Basic Government Functions
Further to Justin’s point about the misplaced priorities of the state, the ranking of our bridges – worst in the country – a couple of years ago confirms that the underfunding of road and bridge projects is a recurring theme at the General Assembly and not a brand new development in this supplemental budget. As…
Take every pothole that you hit and bridge that you tremble to cross as a reminder of how misplaced the priorities of the state and federal governments have become: In the supplemental budget Governor Carcieri sent to the legislature, he proposed reducing the DOT budget by $74.3 million. The House Finance Committee recommended cutting slightly…
The Rhode Island Statewide Coalition has been making a concerted effort to peruse all of the legislation making its way through the General Assembly and recently unearthed this gem from Senator Charles Levesque (D., Bristol, Portsmouth), creating a Highway Maintenance and Public Transit Trust Fund, financed as follows: … There is imposed a surcharge of…
And around and around not-my-town goes: Rep. John G. Edwards (D-Dist. 70, Tiverton, Portsmouth), whose district encompasses neighborhoods on both sides of the Sakonnet River Bridge, has introduced legislation that will prohibit tolls from being charged on the bridge. … Instead, Rep. Edwards proposes placing a toll on Interstate Hwy 95 (I-95) in Westerly and…
My post concerning the Warwick Beacon’s look into Warwick firefighter pay/contracts has generated some commentary regarding the RIPEC report (mentioned in Russell Moore’s story) that found: On average, [a RIPEC] report showed that Rhode Islanders spend about $6.24 on fire services for every $1,000 of personal income, or just under double the national average of…
Mike, of Assigned Reading, laments that union old-liners and their allies have taken the opportunity of hard times to smash positive education reforms: Hope High School in Providence has been a beacon in Rhode Island school reform. It was undoubtedly the worst school in the state just five or six years ago. But with RIDE…
Because — honestly — I’d love to see a successful and commuter- and visitor-friendly public transportation system in Rhode Island, it was encouraging to read the headline, “Public transit is en route to bright, diverse future,” above the following first paragraph: After a near-collapse, public transit in Rhode Island is making a dramatic turnaround, with…
For those interested in the continuing debate about the relation between taxpayer mobility and tax-rates, Los Angeles Times op-ed contributor William Voegeli adds another analysis based on multi-state Census data…One way to assess how Americans feel about the different tax and benefit packages the states offer is by examining internal U.S. migration patterns. Between April…
Mark Steyn tells a tale of two bridges: A few weeks back I mentioned a couple of bridges in a neighboring town of mine, both on dirt roads serving maybe a dozen houses. Bridge A: The town was prevailed upon to apply for some state/town 80/20 funding plan, which morphed under the stimulus into some…
The Associated Press is reporting that Rhode Island is one of several states that’s been using money from fees on cell-phones, nominally intended to support 911 service, to plug holes in its yearly operating budget…Oregon, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Wisconsin and Tennessee are among the states that have dipped into their 911 money recently. New York…