July 2012 – Page 3

July 18, 2012July 18, 2012

Is Barry Hinckley’s Senate Campaign on Life Support?

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If it’s true that campaign donations determine a candidate’s success then Barry Hinckley might be in some early trouble. The rookie Republican who is challenging progressive Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse for his seat in the Senate seems to be inflating his fundraising prowess a bit.

In a press release earlier this week, Hinckley’s campaign said he “put up another great fundraising quarter” saying he was able to raise “about $275,000.”

Well, not exactly.

Today’s Providence Journal sheds a little additional light on just how much money Hinckley raised. In fact, almost 40 percent of the money he raised this quarter was actually a loan to himself. “Second-quarter campaign-finance reports that show he raised $164,629 and lent his campaign $100,000 during the quarter that ended June 30,” reports Randal Edgar.

He spent more than $155,000 – or, only $9,000 less than he got in actual donations.

By comparison, Hinckley raised $314,000 in the first quarter and didn’t loan himself any money. (Prior to the first quarter, he loaned his campaign $50,000.) That means he took in about half as much in donations this quarter as he did last quarter.

Are even Republican donors abandoning Barry Hinckley? Either way, this isn’t what I’d call a great fundraising quarter.

July 18, 2012July 18, 2012

Libor Scandal: Will Wall St. Get What It Deserves?

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Jack Reed, Official Portrait 2008 — Sen. Jack Reed pressured regulators to launch criminal charges against fraudulent bankers.

Just over a week ago, the British and American governments announced the largest fine in history levied against Barclays PLC, just under half a billion dollars. The fine agreed to ignore criminal charges against Barclays itself, but current and past employees were not exempt. Well, after a letter from Democratic lawmakers (including Rhode Island’s Sen. Jack Reed) to the U.S. Justice Department and regulatory agencies urging criminal charges, that may well be in the works. According to The New York Times, Barclays traders may be among those slapped with criminal charges. Bloomberg reports that those charges could come as soon as September.

The City of Baltimore already filed a lawsuit back when this rate-rigging scandal broke. Now it comes to light that the attorney generals of New York and Connecticut are working together to investigate Wall Street banks over the scandal.

New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman was considered the most high-profile crusader against Wall Street excess until he was co-opted by the pro-Wall Street administration of Barack Obama. That resulted in the $25 billion settlement with America’s largest loan servicers, who were utilizing automated robo-signing to fraudulently foreclose on American homes. Prior, Mr. Schneiderman led a group of dissenting attorney generals who refused to accept the Dept. of Justice’s settlement, believing the banks deserved greater punishment. When he folded, the virtually all of the attorney generals fell into line with the Justice Department (Rhode Island’s attorney general Peter Kilmartin was with the Justice Department from the get-go).

Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) is an average of the interest of borrowing for London’s banks. It is set by all of the banks submitting to their trade organization (the British Bankers’ Association) the rate they are borrowing at. These rates are then averaged and the average is declared. That is used to set interest on roughly $500 trillion in securities, and 45% of all U.S. mortgages. In the wake of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, Libor became a measure of banks’ health as other standard measures became suspect and unreliable. In this case, Barclays has admitted to artificially manipulating rates downward.

This means while the interest the average consumer paid on their mortgage was lower, a state or municipal treasury or a large charity that had savings linked to Libor also saw lower returns. As did lenders who sold mortgages bundled into “residential backed mortgage securities”. So while the average person on the street might feel slightly good about the banks’ malfeasance working out for them, states and lenders are certain to feel quite angry.

Is It Time for the White House to Fight the Banks?

The common impetus behind both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street appear to have been that Wall Street got away with collapsing the world economy and over a trillion dollars in taxpayer money. And they never faced a single criminal charge.

The Libor scandal seems to be changing that. The British government announced plans to make it the government with the toughest regulations out of any economic center; the City of London (separate from Greater London) is the epicenter of Western capitalism.

Americans already despise Wall Street for its part in the collapse (Wall Street remains the institution most blamed for the bad economy). Wall Street banks, who strongly backed President Barack Obama in 2008, have shifted their financial support almost entirely to Republican challenger Mitt Romney. Barack Obama has mostly played as the banks’ best friend, his bipartisan so-called JOBS Act passed earlier this year further deregulated Wall Street (Rhode Island’s Senators voted against the act, whereas our Representatives voted for it).

But the Libor scandal may be a chance to put right the wrongs done by the administration and the U.S. government in not punishing the banks following the Global Financial Crisis. One hopes that President Obama would do so because it is the right thing to do. However, since the moral calculus has not appealed to this president in the past, perhaps the political calculus will. This is a rare case of good politics and good policy aligning.

With the big banks having cut the President loose, he does not need to worry about angering potential donors; indeed, charging bankers for the very real crimes they have committed seems likely to energize those who have long feared the President is a stooge of Big Banks. Furthermore, the Libor scandal (and the money-laundering over at HSBC) has proven beyond a doubt that the financial system cannot be allowed to police itself. When given the choice between theft and honesty, banking culture is so toxic they will praise theft before they stoop to honesty.

Unfortunately, Republican obstructionism is undoubtedly assured to block any chance of enacting tough new rules through legislation. And conservative litigation as regulators write new rules is also likely to prevent any real strengthening of the oversight under the flawed Dodd-Frank reform. This means all the government can do is press charges. Indeed, this very public action may be preferable from a political stance; the sight of bankers in court is likely to please many of the hundreds of American families who have wound up in foreclosure proceedings at the hands of such reckless prophets of our financial system.

July 18, 2012July 18, 2012

Progress Report: Another Bad Investment by Carcieri, Chickens in Woonsocket, Lobsters in the Bay

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nk lotus flowers — The famous and often-photographed lotus flowers in the Hamilton area of North Kingstown just south of Wickford are in bloom this time of year. (Photo by Bob Plain)

Here’s my advice to any Rhode Islander playing the stock market: bet against any private company that former Governor Don Carcieri and the EDC invested public money in. Not only are taxpayers on the hook for 38 Studios collapse, but it turns out that the state is already paying on a guaranteed loan made to another company, Capco Steel.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think Carcieri must be some secret soldier sent from Corporate America to bleed government by redistributing public dollars to the private sector. Oh wait, that isn’t a secret … it was his campaign platform.

Speaking of guaranteed loans, there is a debate about whether or not the state should pay on the 38 Studios loan as it was a moral obligation bond rather than a legal obligation … I say we pay it; moral obligations should be the highest priority commitments in a civilized society. Then again, I also think we had a moral obligation to the retirees whose pensions we cut. It remains to be seen whether or not the state has a legal obligation to pay those retirees what we told them we would…

Talk about government intrusion … the Woonsocket animal control officer has confiscated a local family’s chickens.

