Taxes – Page 2 – RI Future

April 14, 2016May 3, 2016

Burrillville Town Council secretly negotiating tax deals with Invenergy

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

In a stunning revelation, Burrillville Town Council legal counsel Oleg Nikolyszyn confirmed under questioning from Burrillville resident Jeremy Bailey that the council has been secretly negotiating a tax agreement with Invenergy for the proposed gas and oil burning power plant. Before this revelation, the existence of such negotiations may have been suspected, but were not confirmed. Shortly after Nikolyszyn’s revelation, Councillor Kimberly Brissette Brown questioned whether the item was properly before the Council. Council President John Pacheco III said that the item was not properly before the council, and said that if Bailey wanted to discuss the issue of the Council’s tax agreement deliberations with Invenergy, he would have to put that item on the agenda.

How Bailey would know to put previously unknown secret meetings with Invenergy on the agenda was not discussed.

Nikolyszyn’s admission capped a stressful and difficult Burrillville Town Council meeting, in which council members, aided by legal counsel Nikolyszyn, once again said that they have no power to stand against Invenergy. President Pacheco said that if the Town Council doesn’t remain absolutely neutral about the plant, it may seem that they are unfairly influencing various boards, the members of which the Town Council has nominated. Why this level of neutrality is necessary from the Burrillville Town Council in relation to boards they nominate but such neutrality is not necessary for Governor Gina Raimondo, who nominates the members of the Energy Facilities Siting Board and has taken a position in strong support of the power plant, is unknown.

Burrillville resident Jonathan Dyson later followed up with the Town Council about the tax negotiations with Invenergy, asking if there was any board, regulation or law that forced the tax agreement meetings. Despite saying earlier that the item wasn’t properly before the board, Pacheco answered Dyson and maintained that entering into such discussions was a fiduciary duty of the Town Council. Then Pachco added that these negotiations also include the “potential abutters to the power plant,” that is, people who own property next to Invenergy’s land.

Pacheco didn’t explain exactly what this means, but it seems to indicate that Invenergy is actively negotiating what payments, if any, abutters to the project might receive in the event that the power plant is built.

When Dyson then asked the Town Council “under what conditions would the Town Council say no to Invenergy,” Town manager Michael Wood angrily said, “That is not an agenda item.” But in fact, it was an agenda item 16-106 (b). Wood then said that the item was too vague and would not be discussed, never mind that earlier, Council President Pacheco had complimented Gary Patterson, who requested that item be placed on the the agenda, saying, “Your item on the agenda was properly phrased. I appreciate that.”

Throughout the meeting the Town Council took great pains to tell the people attending that the fix wasn’t in and this wasn’t a done deal. However, to the consternation of most of those present, the Town Council has admitted to secretly negotiating tax agreements and issues of abutment with Invenergy. Worse, theses discussion have been going on for some time, as the earliest discussions seem to precede Oleg Nikolyszyn becoming town solicitor.

By the end of the meeting the public was more angry and distrustful of the Town Council than when the meeting began.

I’ll be writing much more about this meeting in a future piece, but right now, questions remain: How long has the Town Council been in negotiation with Invenergy? Who has been party to these negotiations? The Town Council says that this isn’t a done deal, that the “fix isn’t in” but what other unknown meetings and negotiations are happening without the public’s knowledge?

April 12, 2016April 12, 2016

Regulate RI makes the business case for tax and regulate

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Regulate RI, a coalition working to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana in the state, yesterday made the business case for the idea, ahead the House Judiciary Committee taking public testimony on the bill.

Ray White, chief operating officer of the Thomas C Slater Compassion Center said that he has 60 employees at his business selling medical marijuana. If recreational marijuana were to become legal, he sees the opportunity to employ many more people.

In addition to retail outlets there is the opportunity for marijuana and hemp related research. Austin Davis and Spencer Blier both made the case for Rhode Island being an east coast leader in developing new products, including hemp ropes and boat sails. Along with the development of new products say these entrepreneurs, comes more jobs and more economic growth.

