Rhode Island Politics
[Anchor Rising, along with many other print and digital media outlets, has received the following “OpEd” from State Representative John Loughlin (R). Rep Loughlin has indicated elsewhere and elsewhen that he is considering a run for higher office in 2010.] Toward a Federal Solution to Pension Woes Rhode Island’s public sector and teachers’ pensions are…
I intend to spend a little more time perusing the report titled Freedom in the 50 States: An Index of Personal and Economic Freedom (PDF), put out by the George Mason University Mercatus Center, but Rhode Island’s predictable rankings, among the 50 states, are notable without extensive commentary: Fiscal policy: 41 Regulatory policy: 48 Economic…
For whatever it’s worth, the “study commission” looking at pensions for the Rhode Island House approved a plan to increase the minimum retirement age to 65, and although it didn’t vote to eliminate cost of living adjustments (COLAs), it did suggest tying them to inflation data. The curious result came during the vote to apply…
In a healthy political state, a legislator would be scared for her political life to propose such policies in a high tax state during a painful downturn: Legislation introduced by Representative Coderre, (2009-H5519), would extend the reach of the RIte Track program, and establish a new “All Kids Health Insurance Program” to provide access to…
Or maybe he’s an easy target. Matt and I had a few laughs (of the “or we’d cry” variety on last night’s Matt Allen show. Why doesn’t anybody in power see what needs to be done, and what’s the appropriate attitude to have in response? Stream by clicking here, or download it.
Governor Carcieri was on WPRO’s John DePetro show to defend his budget (primarily against the ProJo coverage of it). The ProJo reported that there was a 10% increase in this budget over last, but the Governor explained that the increase is all federal money and most of it is attributable to an increase in unemployment…
Given that his elective clock is rapidly running out and voters’ inability to see the danger of their usual practices (as made clear by the latest election results), perhaps the most important thing that Governor Carcieri could have done with his budget proposal would have been to shine a stark light on a better direction.…
An article from yesterday illustrates, first, how much easier it is (politically) to respond to budget proposals than to make them, second, the method by which the Democrats leverage a low-power Republican governor to grandstand, and third, the desire that the General Assembly has to distract from the fact that it is doing next to…
I knew Mark Binder in my previous life as a fiction writer (to which life, incidentally, I would very much like to one day return). I noticed that he surfaced as a Democrat Congressional candidate in 2004 but haven’t seen anything from him until a letter appeared in last Friday’s Providence Journal (but which is…
A few years ago, the dream of owning a home and planning for a comfortable retirement wasn’t just a promise–it was guaranteed. A growing economy was fueling a new “ownership society”. We were told to invest, take a chance, buy a home, and don’t worry about the risk it will all work out. What happened?…