In a state in which at least one hospital is losing $3 million every month and is facing bankruptcy, some legislators have the jaw-dropping gall to introduce legislation (H7863 and S2695) that would set maximum numbers of patients who can be assigned to each nurse, with very specific differences depending on the patients’ condition.

Folks, we have to begin taking the warning that such legislation provides.  On a case-by-case basis, these thousands of bills every year may seem inconsequential; they might even meet the standard of representatives and senators who believe they should pass any bill for which they can’t see the downside.  “That sounds like a good idea” is a fine standard while sitting around chatting at a family gathering, but when it comes to actually passing laws, that standard is dangerous.

It is not the government’s role to be a corporate board for all aspects of the economy or the society.  It is not the government’s role to put strict limits on our behavior, our interactions, and our commerce in the name of protecting us from all harm or risk.

We’re coming to a real and final tipping point.  If Rhode Islanders don’t begin insisting that elected and appointed officials are not parents for every adult, child, and pet in the state, we’re going to find ourselves losing all of the services and opportunities that the little tyrants think they control.