Speaking of local food, is the state’s $11 million a year lobster industry in danger? According to the Projo warmer Bay waters are leading to less lobsters.

And speaking of losing local residents, Justin Katz continues on his crusade to prove that people are moving out of Rhode Island to avoid paying local taxes. This time he’s got great data to back up that people are leaving but absolutely no evidence whatsoever that they are going to skirt taxes … in my opinion, it’s highly more likely that, if people are making life choices based on government services, it’s probably public schools not taxes that are driving the decision. More likely, its a function of a changing demographic … as younger families move away in search of better schools and or jobs, they are being replaced with baby boomer retirees affluent in assets but no longer in income.

Hope to see you tonight at Common Cause RI’s first-ever post-session General Assembly Roundtable. It’s at 6 pm at the Providence Art Club on Thomas St.

Here’s one way sexual bigotry negatively affects society … Think Progress reports that almost half of homeless youth are of the LGBTQ community and cite being ostracized by their family as a reason for being on the streets.

And another bird video, this one of an osprey in a tree (apologies for the shaky camera, I was shooting from a kayak):

July 18, 2012July 18, 2012

Defending Rosary, DePetro Picks on Senior Citizen

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First things first. Freedom of conscience and expression, along with the right to pray or not to pray as one desires, are some of our most important rights. Limitations on these rights should only be tolerated when there are compelling and important reasons to do so, such as balancing one person’s rights against the rights of others to not be unnecessarily inconvenienced by such expression.

That said, the recent issue brought to light by John DePetro of WPRO on Monday evening and continuing for the full three hours of Tuesday morning’s broadcast touches on these sensitive, delicate issues the way a hammer touches on butterflies. According to DePetro, wearing his metaphorical reporter’s hat and dutifully recording his adventures on his iPhone, Brook Village Retirement Home in North Providence recently “banned a small group of residents from praying the rosary in the common area after one resident complained.”

On DePetro’s radio program at least one caller thought the group in question consisted of as few as three residents.

Apparently the small group would gather in the common room at 11:30 AM on Mondays and watch The Holy Rosary with Mother Angelica and the Nuns of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery on EWTN, the Global Catholic Television Network, praying along and out loud. Another resident, Wanda Hughes, complained about the prayers which she called “an in your face ritual.”

As a result, the manager of the facility, Carol Conti, has apparently told residents that they could no longer pray the rosary in the common room.

Now is this true? Conti has made no statement to the media as of this writing, and the one resident who spoke to DePetro on the matter, besides Hughes, wasn’t really sure if prayers were allowed or not. This is the resident in DePetro’s video who says that Wanda Hughes has a vendetta against Catholics, and called them cannibals, because they eat the body and blood of Christ. He’s hardly unbiased and he wasn’t sure about the status of the prayers at all.

DePetro claimed on the radio that Wanda Hughes threatened to call the ACLU. In fact, she says just the opposite in her letter, at least the part she can be seen reading in DePetro’s heavily edited video. She specifically says, “It should not be an ACLU case.” When relating her conversation with the retirement home’s manager, Hughes claims to have said, “…the Constitution allows everybody freedom of religion…” but “The fact was that they were pushing their belief on everybody.” This hardly seems like the position of an anti-religion zealot.

Wanda Hughes seems like a very direct and honest woman in the video. She looks somewhat afraid of another resident who yells at her through the intercom while she’s talking to DePetro. The resident shrieks, “She’s what’s wrong with this building. You’re evil!”

Consider this a moment. Here’s DePetro, capturing a moment of this woman being bullied on video, and yet he’s so fixated on the idea that some residents inside the building are not allowed to pray the rosary he doesn’t even care. Wanda Hughes, whether she’s an atheist or simply not a Catholic, doesn’t factor into DePetro’s calculations. He’s on a bigger story, one that needn’t concern itself with the safety and comfort of an elder woman in a retirement home.

In DePetro’s mind, Catholics in particular and Christians in general, are under attack in this country. DePetro is happy to link the Holiday/Christmas Tree non-troversy of the last holiday season to the Cranston prayer banner, to the Woonsocket Cross, and now to the possible and unconfirmed banning of a rosary prayer group in a North Providence Retirement Home. When a guest called in and compared this imaginary pattern of events construed as attacks against Christians to historical attacks against Jews under the Third Reich in 1930’s Germany, DePetro did nothing to correct her.

The terrible thing is that because of DePetro’s ham handed intrusion into this tiny little issue that can and probably will be resolved to the satisfaction of all the parties involved if left to the residents and the management, Wanda Hughes will most likely become the victim of terrible abuse both online, through the telephone and in person. Already one person commenting on the story at 630WPRO has called Wanda Hughes an “idiot” and another has said, “As far as the complaining resident, that is what a lot of old people do if they have no friends, no family and no loved ones. They are bitter and go after the other residents that actually have a life. There are just mean people out there.”

And believe me, this stuff is mild compared to what’s coming if this story continues to be hammered on. DePetro knows full well the kind of threats and bullying people face when they speak up and out against religion and religious privilege, yet to further his false narrative of there being an atheist conspiracy against freedom of conscience, this second-rate shock-jock is willing to throw an elderly woman under the bus.

The man screaming through the intercom at Wanda Hughes was right. There was an evil in the building, but it wasn’t Wanda Hughes, it was the guy with the iPhone.

July 18, 2012July 19, 2012

Barry’s Hot Over Sheldon’s Break from Bill Debate

Sheldon Whitehouse’s brief break from Monday night’s Senate debate over his DISCLOSE Act left Republican challenger Barry Hinckley a little hot under the collar…hot enough to call a press conference outside Whitehouse’s Westminster Street office on a 95-degree Tuesday afternoon to assail the Democratic incumbent.

He parried questions about these charges by pivoting to jobs.

“Why is he focusing on campaign finance reform when Rhode Island is losing jobs?” Hinckley asked. The answer, of course, being that not only is our economy broken, but so is our political system.

While the political novice was trying to take the sitting senator to task, Whitehouse trumped him by sending out a statement critical of Republicans lack of support on the DISCLOSE Act, which was blocked for a second straight day by Senate Republicans.

“I’m disappointed that so many of my Republican colleagues, many of whom have clearly supported disclosure in the past, chose today to once again defend secret spending by special interests rather than stand up for the voices of the middle class. However, I’m also optimistic that ultimately, we will pass this bill, or something like it, to end secret spending and defend the voices of the middle class.”

Hinckley said supports portions of the DISCLOSE Act, but not the whole thing. He also wouldn’t say definitively that he wouldn’t leave a floor debate for a fundraiser if he were to be elected to congress.