Fred Joyal, who developed and sold a successful business in California, is originally from Rhode Island and is looking to move back here. He is looking for investment opportunities, and feels that Rhode Island could be a leader, but only if our legislature chooses to move before Massachusetts passes similar tax and regulate legislation as a ballot initiative.

This relates to the first mover argument. The first state in New England to tax and regulate marijuana will have a terrific advantage in terms of money to be made from taxes and job creation. If Massachusetts beats Rhode Island to the punch, RI natives will cross the border, sending money and jobs out of state. Meanwhile, any Rhode Islanders who bring the products they buy legally in Massachusetts back to our state risk arrest, costing our state money in terms of policing and court costs.

March 8, 2016

Conservative activist group RI Taxpayers ceases operation

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

In an email to members, RI Taxpayers, one of the key conservative organizations in the state, announced that they are ceasing operations due to the death of their founder Harry Staley and budget shortfalls.

Justin Katz, writing on the conservative Ocean State Current, lamented the passing of RI Taxpayers but said, “While it’s discouraging to watch one of the key players on our side fall off the board, time may prove that resources and talent can be salvaged and won’t be lost.”

The memo, copied below, was signed by President Larry Girouard and Chairman Larry Fitzmorris.

It is with deep regret that we announce that R.I. Taxpayers must suspend its operations effective March 10.

Despite efforts to raise the necessary funds to keep our advocacy on behalf of the taxpayers of Rhode Island fiscally liquid, they have fallen short.

Harry Staley (founder, past president and Board Chairman), founded RI Taxpayers, (formerly the RI Statewide Coalition … RISC) twelve years ago. Over that period, the organization was a strong voice in driving many positive changes resulting from its efforts to improve the political culture of Rhode Island, and its competitiveness.

With Harry’s untimely passing in June of 2014, we were unable to maintain the fundraising levels that he was so successful in driving.

We would like to thank all our supporters for your devotion to RI Taxpayers over these past years.

Harry Staley had a noble vision for a better Rhode Island with citizens having a key voice in the realization of that vision. While yesterday’s edition was the last Taxpayer Times, we hope that you will all stay involved with helping to drive Rhode Island to a higher level by reaching out to other good government groups in Rhode Island.

February 25, 2016February 25, 2016

Undocumented workers pay $33.4 million in RI taxes and they need drivers licenses

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Sen. Frank Ciccone III and Rep. Anastasia Williams introduced legislation (2016-S 2333 / 2016-H 7610) that would allow the Rhode Island Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driving privilege licenses and permits to applicants unable to establish a lawful presence in the United States. The licenses and permit would not be valid for identification purposes as per the Real ID Act, but would be usable only for the purposes of operating a motor vehicle in Rhode Island.

“We need to ensure that all drivers, regardless of their immigration status, are trained, tested and insured when driving on our roads,” said Ciccone at the press conference to highlight this legislation, “This is a safety issue as well as an economic issue. If the worst was to happen and an accident occurs involving an undocumented person driving, our residents and businesses are protected far better if this legislation is enacted as opposed to the current status quo.” (See the full video of the press conference below.)

Under the rules proposed by Ciccone and Williams, those wanting these licenses and permits would have to have no felony convictions, have lived in Rhode Island for two years and provide proof that they have paid taxes.

As for taxes, a report from the Economic Progress Institute (EPI) demonstrates that “Undocumented immigrants contribute more than $11.6 billion to state and local coffers each year, including $33.4 million in Rhode Island, according to a new study released by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).”

From the EPI press release:

“The study, Undocumented Immigrants’ State and Local Tax Contributions, also estimates that Rhode Island stands to gain $2.5 million in increased revenue under full implementation of the Obama administration’s 2012 and 2014 executive actions and by more than $7.0 million under comprehensive immigration reform.

