Written

A room with pealing paint

Watch out for attempts to resell you, for more money, what you’ve already paid for.

By Justin Katz | April 29, 2021 |

A line from Joe Biden’s speech yesterday should be a discussion point about how we look at public policy and at education.  Eric Quintanar highlighted it for the Daily Wire: “Twelve years is no longer enough today to compete with the rest of the world in the 21st century. That’s why my American Families Plan guarantees…

Income tax rate map

Clarity is the beauty of the income tax: you earned it, and they want to take it.

By Justin Katz | April 29, 2021 |

Yet another giant postcard arrived from Rhode Island’s special-interest labor unions promoting the government’s taking more money from the pockets of Rhode Islanders.  This one is to promote the results of a poll that the group Revenue for Rhode Island apparently paid Fleming and Associates to conduct (although naturally, that point isn’t clear on the…

Jen Psaki in Russian Ushanka hat

This executive order is groundwork to remove your rights.

By Justin Katz | April 27, 2021 |

Now that the number of executive orders signed by the man occupying the Oval Office must be counted in scores, it is getting difficult to keep track, but Herbert Nowell spots a doozy on his A to Z Challenge blog (via Sarah Hoyt on Instapundit).   Per the language of the order, Biden has declared a national…

Battle of Altenesch

An Antecedent of Our Modern Witch Hunts

By Justin Katz | April 27, 2021 |

The extermination of the Stedinger in 1234 provides an historical analogy by which we “deplorables” can understand our predicament… hopefully producing a different outcome.

Map of states gaining Congress seats

Increased population isn’t just the weather.

By Justin Katz | April 27, 2021 |

The other part of the pattern of domestic migration within the United States to which I alluded yesterday is shown in the featured image of this post, captured via Mary Chastain on Legal Insurrection. When debating the relevance of people voting with their feet and moving elsewhere, it is common for Rhode Island progressives and insiders…

Tiverton Town Hall

Local governments love COVID-restriction freedom.

By Justin Katz | April 27, 2021 |

As the COVID-19 pandemic ebbs, state government has been slow to give up its enhanced powers (and may never give up their easy access to them, now that they’ve got a feel for them).  But COVID-restrictions have come with other benefits for government insiders — most especially the ability to keep the public at arm’s…

Tax Foundation infrastructure user fees map

The problem with user fees (for RI) is that direct and comprehensible spending thwarts grift.

By Justin Katz | April 26, 2021 |

How about a fun, wonky post?  The featured image that you see is a Tax Foundation map ranking states by the percentage of their infrastructure spending that is funded by user fees.  In the Tax Foundation’s views, higher user fees are preferable: Both the federal government and the states raise revenue for infrastructure spending through…

Map of states losing Congress seats due to Census

Nail-biting Census results every 10 years should spur action and change.

By Justin Katz | April 26, 2021 |

According to Rhode Island’s Secretary of State, Rhode Island’s campaign-like pursuit of people to fill out the U.S. Census paid off, and Rhode Island will remain doubly represented in the U.S. Congress for another decade.  If my large family’s being caught at home during COVID was decisive in this result, I apologize to the rest…

the Apex building

You can’t have fair negotiations when one party can’t walk away.

By Justin Katz | April 26, 2021 |

No matter how one feels about state and local government’s involvement with various schemes to find public-private partnerships to develop parts of Pawtucket, a recent lawsuit by one property owner, of the recently-more-famous Apex building, raises an important point.  Eli Sherman reports for WPRI: On Wednesday, the owners issued a blistering statement, painting themselves as…

Signs & security at BLM rally

We have to face the more-difficult questions of minority killings.

By Justin Katz | April 26, 2021 |

Nonviolence Institute Executive Director Cedric Huntley’s incredible honesty is refreshing, in an article by Amanda Milkovits for the Boston Globe: “In Rhode Island, it’s not the police killing our children. It’s Black and brown children killing each other,” said Cedric Huntley. “And the community is traumatized.” Just in the last week of what’s becoming a violent…