July 17, 2012July 18, 2012

Tales of the Unemployment Crisis: Josie Comes to RI

Folks like Josie aren’t asking for much.

In case you missed my last few pieces, (here and here and here) I’m posting a new series as part of Ocean State Action Fund’s Where’s the Work? initiative that’s trying to bring coverage of the state’s unemployment crisis back to where it needs to be–on the real Rhode Islanders facing real hardship and pain as they continue to struggle for survival through our endless Great Recession.

In this post, Josie was brave enough to provide a quick glimpse into her uncompromising fight against unemployment.

Josie never could have imagined things would turn out like this when she came to Rhode Island in April of 2011 to live with her sister’s family in East Providence. Josie, who just turned 57, has been in the accounting field in New York City since the 1980s—her far-spanning resume includes working as a budget analyst for CBS. She left the apartment she’d lived in for 34 years in NYC and came to Rhode Island for an accounting job that she worked at for a total of 75 days, up until July 20th of last year, when she was laid off. On August 30th her sister told her she couldn’t stay with them anymore–they didn’t have the room or money–and since then she has been forced to move from couch to couch, depending on the good will of neighbors and members of her church.

The first thing Josie makes crystal clear is that there is nothing in this world she wants more than to return to the workforce. “I want to be able to work as long as my body and my mind allow me to work. There are people who told me to apply for disability—I got an injury a few years back. But I don’t want to be collecting a check that I’m not earning. I want to be able to work, to earn my way through. But it’s not happening.”

Josie is doing everything in her power to find a job. “I’ve looked in accounting, customer service, and the other fields I’ve worked in. I’ve applied to Stop & Shop, Dunkin’ Donuts, everything that I could possibly imagine. Most of the jobs come through agencies, so I’m registered with all of them. Six days a week I’m at Network RI [a state unemployment resource center] or the library, sending out resumes and searching the web. Monster, CareerBuilder, Craigslist, LinkedIn, anywhere that’s out there that you can look for a job, I’m looking. Every morning I’m here—I don’t wait till the afternoon. Five to six hours each day, every day. I’m computer literate, doesn’t take long for me to pick up any of these new programs. I’m physically fit, mentally fit, willing to work as hard as I possibly can.” She looks down, shrugs. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s the problem.”

Josie is not receiving unemployment benefits, either. “I have no income whatsoever,” she says. “I managed to get some SNAP benefits, but that’s it. I’m just here by the grace of God.” Despite how difficult her situation is, she continues to volunteer in the community, doing volunteer tax preparation work as well as utilizing her catering experience at a weekly soup kitchen at her church. “I continue to go to church, to stay in the right frame of mind. And I just have to pray that the Lord’s gonna open a door for me.”

“Here I am, serving the homeless, and that’s what I am.” Suddenly, tears come into her eyes. It seems hard for her to believe she could have fallen into such rough times. In a few days, Josie will be checking into a homeless shelter herself.

“We’re supposed to be living in a democratic society,” she says, “but we don’t help our own. Do people actually care about you here? In Sweden, I hear, they help you, you have guaranteed healthcare. I don’t even have Medicaid.”

“I’m lost right now,” she continues, “and I’m just trying to find my way.” Josie throws up her hands. “I don’t understand it. What do they expect people to do out here? The system is pushing you into poverty. It’s pushing you way down to the bottom. If you lose your job, if you don’t have savings, you’re going straight to a shelter or on the street. It’s just not right.”

July 17, 2012July 17, 2012

National and Local Democrats Hit Doherty

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It’s worth checking out the dossier the national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee put together about Brendan Doherty and his political baggage. Among other things, they say crime went up across the board in Rhode Island while the candidate for CD1 was head of the State Police. It also paints the picture of a far-right Republican who wants to take rights away from women and hurt the working class.

The DCCC file has video of almost all his on-air interviews and appearances, links to all the local news coverage he’s received and a full-on history of his life, including every piece of property and promotion he’s ever received. Did you know he was on the board of directors for Beacon Mutual when the insurance company was mired in a scandal for giving price breaks to choice companies? (Update: Marc Comtois says he remembers Doherty being brought in by his friend Gov. Don Carcieri after the scandal broke)

But the interesting part for me was while national Democrats put together a file on Doherty’s local record, local Dems are hitting him on national issues. In a video released last week, the Rhode Island Democratic Party said Doherty will work hard to repeal health care reform and will generally move in lock step with conservative Republicans like Paul Ryan and John Boehner.

July 17, 2012July 17, 2012

Progress Report: No Olympic Glory for Local Manufacturing

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egret greenwich cove — An egret takes off from a cedar tree in Scalloptown Park and flies across Greenwich Cove.

One of the main reasons our nation’s economy is failing is because people don’t buy stuff that Americans make anymore. Indeed, even the U.S. Olympic team has its uniforms made in China, by Ralph Lauren no less. Congressman David Cicilline, speaking at Northwest Woolen Mills in Woonsocket yesterday, said parts of those uniforms could be made right here. The company said they could get the uniforms to the athletes before the start of the games, but the US Olympic Committee said maybe next time. Thus, China gets to thrill of victory and American manufacturing the agony of defeat.

Two developmentally disabled men, a war veteran and the RI ACLU are challenging a state law that forbids sex offenders from living within 300 feet of a school. They say that if the state makes them move, they are likely to become homeless. It’s a very interesting constitutional question about cruel and unusual punishment and exclusion zones.

Self-described progressive Linda Dill Finn is challenging Dan Reilly to represent Portsmouth in the General Assembly … this will be an interesting race.

You’d think the Rhode Island Republican Party would be sympathetic to the plight of the poor, being how they are the most cash-strapped GOP in the nation.

Like Mitt Romney, I’d like to retain the right to retire retroactively … therefore if RI Future happens to do or say anything that, in hindsight, I might second guess, I can just say it has nothing to do with me.

Speaking of Romney, one of the myriad of reasons that his success at Bain Capital doesn’t translate into good experience for public service is the rules are different … as president, you can’t improve the economy by outsourcing jobs overseas, like Romney did at Bain.

Get ready for a hot and humid one today … any maybe do like this egret did and get on the water:

July 17, 2012July 16, 2012

Five Remarkable Political Campaign Ads

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With campaign season soon to be upon us, I thought it might be fun to go over some political advertisements that I find particularly enjoyable. Now, I’m not saying these are the greatest political ads of all time, but they tend to be enjoyable, and most of all, they’re reasonably revealing of the time period that birthed them.