“EPI’s Executive Director, Rachel Flum notes that “This report shows that undocumented immigrants are contributing to Rhode Island’s economy through sales, property and income taxes. State law makers should take this into account and approve policies that help these residents live safely in our state until comprehensive immigration reform at the federal level provides a pathway to legal status. Providing driver’s licenses for undocumented residents is one such policy”

“The report found that undocumented immigrants contribute $4.1 million in personal income taxes, $11.1 million in property taxes, and $18.3 million in sales and excise taxes to Rhode Island’s. These tax contributions would be larger if all undocumented immigrants were granted legal status under a comprehensive immigration reform and if President Obama’s 2014 executive action were upheld.

“‘Regardless of the politically contentious nature of immigration reform, the data show undocumented immigrants greatly contribute to our nation’s economy, not just in labor but also with tax dollars,’ said Meg Wiehe, ITEP State Tax Policy Director. ‘With immigration policy playing a key role in state and national debates and President Obama’s 2014 executive action facing review by the Supreme Court accurate information about the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants is needed now more than ever.'”

To view the full report or to find state-specific data, go to www.itep.org/immigration/.

February 10, 2016February 10, 2016

Fast tracking RhodeWorks: Passing unpopular legislation in an election year

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Ahead of yesterday’s finance committee votes in both houses of the General Assembly approving RhodeWorks, the truck toll plan, a press conference was held at the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce (GPCC) featuring some of Rhode Island’s most powerful political, business and labor leaders. They were there to present a unified message in support of the tolls, despite vocal opposition.

One prominent Rhode Island business owner, whose business has “been a member of the Chamber for almost as long as there’s been a Chamber” told me that contrary to GPCC President Laurie White‘s claims that this issue has been discussed with membership, he was never consulted about the plan, despite his business’s dependence on trucks for shipping. In fact, he said, “I didn’t even hear about this meeting until I heard about it on the radio this morning!”

As I said before, RhodeWorks is inevitable. The legislation has been fast tracked not because there is a sudden, urgent need to fix our roads and bridges; the need for this repair is decades old. The legislation is being fast tracked because the necessary arrangements between the various parties involved have been carefully worked out, but in an election year, meaning that the sooner elected officials put this issue in their rear view mirror the better. Several legislators are going to be challenged for their seats because of their votes on this.

Not that Republican challengers are offering anything better. As Sam Bell pointed out yesterday, the Republican plan seems to be privatization, which means private businesses will take over our roads and bridges and charge whatever tolls they want to for profit, or their plan is cutting the budget, denying important social services to families in need. (Not to worry, though: Senate President Paiva-Weed promises that she and Speaker Mattiello will continue to cut the budget, cut taxes and cut services. More on this in a future article.)

The cost of RhodeWorks will be passed onto consumers. Ocean State Job Lot raised a stink over the weekend when they put their expansion plans on hold, threatening as yet unrealized jobs, but after this all pans out, Job Lot will not lose out on any profits: They will simply raise the price of their goods. This means that we are not imposing a user fee on businesses as much as we are coming up with yet another regressive tax that will affect the poor and middle class more than the rich, which is just the way our political leaders like it.

The General Assembly is expected to pass RhodeWorks today, and Governor Raimondo will sign the legislation asap. In the meantime, you can watch the full press conference below.

Laurie White, Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce (GPCC) President

RI Governor Gina Raimondo

Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza

Peter Andruszkiewicz, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island CEO and President

Scott Wolf, Grow Smart Rhode Island Executive Director

Lloyd Albert, AAA of Southern New England Senior Vice President

Michael F. Sabitoni, Rhode Island Building and Construction Trades Council President

House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello

Senate President Teresa Paiva-Weed

Woonsocket Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt,
Central Falls Mayor James Diossa and
Lt. Governor Dan McKee were in attendance but did not speak.

