Those seeking some reason for optimism may find it (in small measure) in Neil Downing’s language:

More than 400,000 Rhode Island workers will soon receive what amounts to a pay raise.
Employers by April 1 must begin withholding less federal income tax from paychecks.
Thus, workers will soon be taking home more than they are now — about $10 more a week for someone who is single, about $15 more a week for someone who is married.

If taxpayers begin to think in those terms, maybe they’ll start to wake up. The federal, state, and municipal governments could all give us raises — which would be more substantial than a few cents per hour — in these hard times by cutting spending.