“It’s Up To You” – John F. Kennedy (1960)

One of the things I love about this ad is the jovial bounce of its tune; it’s like that friendly person you know who’s always up-beat. There’s also a hell of a lot of repetition in this ad; by my count “Kennedy” is shouted roughly 30 times in an ad which lasts only a minute. And that’s not including all the time his name appears on screen in animated signage, combined with the theme “A Time For Greatness” or the word “President”. This ad was featured on AMC’s Mad Men and actually, Kennedy’s opponent Richard Nixon completely ripped it off for his 1962 run for California’s Governor (a race he also lost).

“Nixon Now” – Richard Nixon (1972)

You do have to give Nixon credit though; he never gave up. And this ad from 1972 is just mind-boggling in retrospect. The idea of a sitting president during the Cold War, much less a Republican president, showing himself hanging out with Chairman Mao of China and Premier Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union while the phrase “reaching out, across the sea / making friends, where foes used to be,” is sung would be unthinkable in the current day.

Also unthinkable, that Nixon ever ran this campaign ad, which features a sign declaring “Peace: Nixon Does More Than Talk About It” while the Viet Nam War had escalated under Nixon’s rule. It’s especially ironic considering that in less then two years, Nixon would leave office disgraced by Watergate and ushering in an era of cynicism making this ad and the previous Kennedy ad seem like relics from a bygone era.

“Daisy” – Lyndon Johnson (1964)

The “Daisy” ad is considered the mother of all attack ads, but frankly, I think that’s beside the point. To me, it’s just a really interesting ad. There’s a way the girl flubs the count, counting “six” twice and missing “seven” completely. There’s the way the countdown voice sounds both like “zero” and “kill” as it’s obscured by the sound of the nuclear explosion. And then there’s LBJ’s magnificent Texan twang as he intones “these are the stakes: to make a world in which all of God’s children can live or to go into the dark. We must either love each other; or we must die.” It’s a beautifully Manichaean sentiment, we’ll all chose to love each other and we all should.

It also uses Johnson’s theme; “The Stakes Are Too High For You To Stay Home.” Many people have interpreted this ad as saying that if Johnson’s opponent, Republican Barry Goldwater, got his way, there’d be nuclear war. Johnson’s other ads seem more concerned with Goldwater’s opposition to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty; though this one uses Republican governors (including Mitt Romney’s father) to argue against Goldwater using Republican words. And he also focused on his War on Poverty.

“Armed Chinese Troops In Texas!” – Ron Paul (2012)

I really enjoy this ad, because it’s a complete castigation of American foreign policy and it’s pretty much right on the money on everything. You can see why Republicans believed Ron Paul was the least trustworthy candidate on foreign policy during presidential primary. Is it overwrought? Yes, but no more then the Kennedy or Nixon ads were enthusiastic. And most importantly, this is taken from an actual speech Paul gave (as should be clear when the narrator’s emphatic voice changes to Paul’s softer, mournful one). There’s an underlying weirdness to Ron Paul’s candidacy; like Johnson did, he utilizes the word “love” to counterpoint the war mentality of his opponents.

This is probably as good a time to talk about why liberals have this flirtation with Ron Paul, and this ad is what makes it clear. However, it should be noted that his domestic policies are pretty much twice as backward as the Ryan Plan.

“Don’t Wake Up With Conservative” – Unofficial Labour Party (2005)

Okay, I’m pretty sure this is a fake one (it’s part of a trio), but it’s still good, in my opinion. This is an unofficial one for the Labour Party in the UK, and it’s good on multiple levels. There’s the general hungover nature of the young woman as she wakes up to discover this Conservative in her bed. There’s his glee at testing foreigners for AIDS or building prisons, and the sort of psychopathic way he keeps saying “four years” whenever the woman protests that she wants him gone. He’s also a posh twit, and has posh twit friends.

Then there’s our hero, Anthony, who comes in with this triumphant music that instantly turns melancholy. When he asks what happened and the woman puts out the protest “what about the war, and all those inquiries?” His response is classic: “Look, that would’ve happened anyway. And a lot of the facts have been twisted by malicious journalists.” It’s a line that would fit in perfectly in America, where blaming the media is often a way to shift attention off of our own failures.

It’s also an ad that says that disgust with a ruling party isn’t really a reason to turn to alternatives you’d hate more. Plenty of European nations who turned to conservative parties following austerity introduced by social democrats are discovering that (Spain, for example). And it’s precisely the choice Americans made in 2010 to get the worst Congress ever. And now in 2012, we’re facing that choice again.

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Follow ‘Midnight Vigil’ on DISCLOSE Act Deliberations

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Not one Republican voted for the DISCLOSE Act earlier this evening so Senate Democrats, led by Rhode Island’s own Sheldon Whitehouse, plan to work the Senate floor well into the night in hopes of getting the bill that would force SuperPACs and other secret political donors to stand behind the advertisements they fund.

“I’m disappointed that so many of my Republican colleagues, many of whom have clearly supported disclosure in the past, chose today to defend secret spending by special interests rather than stand up for the voices of the middle class,” Whitehouse said in a statement. “However, as I have said before, we can’t let the special interests off the hook after just one round, and I look forward to joining my Democratic colleagues who want to continue debating this issue well into the night. In the meantime, I encourage all Americans to make their voices heard in this debate, and I hope my Republican colleagues will join us to put an end to secret election spending.”

Earlier today, we quoted Whitehouse – who predicted this would happen – as calling it the midnight vigil.

You can watch the action from the Senate floor live here.

Or follow the fun on Twitter with the hashtag #DiscloseVote or in this widget:

July 16, 2012

On Choice, Rhode Island Not Far from Mississippi

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If abortion is legal in a state, but there’s nowhere to have an abortion performed, is it really an option? This hypothetical is quickly becoming a reality for those living in Mississippi. While the situation in Rhode Island isn’t quite that dire, some female leaders here say they are saddened and frightened for the lives of women who may not be granted the same privileges and access as others in New England.

The Mississippi Case

A federal judge on July 11 ruled to temporarily block a state law that would force the sole abortion provider in the state of Mississippi to close its doors. The TRAP law requires physicians performing abortions in the state to be OB/GYN certified and to have hospital admitting privileges.

Critics say that the TRAP law was specifically crafted with the intention to close the doors of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, where 2 of its 3 OB/GYNs are not currently qualified to access hospital privileges. Essentially this would mean the closure of the state’s only abortion provider.

Rhode Island Out of Line with Other New England States

In 2012, a nationwide report by NARAL Pro-Choice America gave Rhode Island a D+ on its “choice-related laws.” The report highlighted the Rhode Island House as “mixed-choice,” the Rhode Island Senate as “anti-choice,” and 7 anti-choice state laws.

One of those anti-choice laws is in fact a TRAP law, which specifies where abortion services may be provided.

Susan Yolen, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, said NARAL Pro-Choice America’s grade for RI was “quite out of line with other New England states” that earned marks of A (Maine and Connecticut), A- (Vermont), and B- (New Hampshire and Massachusetts). Mississippi, on the other hand, earned an F.

