Rhode Island Politics
Rhode Island GOP Chairman Gio Cicione makes a good point about pensions and General Treasurer Frank Caprio: In fact, Mr. Caprio knew better a long time ago. As early as April 2002, when he was Senate finance chairman, Mr. Caprio indicated that an 8.25 percent return had “proved to be an overly optimistic assumed rate…
So the RI Senate threw the supplemental budget back at the House because they didn’t want to re-amortize the pension plans. And suddenly, we’re told there was a “sense of urgency”! “They clearly threw off any timetable,” said House Speaker Gordon D. Fox, advised of the Senate’s plans Wednesday afternoon. “That’s what we were always…
I imagine we’ll have commentary to offer on the supplemental budget as we all have time to digest it (or eject it from our systems by one route or another). But let’s be honest; we all know the basic story: the General Assembly had big battles over relatively minor details to tweak around the edges…
Sometimes, in the noise and rancor of politics and budgeting, one’s attention becomes monopolized by particular details. Consider the following: [The state’s public-employee unions’] chief target: a proposal to limit annual pension increases to the first $35,000 in retirement pay initially. The $35,000 would go up each year, in keeping with the Consumer Price Index,…
Take every pothole that you hit and bridge that you tremble to cross as a reminder of how misplaced the priorities of the state and federal governments have become: In the supplemental budget Governor Carcieri sent to the legislature, he proposed reducing the DOT budget by $74.3 million. The House Finance Committee recommended cutting slightly…
Ok, vent over this: The police chief of Central Falls is drawing criticism for collecting a $43,000-per-year pension while also continuing to work and draw an annual salary of $72,000….Moran “retired” two weeks ago, then signed a five-year contract under a deal approved by the city retirement board, city lawyer, and mayor….Moran says he made…
George Will’s latest contains this information about pension reform in Illinois (not Texas, union-friendly, “progressive” Illinois): Gov. Pat Quinn called it a “political earthquake” when the state’s Legislature recently voted — by margins of 92-17 in the House and 48-6 in the Senate — to reform pensions for state employees. There is now a cap…
I’m surprised nobody else has highlighted this provision noted in the Providence Journal’s summary of the RI House Finance Committee’s supplemental budget plan: The budget would also change a school funding “maintenance of effort” provision that requires cities and towns to provide at least as much local money for school as was provided the year…
So the long-awaited supplemental budget has finally made it’s way to the RI House floor. According to Speaker of the House Gordon Fox, “This is a budget where everyone shares a little bit of the pain.” Well, at least, that was the plan: Changes are possible in the coming days, as evidenced by one reversal…
Jim Bush just about sums it up. (Reprinted with permission.)