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Fed of St. Louis M3 chart of money supply

The United States: That Kid Who Had to Learn About Debt the Hard Way

By Justin Katz | May 28, 2021 |

Relatively little on-paper economic pain from COVID-19 makes it feel as if we’re getting away with something, but the bill will arrive at some point.

A man holding an incandescent bulb

Imagine having a political opposition with enough strength to push back on RGGI.

By Justin Katz | May 28, 2021 |

One of the many programs, regulations, and schemes that quietly weigh down Rhode Island’s economy with a seemingly mysterious drag is the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which is essentially the predecessor imposition that Gina Raimondo presumed to expand as the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). Li Le reminds us in the Epoch Times that…

A deer tick on a leaf

Another vaccine that could expand our freedom is for Lyme disease.

By Justin Katz | May 28, 2021 |

Growing up in suburban New Jersey, we didn’t have a whole lot of forest in our town.  There was a strip of somewhat forested land along the Hackensack River and another cluster between the houses and the stores along Route 4.  Even so, my friends and I spent hours and hours adventuring in those limited…

Michelle Cretella and Alan Branch

Those of us outside the progressive mainstream have to get back to in-person fellowship.

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2021 |

David Aucoin, of the Family Policy Alliance of Rhode Island sends along information about an event in October (PDF flier).  It was originally scheduled prior to the pandemic and had to be postponed, illustrating how much of a hindrance the lockdown has been to those who play the opposition role in Rhode Island. The event,…

A fuel truck.

Deregulation during emergencies proves we just get used to the pain.

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2021 |

That quick lesson is why I’ve been meaning to mention this article from Newsmax: U.S. environmental regulators issued emergency fuel waivers on Tuesday to help alleviate shortages in reformulated gasoline in 12 states and the District of Columbia as supplies tighten five days after a cyberattack shuttered the nation’s biggest pipeline. … On Sunday, the U.S.…

CBO chart on income and taxes

Sheldon Whitehouse’s Twitter posturing on taxes and income is doubly annoying.

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2021 |

Toes tin-ear Sheldon err in not seeing how it appears when somebody of his wealth and tincture talks like this, or does he correctly assess that his base just wants to hear the sweet, sweet sound of agreement? Rising inequality is a threat to the American way of life. We shouldn’t have a structure that…

X-Ray of an OK sign

What’s surprising is that more people don’t feel trapped in work for healthcare.

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2021 |

A recent survey of Americans, as reported on Newsmax, finds that one in six “U.S. adult workers have stayed at their jobs because they don’t want to lose employer-sponsored health insurance.”  That’s especially true for lower-income workers and minorities. Tying healthcare with employment is one of the more wrong-headed policy decisions our country has made in…

A hoodie on a beaten school bus

National Report Card and Real RI Promise: Worse State Does, More Money It Takes

By Justin Katz | May 27, 2021 |

Continuing Rhode Island’s approach to addressing its education catastrophe will only buy more time for special interests to avoid the pressure for change.

Norman Rockwell's Freedom to Worship

Comparing the Equality Act with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act shows which side is actually interested in a pluralist country.

By Justin Katz | May 26, 2021 |

In a brief explainer from Heritage, Thomas Jipping lays out clearly how claims that the so-called Equality Act would restrict other rights are another example of progressives’ insisting that we deny what is obvious in service of their ideology: [The] Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) … provides that a person whose exercise of religion has…

Map of lifetime taxes by state

What would you do with another $766,521 in retirement if Rhode Island didn’t confiscate it?

By Justin Katz | May 26, 2021 |

That is the amount that Brad Polumbo reports through the Foundation for Economic Education as the lifetime tax bite that makes Rhode Island sixth worst in the country.  Polumbo’s source is a report titled “Life of Tax: What Americans Will Pay in Taxes Over a Lifetime.”  The average for the country overall is $525,037, meaning…