February 3, 2016February 3, 2016

PVD City Council Finance rejects first of four proposed tax giveaways

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

The Providence City Council Finance Committee unanimously rejected the proposed extension of the tax stabilization agreement (TSA) for the property at 100 Fountain St last night. The meeting, rescheduled after the unexpected death of former Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci last week was on the same night and time as Governor Gina Raimondo’s State of the State address, so I had to access the recording of the meeting here.

During the brief discussion, Councillor Carmen Castillo noted that granting this TSA at a time when the City is facing an economic shortfall and planning to raise taxes on homeowners seems wrong.

Councillor Kevin Jackson proposed rejecting the TSA, pointing out that the agreement was granted to improve the condition of inactive buildings and not intended to be a lifetime grant.

Finance Chair John J. Igliozzi condemned the extension, saying, “The contract has been fulfilled. It’s become a high income subsidy.”

City Council President Luis Aponte, who is not on the Finance Committee, addressed the room, and said, “It’s the right signal that the [Finance] Committee is sending to the public and to the [City] Council.”

“Most tax treaties that have been approved in Providence have been beneficial to local development and have improved both new businesses and encouraged new housing,” said City Councillor Terrence M. Hassett in a statement, “However, the agreements have a shelf life and eventually expire. Extending them for a longer period, places other taxpayers in the position of paying more and that is coming to an end.”

The proposed TSA would have allowed the property owners to pay only 25 percent of their assessed taxes in the first year, with a 15 percent increase each year thereafter until year five, when the owners would have paid 95 percent of their assessed taxes. The owners stood to save hundreds of thousands of dollars, but as the STEP Coalition (Stop Tax Evasion in Providence) has pointed out, “[t]he construction jobs are long gone and these buildings have been occupied for quite some time.”

Mayor Jorge Elorza supported these tax deals, despite his earlier campaign promises to not give out TSAs “unless Providence could profit from the deal in some way.”

Sam Bell, a member of the STEP coalition who is also the executive director of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America, said, “This was a huge win for Providence taxpayers! It shows that, when we work hard, we can defeat the most powerful corporate interests in the City of Providence.”

The Finance Committee still has to decide on three other, similar TSAs in the near future.

February 1, 2016February 2, 2016

Controversial TSA to be quickly decided on a busy night

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

On Thursday night the Providence City Council Finance Committee was prepared to make a decision on a controversial extension of tax stabilization agreement (TSA) for the property at 100 Fountain St. Because of the unexpected death of former Mayor Vincent Cianci, the meeting was rescheduled to this Tuesday night at 6pm, one hour before Governor Raimondo’s State of the State address.

The proposed TSA will allow the property owners to pay only 25 percent of their assessed taxes in the first year, with a 15 percent increase each year thereafter until year five, when the owners will pay 95 percent of their assessed taxes. The owners stand to save hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the STEP Coalition (Stop Tax Evasion in Providence) has pointed out that, “[t]he construction jobs are long gone and these buildings have been occupied for quite some time.”

This is the first of four TSAs that will be voted on by the City Council this year. The four “deals pending before the city right now are even more egregious than usual,” said the RI Progressive Democrats (RIPDA) in a statement. “That’s because the development has already happened. There’s no question of encouraging development–the developers want their special tax deals to continue. This is just giving the city’s limited tax dollars to big developers. Pure and simple,” said the RI Progressive Democrats (RIPDA).

It is expected that the Providence City Council will raise property taxes on homeowners this year as Providence struggles financially. Many wonder why private taxpayers continue to pay ever higher taxes while connected developers get continued tax credits. STEP presented a petition signed by 400 Providence residents opposed to extending these TSAs.