Current Abortion Legislation Efforts in Rhode Island

According to Yolen, of Planned Parenthood, every year for over 15 years there’s been a multifaceted bill proposed in the Rhode Island that seeks stricter mandates for abortion providers — additional counseling for patients, printed information instead of a website, and harsher penalties for physicians who do not adhere to the laws.

In January, Rep. Karen MacBeth (D-Cumberland) introduced legislation that would require a woman to review her ultrasound before the procedure is performed. Opposed to such legislation is Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence) who said in an interview the physician would be required to describe the ultrasound image, including the “gestational development of the fetus, the size, and the parts,” to the woman seeking an abortion. Rep. Ajello explained, “There was nothing in the legislation that allows her to say, ‘I don’t want to hear it.’”

In Rhode Island, there are already laws enforcing informed consent, which ensures women are knowledgeable about the abortion procedure and alternatives. “When legislators talk about informed consent, they are making it even more detailed,” said Rep. Ajello. “And this is unusual, in that it would be legislators putting in law how doctors practice their profession,” Rep. Ajello commented.

Low-Income Women Most Affected by Abortion Providers Shutting Down

What affect would it have on women if abortion providers were to shut down within a state?

Rep. Ajello imagines, “abortion will become more expensive, just because of the increased travel time. Difficulty because of the time away from home, time away from care of other children, or time away from work — making it a lot more expensive.”

Yolen added, “Think about that person without resources, the young person, the college student, the single mom, the woman who is in a battering relationship and can’t escape from home long enough from her husband’s control to really take that kind of a trip… it always hits low-income women the hardest.”

Currently, Rhode Island law does not allow insurance plans to cover abortion care for women on Medicaid or state employees. Yolen argues, although these laws are not given the title, they are certainly “traps” for women seeking an abortion.

Comparing Rhode Island and Mississippi

Rhode Island and Mississippi share significant similarities in the abortion debate as there is an increased amount of anti-abortion legislation being proposed, there are a limited number of abortion providers currently available, and both state senates are pro-life.

The big difference between the two states is that Rhode Island’s House is mixed, whereas Mississippi’s House is overwhelmingly pro-life. Rhode Island is not facing as extreme impacts against abortion because of the split between pro-choice and pro-life house members.

The multifaceted bills that pro-life activists and legislators have proposed every year for over 15 years are not gaining enough support to be passed.

In order to be certain that Rhode Island does not turn into the next Mississippi, progressive representatives are working together to create a strong presence on the legislative floor with pressure and support from community members.

Yolen said she believed legislators in Mississippi are setting themselves up to be a state where a constitutional right doesn’t apply, “you certainly do hope that it is doesn’t materialize in other states.”

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

The DCCC Is Doing Its Job

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So, on Sunday GoLocalProv ran a story entitled “Democratic Attack Book Against Brendan Doherty Revealed.” There was also a slideshow of accompanying bits from the “attack book.” Essentially, the story is that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (the Democratic Party organ which works to get Democrats elected to the U.S. House of Representatives) has a book of opposition research on Brendan Doherty.

The GoLocal stories utilized an image of a file labelled “Top Secret” making it seem as though this document was slipped to GoLocal and thus dragged kicking and screaming from the shadows. Lost was who was doing the revealing: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Yes, that’s right, the Democratic Party is making its opposition research publicly available. Now, from a strategic point of view, it might be considered a point of idiocy that the Democrats are tipping their hand in such a manner (GoLocal quotes Mr. Doherty’s campaign manager Ian Prior as having “been aware of the document for several months”). On the other hand, it might be that the DCCC simply wants to distribute these as far as possible instead of keeping it for a few party insiders.

In all fairness to Dan McGowan, the reporter who wrote the story, his article is actually a fine overview of what’s in the document. Its flaws are that it omits saying that the DCCC made the document available (though Mr. McGowan does link to the actual site) and the misleading headline and picture.* And that’s really what gets me here. The DCCC wasn’t making this a secret. If the headline had been a simpler “DCCC Publishes Opposition Research on Brendan Doherty” it not only would’ve been clearer, but it would’ve been less misleading (assuming the “Top Secret” images were removed as well).

Instead, what’s “revealed” is that the DCCC is working as it’s supposed to. I don’t know, maybe this is the kind of stuff that raises Republican hackles; such as Providence Republican Committee Chair Tara Pinsky freaking out in a letter to The Journal about David Cicilline’s campaign conducting opposition research (file that under “101 Reasons Republicans Are Losing in Providence). But every time I read this stuff, I think, “do they not know how this works?”

Anyhow, it’s the height of hypocrisy for Republicans to get worked up over this. After all, the DCCC’s Republican counterpart, the National Republican Congressional Committee notably doesn’t openly publish its opposition research (though its “Race of The Day” feature does publish attack articles).

Favorite bit of Mr. McGowan’s article? When Mr. Prior warns anyone using the book to verify its facts; something the DCCC book itself does on its first page!

___________________________

UPDATE: This article has been changed to reflect that in the GoLocalProv article that the DCCC site is linked to, and language has been clarified.

July 16, 2012September 26, 2014

Narragansett Indian Tribe Gets Raw Deal on Casino

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When the Narragansett Indians wanted to open a gaming casino in Rhode Island, the state told the tribe the Constitution would need to be amended in order for that to happen. For some reason, the state hasn’t asked the same of Twin River as they look to develop a full-fledged casino. Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas explained the inequity on WPRI’s Newsmakers this weekend.

Thomas told Ian Donnis that the tribe is being unfairly singled out. “I’d like to ask them why the state is so hellbent on fighting my tribe. I think it’s a discriminatory practice, and I think to single out a tribe by statute, it’s insane. I want to know how this can happen, and I also want to know from [Attorney General Peter] Kilmartin how it can happen.”

The dichotomy speaks to the raw deal the Narragansetts get here in the Ocean State. Remember how Governor Carcieri treated them when they didn’t pay taxes on cigarettes they were selling? You think he would have sent to State Troopers into CVS if they weren’t paying their tax bill?

“I’m still angry about it,” Thomas said when asked about the infamous smoke shop raid on Newsmakers. “We’ll forgive but we can’t forget. It was just totally unnecessary to come in and throw us around for untaxed cigarettes. It doesn’t happen anywhere and it gets back to how we feel that the state has such scant regard for our tribe.”

Later on in the show, retiring state Senator Rhody Perry said, “I think the tribe could have been treated in a more fair manner.” I’m not sure how one couldn’t agree.

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012

Senate to Vote on Whitehouse’s DISCLOSE Bill Today

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whitehouse superpac eg — Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse at a community supper in East Greenwich.

