Rhode Island Politics
I’m happy to see that this legislation (H5888)didn’t make it to the governor’s desk: As part of a broader plan to shift some of the burden of waste disposal onto private companies and away from state and local government, Governor Chafee’s administration has introduced legislation that would require national and local manufacturers to pay for…
When PolitiFact found Gary Sasse to be truthful about Rhode Island’s 52% premium for human-service programs, as compared with the national average, it offered a bit of broader speculation: The 52-percent figure could mean that the state is being overly generous with its benefits. Or it could mean that the characteristics of Rhode Island’s population…
Trying to follow public policy debates — particularly those having to do with the transfer of government money — is like trying to make sense of an incoherent dream. Whenever you hear or read that there is “confusion” or “ambiguity” related to a particular law, it’s a reasonable assumption that one or more parties are…
Throughout the legislative session just ended, the Providence Journal has been checking in with four freshman legislators, one of them being North Kingstown Republican Doreen Costa. This snippet, from the end-of-session iteration, points to one of Rhode Island’s major political problems, and the consequence of indomitable one-party rule: Lesson number two: Don’t “question or argue”…
I’ve been approaching with similar skepticism the two new faces to the RIGOP, both running for high-profile national offices based mainly on various news reports. A look at their campaign “issues” pages, however, does point to some distinctions — not necessarily huge distinctions on the stances that they take, but certainly in the extent to…
Matt and I discussed the forces affecting Rhode Island’s politics on last night’s Matt Allen Show. I expressed skepticism that the General Assembly will actually do much to reform pensions, referring to the four horsemen of Rhode Island’s apocalypse — that is, the four groups that have locked in power in RI, and which the…
Somehow I don’t find this surprising: He is running as a Republican, but most of former State Police Colonel Brendan Doherty’s biggest supporters are major Democratic donors, according to a GoLocalProv review of his first campaign finance report, filed last week. … * Nearly two thirds of the donors did not donate to a single…
Business Insider compiles the latest national list of dubious distinction to contain Rhode Island – in not one but two spots. This is especially not good when the list is only fourteen finalists long. Public employee costs account for a large share of municipal budget woes. While worker compensation accounts for just 30% of state…
Let’s not allow this little turn of events to go unnoticed as we transition from the crazy last days of the legislative session to a lovely, hazy summer. South Kingstown’s teacher contract expires in August; accordingly, the School Committee and the NEA-SK have been working on a contract renewal. When binding arbitration got cranked up…
WPRO’s Bob Plain piqued my interest with his story on how the new law (PDF, pg. 145 of file) allowing cities and towns to shift municipal retirees’ from private health care plans to Medicare will save Providence about $11.5 million. I haven’t heard what sort of savings this could mean for my hometown of Warwick’s…