The following City Councillors are on the Finance Committee:

Councilman John J. Igliozzi, Chairman
Councilman Terrence M. Hassestt, Vice-Chairman
Councilman Kevin Jackson
Councilwoman Sabina Matos
Councilwoman Carmen Castillo

January 29, 2016

Free tax filing and free money available to low-income Rhode Islanders

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Though the big news was that Governor Gina Raimondo announced that she would be calling of an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the minimum wage when she presents her budget during the State of the State address Tuesday evening, the press conference where this was announced was to call attention to VITA, a program to help low and modest-income Rhode Islanders file their taxes and apply for tax credits like the EITC. Raimondo said that if the budget permits, she will push that rate higher.

Even people who have paid no taxes are eligible for EITC rebates, meaning families can receive hundreds or thousands of dollars from the government. But to do so, families must file their taxes. VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) is a program to help people file. “Appointments are highly recommended,” says the webpage on VITA at the You must also bring picture identification for both the applicant and spouse and social security cards for everyone listed on the return.” A list of VITA sites and contact info can be found here.

At the now annual press conference to advertise VITA and the EITC, Governor Raimondo announced her intention to ask that the EITC be raised to 15 percent when she presents her budget. This year the EITC was raised from 10 to 12.5 percent. Connecticut’s program is currently at 30 percent while Massachusetts has just raised their EITC to 23 percent.

The EITC “provides a tax credit and/or refund to people who earn low to moderate wages. The payment is received as part of the end-of-year tax filing period,” says the Economic Progress Institute on their website.

Representative Scott Slater and State Senator Gayle Goldin both praised the announcement that the budget will call for a 15 percent EITC, but both also noted that they have introduced bills and intend to fight to raise the tax credit to 20 percent.

The Governor also announced that she will once again be asking the legislature to raise the state’s minimum wage, which rose to $9.60 this month. Last year the legislature balked at Raimondo’s suggestion for a $10.10 and raised the wage just 60 cents, but also agreed to raise the tipped minimum wage to $3.39 this year and $3.89 next year.

Given that the General Assembly only granted slightly more than half of the minimum wage increase Raimondo included in her budget last year, perhaps the Governor should ask for more than $10.10 this year.

You can watch the relevant parts of the press conference below. The final speaker in the video speaks about the positive effects of the EITC in helping to bring her family out of poverty.

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016

Truck Tolls, Take 2: Revised plan presented

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

State leaders presented their revised truck toll plan at the State House today, with legislation being introduced in both the House and the Senate this afternoon.

“This proposal fixes our roads and bridges and is good for our economy,” said Speaker of the House Nicholas Mattiello, “We are not going to be last any more.”

“New plan expressly prohibits tolling passenger vehicles because this was “important to Rhode Islanders,” said Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed.

RIDOT director Peter Alviti, Jr. said 150 structurally deficient bridges and 50 not quite deficient bridges will be repaired over the next ten years in this plan. 14 gantry locations have been identified “right now.”

By 2025 we will have the bridges in this state only 10% structurally deficient, said Alviti.

We have requests for an additionally $600 million in repair requests from local cities and towns, said Alviti.

RhodeWorks is the same program, funding is different, said Alviti.

This will rely on Garvey bond/financing, with some savings through refinancing, said Raimondo, Mattiello and Paiva Weed. It leverages federal money.

It’s the way these things are always done in Rhode Island, said Raimondo.

Connecticut will be tolling cars and trucks next year, said Mattiello. “We can’t have a robust economy with the worst infrastructure in the country.”

“It’s the best approach for Rhode Islanders,” said Mattiello. “Don’t listen to the rhetoric of trucks today, cars tomorrow.”

The RI Constitution is a “sacred document and you don’t change it over de minimus issues,” said Mattiello.

“The avoidance and diversion issue is not as real an issue as some people suggest,” said Mattiello, in essence denying that trucks will drive too far out of their way to avoid tolls.

Here’s the press release:

Governor Gina M. Raimondo, House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed this afternoon announced revised RhodeWorks legislation that takes into account new federal funding. The legislation puts people back to work repairing our crumbling infrastructure and provides the reliable, sustainable source of revenue necessary to rebuild our bridges, which are ranked the worst in the country.

