Rhode Island Politics
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?…
I imagine that even people who’ve had reservations about Steve Laffey have a feeling of “what now” upon hearing of his intention not to run for governor. For my part, I wanted to listen to his entire conversation with Dan Yorke before commenting, as well as Dan’s interview of Harry Staley and Jim Beale from…
Well, this is “low-hanging” fruit, but it’s still fun to hear the reasoning behind why it’s a good idea to offer free health-care to part-time legislators. A couple years ago, Speaker Murphy–when faced with a bill that would have legislators pay a portion of their health care–tried to say the state Constitution proscribed anything but…
Further to Andrew’s post, a couple of questions pose themselves for virtual gubernatorial candidate Bob Walsh and his progressive, pro-public education, pro-labor, pro-job creation and economic development, pro-choice, pro-environment, pro-marriage equality, and supportive of a fair tax policy for our state perspective. 1.) Does he agree with the NEA’s Resolution D-20, passed in 2007, which…
State Representative John Loughlin (R-Little Compton/Portsmouth/Tiverton) has an interesting theory, told to today’s Political Scene column in the Projo, as to the motivation of the State House’s Democratic leadership in seeking to severely limit the range of matters that can be debated on the House floor…You have to wonder if maybe these rules are so…
Or it could be a billion dollars. Either the Majority Leader or the Valley Breeze was unclear. Whatever the case, Senate Majority Leader Daniel Connors imparted this news in a meeting Monday (last) with Cumberland officials. From Thursday’s Valley Breeze: Income taxes keep falling thanks to unrelenting, record layoffs. All the while sales and restaurant…
Well, I’ve already spotted just about everybody in Rhode Island politics and related fields that I know that I know, and even a good portion of those whom I know that I’ll recognize. Curiously, as I pass by legislators, I find myself compulsively checking on my wallet. As tends to happen, every natural instinct makes…
Marc mentioned yesterday that the chairman of the Rhode Island House Finance Committee wishes to control debate on the floor of the House. In other news, the chairman of a House commission on pension reform, Timothy Williamson, again refused to release the product of a publicly financed actuarial study of potential retirement savings: The state’s…