Today at about 5:30, the U.S. Senate is set to vote on Sheldon Whitehouse’s DISCLOSE bill, which would require SuperPACs and other outside organizations to stand behind the negative ads they sponsor. Whitehouse is expected to speak on the legislation at around midnight.

“We’re doing what we call the midnight vigil,” said Rhode Island’s junior senator, who between this bill and the Buffett Rule bill, has sponsored some of the most high-profile and progressive legislation in the nation during this congressional session. “I’ll be on the floor until about 1 a.m.”

In describing the bill in a conference call on Friday, he said, “This is more than just a battle for clean elections, it’s more than just a battle for an American democracy that we can all be proud of and that can continue to shine its light around the world as an exemplar.”

A pared down version of a 2010 bill, the legislation would require outside political groups to label advertisements in a way that would let the consumer know who is sponsoring the message. In March, before the bill was submitted, Whitehouse described it this way:

“In the same way at the end of my ads I have to say, ‘I’m Sheldon Whitehouse and I approve this message,’ they would have to have an actual disclaimer in the ads that says we’re Exxon Mobile and we approve this message or I’m a billionaire from Macau and I approve this message so that is clear from the actual advertisement itself who the sponsor is.”

Senators are expected to vote along party lines with Democrats supporting the bill and Republicans not. But, in an odd dodge even for Washington D.C., Republicans have taken to inventing reasons not to support it. They say they won’t support it until language is removed that gives exempts labor unions. The only reason Whitehouse said he won’t remove such language, he said, is that it doesn’t exist.

“There is not place in this bill where unions are treted any differently than anyone one else,” Whitehouse said. “If you want to show me a place where I can find it in this bill, where labor unions get special advantage, have at it. Show me some language. You can look at this bill on its face and you can see there is no special treatment for anyone.”

We’ll see tonight if Democrats have any luck convincing Republicans that the language doesn’t exist, or if they come up with new reasons not to support the bill. Proponents of the legislation will be tweeting about it tomorrow, and invite you to join in, using the hashtag: #DiscloseVote.

July 14, 2012July 14, 2012

Many Unemployed, Fewer DLT Equals Big Problems

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chafee_bryant — Governor Chafee (Photo by Bob Plain)

So Governor Chafee has justified the reduction in key staff of the Unemployment Insurance and Workforce Development sectors of the Department of Labor & Training by saying that our economy is improving sufficiently enough to justify the layoffs.

In a June 7th interview with WPRO, the Governor stated:

“Well, the DLT is the opposite of the economy. When the economy is bad they are hiring to deal with the unemployment insurance issues and as the economy stabilized, unfortunately, it goes the other way. They start to layoff those employees that they had to hire during the glut of unemployment insurance requests.”

Realistically speaking, this means a reduction in service center employees from around 90 to around 35. So Rhode Islands’s economy, by gubernatorial logic, has improved over 65%. When did that happen? Where were we? Didn’t 38 Studios just take a flaming nose dive into bankruptcy, crashing into Narragansett Bay in spectacular fashion? Didn’t Blue Cross just let over 40 employees go? Is there a secret, hidden construction boom going on? Is manufacturing on the rise? Does Mr. Chaffee realize that having the second highest levels of unemployment in the country is not worthy of a silver medal? Or is he simply not satisfied until Rhode Island wins first place at something?

Or is it something else?

Changes in Rhode Island laws are a matter of public record, but not often a matter of public knowledge. As of July 1st 2012, Rhode Island Labor Law 28-44-6 has undergone a fairly drastic change that will significantly reduce the means by which unemployment insurance weekly benefit rates are calculated. Without going into the formulaic details of the change, it is enough to say that it will reduce the weekly benefit rate in almost all cases. Come this time next year, the weekly benefit rate reduces again and as of July 1st, 2014, it reduces once more. In a state where over ten percent of claims include out of state wages (primarily due to the small geographic size of RI and it’s proximity to CT and MA), this reduces the incentive for claimants to choose Rhode Island as the state where they would receive a benefit rate most comparable to the income they were receiving prior to layoff.

Maybe. But not necessarily. Previously, Rhode Island was often the obvious choice when given the option to request the combination of out of state and Rhode Island taxed wages because of the generous means by which our weekly benefit rate was calculated. Now it will be comparable in many cases. But not significantly reduced. The more likely incentive will be for businesses who will be able to lay workers off with less of a payroll tax rating percentage increase. Good for “job creators” when they choose to be “job eliminators.”

Another change in the Labor Laws is the means by which a disqualification can be overcome. Previously, if a claimant was determined to be separated from an employer for disqualifying reasons – getting fired for wilfull misconduct or quitting without good cause – one needed only to return to work after the date of disqualifying separation for eight weeks and earn twenty times Rhode Island’s minimum wage for each of those weeks (8X$148) to overcome the prior disqualification and be allowed to collect on subsequent separation from employment. Now one must return to work for at least eight weeks and earn at least his or her weekly benefit rate for the disqualification to be overcome. This will prevent many from being able to collect after a single disqualification, even after redeeming themselves by returning to work and being separated again through no fault of their own.

Rhode Island has the right to know about changes that will affect the safety net of over eleven percent of it’s people. These same citizens also have the right to know that, while these changes – the reduction of key workforce at the DLT, the reduction of benefits, the increase in difficulty of overcoming disqualification of receipt of said benefits – may benefit the few (the job creators who create no jobs), they disenfranchise the many.

These decisions are not math, they are politics and, in spite of the deliberate confusion on the part of many politicians, there is a difference. The workload at the DLT has not reduced. The wait times for incoming calls to the call center have routineley exceeded one hundred minutes over the past few weeks. The back office functions and specialized are falling far behind and work is piling up. After the two thirds reduction in front-line employees and the eliminations of entire sub-sections of specialization, things will not get more efficient. I will reiterate, this is math. Politics can not change math no matter how hard it tries.

Eleven percent unemployment. Insufficient training for a struggling workforce. Second highest unemployment rate in the country. 65% reduction in front line workforce on the front lines at the Department of Labor & Training. That is the math problem. Solve for X using politics.

July 13, 2012July 14, 2012

GTech Hasn’t Paid ALEC Dues Since 2009

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It turns out, now that CVS has dropped its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council, there are no more Rhode Island corporations involved with the far right wing bill mill. GTech, the other Rhode Island company that was once an ALEC member, hasn’t paid membership dues since 2009, said Bob Vincent, a senior vice president for corporate affairs with GTech.

“As to why we ended in 2009, it was simply a matter of budgeting and consolidating some of our spending on dues with organizations that are less relevant to our industry,” he said.