With the addition of the new federal funding, the revised legislation cuts the amount of bonding in half (from $600 million to $300 million) and reduces interest costs by more than 65%. The legislation also strengthens the prohibition on tolling passenger vehicles by adding a condition that a vote of the people be required for any legislative changes to toll cars.

See the comparison here: http://www.dot.ri.gov/documents/news/RhodeWorks_Bill_Comparison.pdf
And a fact sheet on the updates here: http://www.dot.ri.gov/documents/news/RhodeWorks_Fact_Sheet.pdf

The legislation will be introduced this afternoon in the House by Majority Leader John DeSimone and in the Senate by Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio.

The Governor, Speaker, and Senate President issued the following statements today:

Governor Gina M. Raimondo

“I am grateful for the partnership of the Speaker and Senate President to take action and get this done. Rhode Island has the worst bridges in the country: we’re ranked 50th out of 50 states. We can no longer afford the politics of procrastination; we need to invest more. This proposal will allow us to move quickly to repair our roads and bridges, and put Rhode Islanders back to work, without raising taxes on Rhode Island families and small businesses.

“Because of new federal funding, we were able to strengthen the proposal: we’ve lowered the maximum truck toll amount, decreased the number of gantries, and significantly reduced the state’s interest payments. I look forward to continuing to work with the House and Senate to pass this legislation and grow our economy.”

House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello:

“I commend the Governor for taking into account the additional federal highway funding heading to our state and proposing a vastly improved plan to the legislature that will create jobs, increase our state’s wealth, and most importantly, repair our badly deficient roads, bridges and overpasses. A sound infrastructure is essential to a thriving economy, and this is a step we must take to be more competitive with other states. The new federal money also allows our state to borrow much less with greatly reduced interest costs and risk.

“Despite the scare tactics of opponents of this proposal who only want to hold our economy back, the toll plan only includes large commercial trucks. There are now safeguards in the legislation to assure our citizens that tolls will never be extended to cars without voter approval.”

Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed:

“The passage of federal highway funding in December has enabled the development of a new RhodeWorks plan that dramatically reduces borrowing. Most Rhode Islanders agree we need to invest in our roads and bridges. The Governor’s RhodeWorks plan remains the best proposal to address this challenge. It provides the surge in funding which is necessary to accomplish projects quickly, and save taxpayers from more costly repairs in the long run. It would toll only large tractor trailer trucks, the ones causing most of the vehicle-caused damage to our roads and bridges, while expressly prohibiting extension of tolls to passenger vehicles.”

[From a press release]

January 25, 2016January 25, 2016

CFED Report: Rhode Islanders still struggling, especially with homeownership

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

New data released today by CFED (the Corporation for Enterprise Development), a national partner of Rhode Island’s Economic Progress Institute, shows that too many Rhode Island families remain economically vulnerable. Smart public policies that create opportunities for families to save and make investments in their future prosperity pay huge dividends for all of us. The Assets and Opportunity Scorecard, now published annually, shows Rhode Island ranked 35^th overall in Outcomes, despite ranking 8^th overall in the Scorecard’s Policy measures.

Doug Hall, Director of Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Economic Progress Institute isn’t surprised by these findings: “We see the economic vulnerability of Rhode Island families in wage and income data (as shown in our recent State of Working Rhode Island: Workers of Color report). Until Rhode Islanders have good jobs that pay economy-boosting wages, they won’t be able to set aside savings or invest in homes or businesses.”

Across five main issue areas, Rhode Island fares in the middle of the pack in four issue areas (Financial Assets and Income, Businesses and Jobs, Education, and Health Care) but nearly dead last for Housing and Homeownership.

