The Providence Journal’s endorsements of House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, spending bond questions, and incumbent congressman are, in essence, support of the status quo. Such endorsements should be made with a broad, external-looking, national perspective, not with a narrow, inward-looking local lens – as we see so many in our political and media elite continually do.

This perspective is vital for voters. The political class believe that large corporate handouts and small, targeted tax cuts are good for economic development. As compared with other states, these measures are insignificant and ill-directed. Also, the elite ignore bad measures, such as increased tolls, minimum wages, energy costs, anti-business regulations, etc. Rhode Island ranks last or near-last in an alarming number of national indexes; treading water is not good enough.

Sadly, in far too many cases, there are far too many empty chairs at our holiday dinner tables. People want a government that works for all of us, not just the insider few. We understand that if Rhode Island is to become a better home destination, we must offer a better life for American families by creating an environment that will organically produce more and better businesses so as to create more and better jobs. Rhode Islanders should reject the big spending in questions 4-7 on the upcoming ballot.

Whether the incumbents who engineered Rhode Island’s failures should be endorsed or thrown out, is up to voters. But unless we want our state to continue with failed rankings, we must change gears and advance policies that broadly help families and small businesses. Candidates and policies that support this new approach should be the ones being endorsed if we are to truly put our state on a path towards prosperity – and to make and keep Rhode Island as our home.