The worldwide lottery and video gambling company paid membership dues to ALEC in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2009, according to Vincent.

In May of 2011, Vincent said ALEC held a reception at GTech downtown Providence location just down the hill from the State House.

“We did so as a courtesy to the local leadership of the organization,” he said. “ALEC paid for all of the expenses related to the reception.”

July 13, 2012July 13, 2012

Progress Report: Hard Knock Life in Middletown, Kennedy Chides Gemma, Patch on ALEC and Woody Guthrie

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The Providence Journal describes the conditions of a Middletown group home for children that caused the state to inspect all of its 76 facilities around the state: “broken glass littering the floor, trash strewn in different rooms, and a foul odor in the air, according to the police report.”

It might not be a story that attracts much attention, but it’s an important one none-the-less. The very least fortunate among us, literally orphans and other at-risk kids, are living in conditions described by police as being “deplorable.” If, as a community, we don’t want to afford these tremendously disadvantaged children a suitable home simply because it’s the right thing to do, then we should at least do so because the alternative is surely much worse for Rhode Island in the long run.

While I linked to a clip from Annie yesterday, it’s important to note that there is rarely a wealthy industrialist like Daddy Warbucks who swoops in from the private sector to rescue these kids from state care. It’s up to us to ensure that they grow up to be healthy productive members of society.

Seems like we weren’t the only ones to find Anthony Gemma’s lack of support for Democrats a bizarre. Former congressman Patrick Kennedy chided the increasingly irrelevant candidate for his comments on the Buddy Cianci Show, reports WPRI and RIPR. “This is about Rhode Island, not about each candidate, and I don’t think Mr. Gemma understands this,” Kennedy said. Ian Donnis makes an interesting observation about Kennedy carrying this message for Democrats: “Kennedy, now out of elective office, allows the current members of RI’s congressional delegation to avoid the fray while simultaneously delivering a sharp message that will draw considerable media interest.”

Woonsocket Patch reports on CVS dropping out of ALEC and lets Rep. Jon Brien, the local face of ALEC, get away with a pretty disingenuous description of the far-right wing bill mill.

“ALEC is described by board member and Woonsocket Rep. Jon Brien (Dist. 50, Woonsocket), as a bipartisan group that puts lawmakers together with businesses to come up with ideas (ultimately, legislation) “That will foster a free-market society,” reads the article. ALEC is roughly about as bipartisan as the Rhode Island General Assembly and I’m not quite sure how voter ID and Stand Your Ground laws help “foster a free-market society.”

Speaking of voter ID laws, Vice President Joe Biden continued the White Houses assault on the often-disenfranchising election laws.

A blog that bills itself as being “home of the most self-aggrandizing commenters” details a Twitter exchange with Portsmouth Rep. Dan Gordon. The author of the post describes the Twitter exchange as “pretty odd behavior from an elected official, but Dan Gordon is no ordinary state representative.” True that!

Gordon wasn’t the only Rhode Islander whose handiwork was featured on an out-of-state website yesterday. Freelance photographer and RI Future contributor Ryan Conaty had a . His pictures will be in Sunday’s print edition.

The Boston Globe reports that Mitt Romney worked at Bain for three years longer than he has claimed in the past.

Tomorrow is Woodie Guthrie‘s birthday. It’s also the nine-year anniversary of Rhode Island’s most embarrassing moments in recent memory: when Governor Don Carcieri had the State Troopers raid the Narragansett Indian Reservation because they weren’t paying taxes on cigarette sales.

So let me get this straight: Mitt Romney avoids paying taxes and Republicans call his actions patriotic. But when a Native American tribe does so, well send in the troops.

July 12, 2012July 13, 2012

A Positive Business Message for Rhode Island

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Rhode Islanders often forget how many advantages we have.

I’m relatively new. I’ve only lived here (on and off) for more than 20 years, but I still remember the thrill of discovering this wonderful state.

It was the late 1980s and everyone was depressed. I left New York to come here and found that everything in Providence was less expensive, more convenient, and just easier.

A trip to change my driver’s license at the DMV (in offices across from the State Capital then) took less than an hour, including the written test. A rush hour traffic jam was ten minutes. Getting to the airport took fifteen. To the beach was less than an hour. Rents were lower, sales tax was lower, and the food was amazing.

I haven’t lost my appreciation for everything we have.

One of the challenges we face today is reversing the negative attitudes about our lively experiment.

We need to stop selling ourselves short. We consistently underbid, undercut and sell out our state to attract businesses. This undermines the value of just being here. Businesses that are attracted only by tax cuts, tax breaks and tax incentives are by their nature fickle and will leave at the first opportunity.

Make Rhode Island a Business Center

Dear Business Leaders,

Rhode Island occupies prime and relatively inexpensive real estate between Boston and New York. We are centrally located to the entire Eastern Seaboard, with quick air and shipping access to the rest of the United States and the World. Our traffic jams last minutes, not hours. Our beaches are right here. We have amazing restaurants and a highly educated workforce. Our arts community is vibrant. Our universities are many and diverse. And if you commit to us, your employees will be loyal.

We want you to come and live here because this is the best place to live, not because we’re offering you a deal.

Instead, we’re going to offer you the opportunity to work and live in a place that’s intimate and amazing.

What do you need to do business in Rhode Island? We’ll try to help. Our state government is small and can be flexible.

We can modify our education system so new hires are able to think and innovate, not just pass tests. We will produce well-rounded students who engage in sports (competition) and learning and arts (creativity). Moving away from the testing model will help to create learning for learning’s sake and a thirst for knowledge and understanding. We will be educating today the workers you need in the future.
We can streamline the business regulation process and continuously increasing efficiency in government.
We can build effective long-thinking infrastructure. Rather than blindly reinvest in highways, we will look to 21st century options, including light rail, trolley systems, ride sharing and so on. Does your business really need a bigger airport at a time when jet oil costs continue to skyrocket? Can we make our ports more accessible?
We will offer tax incentives and rebates to businesses promising infrastructure improvements, long-term payback, and enforce severe penalties for default and exodus.
We will clean up the swamp of perceived corruption and remove the “pay to play” and “who do you know who can fix things” beliefs that exist.

Rhode Island is at the heart of Center of New England. Won’t you join us?

– Mark Binder, State Representative (to be) from District 4, Providence

P.S. No, we will not allow your businesses to pollute our environment. We will make it costly if you try. Yes, we will provide you with our natural resources (water, land, clean air) but not at wholesale cost.

July 12, 2012July 13, 2012

Some Forgo Raises; Guthrie Forgoes Entire Salary

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Kudos to the legislators willing and able to forgo the raise on their $13,962 State House stipend and thanks to those of you who sent out press releases on the matter so that the media would know of your good deed. But we should also recognize Rep. Scott Guthrie, a progressive Democrat from Coventry, who refuses to take the salary at all.