Rhode Island’s outcome indicators point to a number of areas where improvements need to be made to improve the financial security of Ocean State families. Rhode Island scores very poorly (40^th or worse) in 14 areas, including 8 indicators for housing/homeownership:

Income inequality (46^th out of 50 states and the District of Columbia)
Business value by race (44^th)
Underemployment Rate (40^th)
Homeownership rate (46^th)
Homeownership by race (50^th)
Homeownership by income (51^st)
Homeownership by family structure (50^th)
Delinquent mortgage loans (49^th)
Affordability of homes (43^rd)
Housing cost burden – homeowners (46^th)
Housing cost burden – renters (45^th)
Uninsured by race (45^th)
Uninsured by gender (49^th)
Average college student debt (46^th)

While Rhode Island’s poor performance on housing/homeownership outcomes in the Assets and Opportunities Scorecard is not new, it is striking. Jim Ryczek, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless responds:

“While Rhode Island clearly has much work to do to meet the state’s housing needs, we have significantly increased funding of programs to solve homelessness. We need to match that progress with investments that provide housing options for all Rhode Islanders.”

It is also noteworthy that Rhode Island falls in the bottom 11 rankings in three of the six outcome measures that look at disparities by race/ethnicity. National data show stark disparities in wealth based on race and ethnicity. We know that here in Rhode Island, racial disparities in wages and income are significant. The lack of good state-based data on wealth prevents us from fully understanding these disparities, which in turn prevents us from addressing the challenges with the necessary urgency. Another new report released last week by the Annie E Casey Foundation addresses the need for better data:

“To properly gauge the effects of policies and practices on families’ ability to build assets, we must have the right tools. Data on family assets are meager and difficult to access, particularly for various racial and ethnic groups. The federal government should explore better mechanisms to track that information, such as representative surveys for national and state use with questions on savings behavior and asset holdings or additional questions in the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.” Annie E Casey Foundation, Investing in Tomorrow: Helping Families Build Savings and Assets

CFED has been publishing the Asset and Opportunities Scorecard since 2002. It remains a key benchmark in tracking important policy and outcome measures, and highlighting best practices in state policies addressing these areas.

Key policies that Rhode Islanders can adopt to provide greater opportunities for Rhode Island families include:

Increasing the state Earned Income Tax Credit to 20 percent of the federal credit.
Further Increasing the minimum wage.
Providing protections from predatory lending such as payday loans.

These and other measures that boost family incomes will help families set aside savings while investing in assets such as a home.

[From a press release]

January 18, 2016January 18, 2016

PolitiFactRI Asks Developers to Fact Check Developers

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

PolitiFactRI has a history of sloppy reporting and conservative bias that has generated national attention. But a piece on whether developers deserve huge cash handouts broke new ground.

It centers around David Sweetser, the principal owner of the Superman Building. Controversially, Sweetser has refused to renovate the building or bring in tenants until the city and state agree to pay him tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money—considerably more than the purchase price.

When Ed Fitzpatrick at the Providence Journal reported on the Superman Building, Sweetser gave him a classic defense. As Fitzpatrick wrote: “Sweetser, who lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts, said the reality is that Boston is just 60 minutes away and it’s offering subsidies to developers who can charge higher rent than you can get in Providence, while construction costs are more or less equal.” PolitiFactRI rated Sweetser’s defense true. This is an important claim to unpack because it’s one of the most common arguments big Rhode Island developers use in their quest for taxpayer cash. It’s also extremely misleading.

To begin with, what makes Boston real estate so expensive is not the cost of construction. It’s the cost of land. The whole point of this developer talking point is to imply that overall costs are no higher in Boston–something that is definitely not true.

PolitiFactRI does not address this point. Instead, they zero in on whether construction costs are higher. So how does PolitiFactRI seek to answer this question? Do they consult some unbiased labor cost index? No, they just ask the Gilbane Corporation—one of the biggest developers in Rhode Island.

