Part 2 of The Current’s long-running review of population and employment data assesses population, employment, and income trends across the cities and towns to develop a sense of how communities are shifting.
The Current’s long-running review of population and employment data can lead to better understanding of who is being affected by public policy in Rhode Island and how. Part 1 reviews how the cities and towns compare right now.
An example of civil asset forfeiture in Northern Massachusetts adds punctuation to Justin’s concerns about the local forfeiture windfall taken from Google.
38 Studios has brought into stark relief the problems of government-run economic development.
Using a police windfall award to (possibly) eliminate pension problems may seem like common sense, but when the dynamics of government are considered, Justin suggests rationality goes in the other direction.
It is definitely a matter of concern that 38 Studios may cost RI some large portion of the debt that it guaranteed, but Justin suggests a little perspective might be in order to learn from the experience.
Government and public administration has moved up to 2nd on a list of fraud-prone industries, with health care and education climbing quickly.
The specter of a double-dip recession brings into stark relief, for Justin, the lack of vision among those leading the state.
Al igual que un conductor que no sabe donde los edifi cios que solían ser, los que no conocen los canales secretos del gobierno de RI tienen tres opciones.
A jumble of news and commentary headlines leads Justin to wonder where the cause and effect lie in entitlement and nanny-statism.
Tax breaks for artists raise the question of why all Rhode Islanders shouldn’t have more control over their own destinies
Local transportation funding is vulnerable to federal vicissitudes because it is entirely federal dollars build on a bed of local borrowing. That ought to raise questions among voters about the management of the state.
RI’s income tax reform affected taxpayers with little income beyond what they pay for medical care. As the state seeks to fill in the gap for low-income Medicaid recipients, the gravity of government complexity grows.
The intricate machinations suggested by Gary Sasse in the “tax-the-rich” debate raise the question of whether RI can afford the risk (or the wait) involved with technocratic designs.
Empirical data related to the ideology of state-level legislators suggests that, yes, Rhode Island is very liberal.
S2680, from Sen. Walaska, appears to open the door for the PUC to act as a police force. Senate Judiciary hears the bill, today.
Is it the bull or the bear for Rhode Island? Justin suggests that if Rhode Island is to cease to be a drag on its region, the model has to be quite different.
The Current’s full “Video on the Go” from Congressman Ron Paul’s campaign appearance at the University of Rhode Island.
The process for selecting charter review commissioners in Central Falls has Justin concerned that an important lesson in self-governance is being missed.
Operating in RI government is like following directions based on where things used to be; Justin says outsiders are disadvantaged and vulnerable.
Justin writes live from Don Watkins talk to the Brown Republicans on entitlements.
An interview with Charles Murray leads Justin to muse on the possibility that avoiding judgmentalism in the name of tolerance might just make it less likely that others will have the opportunity to judge us good and worthy of advancement.
A pair of articles point to the use of statistics in public policy debates, and Justin encourages everybody not to lose sight of the points being made.
Matt Allen’s petition for repeal of the primary-offense seat belt law leads Justin to consider the real consequence of such legislation.
Reason’s Matt Welch measures cutting-edge media against legacy media worries about the death of their industry, and reviewing the local playing field, Justin gives an example of how public policy can give them a cudgel (even inadvertently).
Colleen Conley finds a metaphor for D.C. in the Hunger Games; Justin hopes it indicates a shift in political understanding.
Justin points out the interesting contrast of two opinion pieces in Tuesday’s Projo, one an unsigned editorial and the other a column by Ed Achorn.
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 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.
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.