Andrew puts his post about Rhode Island's fiscal position relative to its neighbors in the "Rhode Island Economy" category, but the issue is at least as political and cultural as it is economic. Over years of patchwork research, I've found that Rhode Island always tops Massachusetts in all the wrong ways. It takes bad or questionable policies, or policies that require moderation, and goes a bit further with them.
Throw in the prominence of such "passing through" industries as tourism and higher education (which, I've a feeling, generate "residents" with minimal personal investment in the state), and you've got a state heading in all the wrong directions at once.