Economy

Biker on a dirty ATV.

Politics This Week: Hidden Emails, DUI Skeletons, Bikers Gone Wild

By Justin Katz | April 11, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz discuss the mysterious ways in which Rhode Island government runs poorly.

Providence, Rhode Island, USA park and skyline.

Politics This Week: Blame, Budgets, and Bailouts

By Justin Katz | April 3, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz walk through the latest comedies in Rhode Island politics and discuss the characters who have been stealing the spotlight.

Fane Tower rendering

Fane Tower Shows Rhode Island Has No Center to Hold

By Justin Katz | March 28, 2023 |

Now that it is no-longer-proposed, we are free to look at Fane Tower renderings in detail, beyond the gut reaction that it is odd and would be misplaced in Providence.  Structurally, the building would have been akin to a tree trunk that began to split near the ground.  The strength comes from the middle, providing…

Shady businessman with contract

Politics This Week: State Vulnerability to the Virtual Con

By Justin Katz | March 20, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz examine the ways an excessive purview and incompetence leave Rhode Island politicians and bureaucrats vulnerable to scams and other bad decisions.

A man holds a red smoke signal on ice

Politics This Week: The Insiders’ Clear Messages

By Justin Katz | March 14, 2023 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz interpret the unmistakable messages of RI insiders’ actions.

A couple uses self-checkout.

Self-checkout laws are the sort of question civics education should address.

By Justin Katz | March 10, 2023 |

Americans really need to be able to step back a bit from the immediate issue addressed in legislation and think about how it relates to our understanding of society’s proper structure.  A Rhode Island bill going after self-checkout lanes in retail stores is an excellent case study.  Kathy Gregg writes in the Providence Journal: An army…

Adraien Van De Venne's Allegory of Poverty

How many weeks do you have to work?

By Justin Katz | March 9, 2023 |

Oren Cass’s analysis of the weeks required to support a middle-class lifestyle for American Compass raises some interesting points.  The study focuses on the income of men and shows that the combined cost of food, housing, health care, transportation, and education surpassed the median male income in the mid-’90s.  By 2022, that income was about…

A mural on a highway bridge

Could it be that the status quo’s defenders just don’t get the economics?

By Justin Katz | March 2, 2023 |

University of Rhode Island Economics Professor Len Lardaro reminds us of the magic by which the state makes its employment numbers look good: To me, the apologists for the status quo are the scariest part. Saying, “Oh, don’t worry. People are just retiring,” completely misses the point. If Rhode Islanders are retiring, shouldn’t their jobs…

A water drop and ripples

The Smithians do what Marxists promise, including on race.

By Justin Katz | February 23, 2023 |

For several reasons (voluntary and not-so-voluntary), I’ve been digging into Marxism a bit more over the past year.  I mean both ol’ Marx himself and his followers, up to modern practitioners.  One point that has come home very strongly is that the ideal that Marxists sell is actually the end toward which a system built…

A turkey chases a pilgrim with an ax

The John Loughlin Show: Highlights from the Turn of the Year

By John Loughlin | February 18, 2023 |

Clips from the John Loughlin show that carried Rhode Islanders through the holiday season and into the new year.