governor Gina Raimondo signed-on Rhode Island, just one of three states to do so, to the TCI Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU). Implementation of TCI would lead to a significant increase in automobile and diesel gasoline prices, while also systematically limiting regional supplies of vehicle fuel.
In calling on Governor McKee to eschew the costly TCI gas tax, the Center points to research and polling that shows why TCI is poor public policy:
Later this week, the Center will announce a public campaign to petition the Governor and state legislative leaders to reject the TCI compact.
More information about the proposed TCI gas tax can be found on the Center’s TCI webpage: RIFreedom.org/NoTCItax. The Center is one of over two-dozen organizations in the northeast working cooperatively to defeat TCI in their respective states.
[This is a public statement released by the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity today.]