According to the Joint Committee on Legislative Services, Guthrie is the only member of the General Assembly to not accept the salary that comes with being a part-time legislator.

But he’s not bragging about it. In fact, he declined to comment when I asked him why he doesn’t take the pay.

Guthrie, a retired fire fighter from North Kingstown, has served in the House since 2008. For the past three sessions, he has sponsored bills that would have raised taxes on Rhode Island’s richest residents.

Guthrie also doesn’t take the health insurance that comes with being a state legislator. But he’s not alone there.

Here’s the list of legislators who don’t take the health insurance, as provided by Larry Berman:

Reps: Lisa Baldelli Hunt, Woonsocket; David Bennett, Warwick; Chris Blazejewski, Providence; John Carnevale, Providence; Mike Chippendale, Foster; Spencer Dickinson, South Kingstown; Deborah Fellela, Johnston, Frank Ferri, Warwick, Jim McLaughlin, Central Falls; Scot Slater, Providence; Lisa Tomasso, Coventry.
Sens: Frank Devall, Providence; Walter Felag, Warren; Frank Lombardo, Johnston; Harold Metts, Providence; Donna Nesselbush, Providence; Chris Ottiano, Portsmouth; Deb Ruggerio, Jamestown.

Of course, they get a $1,001 check from the state for not taking the benefits. Here is the list of legislators who also forgo that “waiver bonus”:

Reps: Doreen Costa, North Kingstown; Robert DaSilva, East Providence; Scott Guthrie, Coventry; Joy Hearn, Barrington; Ray Hull, Providence; Robert Jacquard, Johnston; Karen MacBeth, Cumberalnd; Mike Marcello, Scituate; Rene Menard, Cumberland; Mary Messier, Phillips, East Providence; Dan Reilly, Portsmouth; Patricia Serpa, Coventry; Stephen Ucci, Cranston; Larry Valencia, Richmond.
Sens: Louis DiPalma, Middletown; Paul Fogarty, Burrillville; Maryellen Goodwin, Providence; Paul Jabour, Providence; Frank Maher, Charlestown; Jim Sheehan, North Kingstown; Glen Shibley, Coventry.

July 12, 2012April 14, 2014

Tales of the Unemployment Crisis: Trev Hedge

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Weariness–an emotion shared by some 62,000 unemployed Rhode Islanders.

In case you missed my last two pieces, (here and here) I’m posting a new series as part of the Where’s the Work? initiative that’s trying to bring coverage of the state’s unemployment crisis back to where it needs to be–on the real Rhode Islanders facing real hardship and pain as they continue to fight their way through this Great Recession.

This post tells the story of Trev Hedge, a Providence resident with a kind grin and a thoughtful, sunburned face.

Not too long ago, Trev resided in Connecticut, where he had a place to live and a car and a job repairing computers and photographic equipment. But in December of 2009, Trev was laid off. Hoping for a new beginning, he moved to Rhode Island to start over. Unfortunately, Trev did not find the opportunities he had been hoping to find in the Ocean State. “I didn’t know it when I made the move,” he says, “but it turned out I came here to be homeless and jobless.”

“I’ve never had a job problem before,” Trev continues. “I worked most of my life. But trying to find work in Rhode Island has been incredibly difficult.” Then, in September of last year, Trev’s unemployment benefits ran out. “They figured within 99 weeks you should easily be able to find a job. But it’s not true. At that point, things got urgent. I couldn’t pay the bills. I became frantic, and very depressed. When you’re stuck like that and facing eviction and…” he shakes his head. “Things can get pretty overwhelming.

Although Trev has high-level computer repair skills, the only work he has been able to find recently has been in landscaping. “I went to a worksite of this company based out of East Greenwich, and I told the boss, ‘I have landscaping experience. I don’t care what it is, I need something, anything.’ He told me to show up at seven the next morning with work boots on. So I did.”

But Trev’s landscaping job does not come close to providing for even his most basic needs. During his first week he was given just 15 hours of work. The next week he got 25, the next week five. “And these last two weeks I’ve gotten nothing. I call the boss up every morning before 7 o’clock. ‘Anything today?’ I ask. ‘No, no,’ he says. And I can do the work! I’m an older guy—I’m 43, and it’s hard physical work. But I can keep up. And still, it’s: ‘Anything today?’ ‘No, no.’ ”

Trev’s lack of work has forced him to adjust to a greatly reduced standard of living. “First of all, I live in a shelter. Having an apartment—even having your own room—is important. You don’t know how important it is until you lose it. You need a place to hang your clothes, where your wallet will be safe. Without that stability, everything’s tougher. A lot tougher.”Trev is at the point where even rudimentary expenses have to be given up. “You can’t buy shampoo and conditioner, you have to use soap for your hair. That might not seem like a big issue, having your hair all snarled from that, but it’s that kind of thing that really gets in the way. We’re not talking about luxury items, you can’t even get basic stuff. Things like haircuts, things like having decent clothes to go to an interview in—that gets almost impossible.”

There are a number of additional obstacles that Trev has to deal with on a daily basis. One is simply getting around. “When I came here, the Rhode Island roads ate my car piece by piece,” he says. “And with no work, I couldn’t replace it. So transportation is a huge issue. Now I ride my bike or I take a bus, but they keep cutting RIP TA service, scaling back hours. That makes it harder for people like me. I mean, those services affect people who need the bus to get to work. We depend on it.” These issues have a direct effect on his job search, Trev explains. “Jobs that I see posted in, say, Cumberland, sometimes I don’t even apply for anymore. You need to convince the employer that you can get to work dependably, and they don’t look at my bike as dependable, and the bus isn’t dependable nowadays. It’s like a Catch-22. I have a license, but I can’t afford to have a car. If you can’t have a car, you can’t get to work. If you can’t get to work, you can’t get a home. If you can’t get a home, you can’t stabilize yourself. It’s a vicious cycle.”

Trev also suffers from hiring discrimination. “Part of my problem in finding work is I have a criminal record, so I have to check that box on the job application. I mean, I’ve taken responsibility for what I did, it was years and years ago, but I still have to check that box. I’ll tell you, I’ve almost lost hope—you see an application with that box, and you just know they’re going to throw it out without even looking at it. I mean, we’re discriminated against, without ever getting a chance to get across any backstory.”

When he can, Trev takes day-trips out to Connecticut to do landscaping jobs, paying up to $75 from whatever he earns for the bus there and back. And that, he thinks, just about sums up the whole situation here in Rhode Island. “You have to leave the state just to get work so you can live in the state. Working in Connecticut to live in Rhode Island—that’s where we’re at right now.”

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