Under the Government’s Wing

A prison warden hides his keys behind his back during a fire

Days of Reckoning for the Salt of RI’s Earth

By Justin Katz | April 11, 2024 |

The point can’t be stressed enough that Rhode Islanders should understand the Washington Bridge debacle as a representative lesson on our state government.  For that reason, not the least, Mark Patinkin’s conversations with local affected business owners is an article to print and review periodically in the future.  Restauranteurs and venue owners bought and built…

A water drop and ripples

Strange how nobody seems to care about the FAFSA debacle.

By Justin Katz | April 9, 2024 |

Joe Biden abusing the authority of his office to buy votes by transferring student loan debt to other Americans is back in the news, and it reminds me that I haven’t seen any mainstream coverage of a disaster facing just about every college-bound family in the United States this year: If, like me, you have…

A water drop and ripples

One reason to fear government control of healthcare is the reluctance to reevaluate.

By Justin Katz | April 2, 2024 |

Rich Weinstein’s quip, here, exposes a deadly serious problem with the progressive style of governance: Rhode Island jumped into ObamaCare with both feet, and not only are our hospitals struggling, but people are having a terrible time finding primary care doctors.  Maybe those two things are cause-and-effect, maybe they’re loosely related, or maybe there’s no…

A killer clown's shadow falls on Main Street

Politics This Week: When the Clowns Control

By Justin Katz | March 26, 2024 |

John DePetro and Justin Katz review the latest way government officials and journalists put our state on the wrong track.

A farmer in a suit admires his corn with graduation caps

Student loans are another crisis for the benefit of government.

By Justin Katz | March 20, 2024 |

Whatever one’s political leanings, the incentives of government must be understood as simply reality.  Government agencies don’t have to create a product or service that people will voluntarily purchase.  Rather, they must find activities for which they can justify forcing people who are not the direct beneficiaries to pay.  This model is justified, in some…

The word, "vote," on puppet strings

In the current environment, expedited voter registration is an invitation to fraud.

By Justin Katz | February 6, 2024 |

When one of our cars became unusable last year, my family had to buy another, which we did at a dealer in Massachusetts that a friend had recommended.  We’ve bought cars in Massachusetts, before, but it appears that something has changed.  Registering the car took about a month, during which time we were short a…

Rhode Island’s K-12 Transgender Policy: Why Are Education Commissioner and Council Silent?

By Monique Chartier | February 1, 2024 |

Following our first inquiry of Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education about Rhode Island transgender policy in K-12 schools and their non-response, Anchor Rising reached out a second time, this time asking, … current RIDE policy permits schools to discuss transgender procedures with students.  RIDE policy also permits schools…

A water drop and ripples

We really need mature leadership in RI, and I wish Neronha were offering it.

By Justin Katz | January 29, 2024 |

Look, I generally disagree with Attorney General Peter Neronha’s politics, but I could put that aside if I thought he were coming to conclusions reasonably.  Unfortunately: I’m certainly not going to defend predatory investment firms, but read the article.  Steward Health Care was already dying.  The story is of an equity firm finding a way…

The RI State House in the middle of a plantation

A recipient society produces the government plantation.

By Justin Katz | January 4, 2024 |

So much of Rhode Island’s predicament can be explained by incentives.  People who rely on government for their prosperity, for instance, have a great deal of incentive to manipulate the processes thereof, whereas our community lacks institutions with incentive to counterbalance them politically.  Something similar and related — though much broader on a social scale…

Rhode Island's new flag with the state motto of "Hurt"

To solve the doctor shortage, all RI has to change is everything.

By Justin Katz | January 3, 2024 |

This has been lingering around my to-do list for a while, but the problem is only getting worse, so for the foreseeable future, it’s an evergreen topic in Rhode Island: Yes, this is a massive problem permeating all of our society, and there’s only so much a small state like Rhode Island can do about…