Monique Chartier

Placing Providence’s Property Tax Burden in a National Context

By Monique Chartier | February 16, 2012 |

Further to Andrew’s post, Providence’s very high property taxes undoubtedly result from a combination of two critical factors. One, at least, was eminently controllable and, therefore, avoidable. The first is that 40% of the city’s real estate is tax exempt. The second factor contributing to its very high property taxes, and the one that could…

Illegal Alien “Public Advocate”: President Obama Officially Gives the Table For One Salute To Legal Immigrants

By Monique Chartier | February 9, 2012 |

It’s not a piece from The Onion, as I was fervently hoping when I first heard about it this afternoon. Could the President have telegraphed any more plainly his disdain for those who come here in conformance with our laws? Not to mention for the sovereignty and laws of the United States. The Obama administration…

Negotiate And We Won’t Litigate: NEA-RI Brandishes a Paper Tiger

By Monique Chartier | February 7, 2012 |

In light of recent court judgements which have failed to uphold changes to public employee retirement benefits and the corresponding possibility that last session’s pension reform law will eventually be deemed illegal by a court, NEA-RI’s Robert Walsh has a suggestion, via WPRI, for the state: negotiate. That’s why the four state leaders who pushed…

R.I. Attorney General: Barring Injury, Not Illegal To Throw Condoms or Light Objects Onto A Crowd

By Monique Chartier | February 5, 2012 |

Last Friday, a Right to Life rally at the State House was cut short due to serious disruptions by, it would appear, a group of pro-choice, Occupy Providence activists. Check out the FOX News report of the incident here. Barth Bracy, executive director of Rhode Island Right to Life, said their rally had to be…

Let’s Remember: Half of Providence’s Annual Tax Take Is Owed to Pensions and Post-Retirement Benefits

By Monique Chartier | February 2, 2012 |

GoLocalProv did some very good research last June. Just over half of all taxes collected in Providence in 2010 were owed to pensions and benefits for all city retirees—sucking money away from basic services and adding to the property tax burden, according to new data obtained by GoLocalProv. Now, local taxes do not comprise the…

Barry Hinkley’s Intriguing New Campaign Manager Executive Director

By Monique Chartier | January 31, 2012 |

Smart move, Barry. (What IS the difference between the “Executive Director” of a campaign and a “Campaign Manager”???) The Barry Hinckley for Senate campaign has announced that John Loughlin, former Republican candidate for U.S. Representative in 2010 against David Cicilline will assume the position of executive director. “I think Barry is the guy who is…

Superior Court Ruling On Perpetual Blue Cross: Without It, Retirees Could Be Forced “to choose between other necessities and forgoing medical treatment”

By Monique Chartier | January 31, 2012 |

So yesterday, Judge Sarah Taft-Carter issued a temporary injunction against the City of Providence rolling public retirees into Medicare once they hit 65. The trial to determine whether the injunction should be made permanent starts in May. The city had to demonstrate a compelling public “emergency” in order to do so; the retirees had to…

East Anglia CRU: Global Warming Ended Fifteen Years Ago

By Monique Chartier | January 30, 2012 |

Uh oh. The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years. The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost…

By Acclamation, Howie Carr’s Compilation of How America Has “Changed” Since January 20, 2009

By Monique Chartier | January 29, 2012 |

Under my post and to cheers from MSteven and Joe Bernstein, Warrington Faust points to Howie Carr’s column in Friday’s Boston Herald. I was pondering this the other night during the State of the Union address. Did you know that our elite military units like the Navy SEALs are now examples of America at its…

Warren Buffett On Taxation: Listen To My Advice, Not My Accountant’s

By Monique Chartier | January 29, 2012 |

On Friday, I learned of this Mr. Buffett has also already sheltered the bulk of his fortune from federal taxes by putting them into a foundation that will give the money away. which was definitely puzzling in light of this. But for those making more than $1 million — there were 236,883 such households in…