Rhode Island Politics

Warwick City Council Rejects Crossing Guard Contract Options

By Marc Comtois | November 20, 2007 |

The Warwick City Council unanimously rejected a couple contract options for the city’s crossing guards last night. I guess it’s sinking in. Calling it a bad deal for taxpayers, the City Council last night unanimously rejected not one but two proposed contracts with the municipal crossing guards union, leaving the future of the city-run program…

Time for a Social Welfare Paradigm Shift

By Marc Comtois | November 19, 2007 |

Last week, in light of our half-a-billion dollar budget deficit, I linked to a piece by William Voegeli in which he explained that conservatives, while they can accept the necessity of a welfare state, must continue to try to apply the throttle to the always-growing amount of money we spend on government social welfare programs.…

Nuances of Communication

By Monique Chartier | November 17, 2007 |

Let’s play a new game. It’s called: “Identify That Whine” It’s simple. Read the following two statements. Determine which is a declaration of facts designed to educate and motivate and which is whining. But the overall budget – taxes and spending – is set by the General Assembly. All of the increases in Marc’s chart…

Big Budget Gainers from ’01 to ’08

By Marc Comtois | November 16, 2007 |

The overall state budget has grown from $4.65 billion in 2001 to $6.98 billion in 2008, which is a 50% increase over 7 years. As we’ve all figured out, that’s just too much. In an effort to identify those areas that saw the largest growth, here are those departments that had operating budgets over $1…

“What I Would Do If I Weren’t So Wedded to the Side of All Things Good”

By Justin Katz | November 16, 2007 |

It’s a curious — somewhat humorous — thing to read a well-meaning and fair-minded progressive attempting to work his way around to advising the other side. Here’s Ian Donnis: One school of thought, popular among at least a few of the posters at Anchor Rising, is that the state’s budget meltdown will cause dramatic and…

Here’s the List of State Job Cuts

By Marc Comtois | November 16, 2007 |

Here is the list of state job cuts (PDF). Looks like MHRH took the biggest hit, with nurses and nurse’s aides, cooks and cooks helpers, janitors and administrative staff taking the biggest hits. According to the press release: One hundred and fifty three state employees received layoff notices Thursday (the position titles for which are…

Time to Prioritize State Spending

By Marc Comtois | November 16, 2007 |

Has William Voegli spent time in Rhode Island? Liberals sell the welfare state one brick at a time, deflecting inquiries about the size and cost of the palace they’re building. Citizens are encouraged to regard the government as a rich uncle, who needs constant hectoring to become ever more generous. According to Voegli, its up…

Whose Really to Blame for the Job Cuts?

By Marc Comtois | November 16, 2007 |

Katherine Gregg at the ProJo gives us the sad stories of the state workers who have been laid off. I feel for them. But they’re not the first to lose their jobs for reasons unrelated to their own job performance, contrary to what some may think. As AFSCME Local 2884 president Salvatore Lombardi explained: “It’s…

Re: Time for Cities and Towns to Tighten Their Belts

By Donald B. Hawthorne | November 15, 2007 |

I want to second Marc’s concluding thought in his prior post. The Rhode Island budget deficit elephant is sitting in the middle of the room and people are still trying to ignore – or, at least, downplay – its very presence. How long has this elephant been present without any real acknowledgement? A long time…

Social Welfare Cuts up Next

By Marc Comtois | November 15, 2007 |

In addition to cutting the state payroll, stopping the rub and tugs and cutting aid to cities and towns, the Governor wants to reduce the costs of our social welfare programs. Carcieri indicated he would try a second time to convince lawmakers to cut in half, from 60 months to 30, the time limit for…