Interestingly, Gilbane does not say construction costs are identical. They say there is, in fact, a “slight overall difference.” But they also say, “When it comes to larger more complex projects costs are roughly the same.” If Gilbane shared any hard numbers, PolitiFactRI neglected to print them.

Now, Massachusetts is a considerably wealthier state, with stronger unions and a slightly higher minimum wage. It would be odd if labor costs were not slightly higher in Boston. But just how big that difference is is an interesting question. Unfortunately, PolitiFactRI does not give us a number.

Finally, there is the question of subsidies in Boston. PolitiFactRI asks Nicholas Martin, the spokesman for the Boston Redevelopment Agency. He says, “I would not hesitate to say that the majority of construction that’s going on in the city of Boston is not subsidized,” although he does clarify that some big projects do get subsidies.

Boston certainly does offer some absurd subsidies, but the situation today is nothing like Providence, where pretty much every big project gets a special tax break. Boston does lots of developments without subsidies, and they even make Fenway stadium pay taxes.

Under liberal Governor Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts economy went through a huge boom called the , and the state now has quite a strong economy. That’s why the state has a strong housing market. Like Rhode Island today, Massachusetts used to struggle with conservative Democrats who opposed good policy. Ronald Reagan called Governor Edward King, Dukakis’s rival, his “favorite Democrat,” and King formally became a Republican after Dukakis beat him in the 1982 primary. Today, the Massachusetts legislature is filled with solid real Democrats like Senate President Stan Rosenberg. And the state is thriving, especially when compared to Rhode Island.

If Rhode Island wants to learn a lesson from Massachusetts, we should try breaking the machine and electing real Democrats.

January 15, 2016April 30, 2016

The Estate Tax is a solution, not a problem

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

At the 2016 Rhode Island Small Business Economic Summit (Summit), Grafton H. “Cap” Wiley IV told Governor Gina Raimondo, House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and a room full of government officials and small business owners that “it would be great if we had enough revenue to get rid of the estate tax” or if we don’t have enough revenue, “look at an increase in the exemption.”

“That’s something I’ve got my eye on,” said Mattiello, offering to collaborate with the business community to do something about it.

The idea of reforming the estate tax came out of a previous Summit, said Wiley, and the important thing, he continued, looking towards Raimondo and Mattiello, is that, “you guys are listening.”

“Rhode Island ends up at the bottom of a lot of the ratings of taxes and business climate,” said Wiley, and though he did not specify to what ratings he was referring, two annual business climate rankings, the SBEC (Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council)’s Small Business Policy Index and ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council)’s Rich States, Poor States, include the mere existence of a state level estate tax as a negative in their questionable formulas for determining a state’s ranking.

The problem, says economist Peter Fisher, is that “the estate tax – which is paid only by the ultra-wealthy – doesn’t affect economic growth.”

Fisher says that Rich States, Poor States author Arthur Laffer, “and his co-authors devote an entire chapter to estate and inheritance taxes, incorrectly tagging them as ‘job killers’ that ‘strangle economic growth.’”

Laffer and company assert that states with an estate tax are losing ‘enormous amounts of accumulated wealth,’ and that this wealth would have created jobs, alleviated poverty, and increased tax revenue, but they fail to explain how this would happen. The wealth held by retirees typically is not the kind of capital normally used in job creation. The wealth that drives prosperity consists of real assets: natural resources, plant and equipment, public infrastructure, human capital, technological knowledge. By contrast, large estates typically consist of real estate, stocks and bonds, mutual funds, and other financial assets which could be located anywhere in the world. The future use of those assets is unaffected by where the person who owned them died.”

So why would Mattiello be so eager to look at an idea that amounts to both failed tax policy and a giveaway to the mega rich? As Bob Plain showed, the last time RI messed with the estate tax, the burden of public services and infrastructure was shifted onto poor and middle class Rhode Islanders, allowing the rich and the mega rich to become richer still. These policies contribute to our ever increasing wealth inequality and pervert our democracy, tilting us ever faster towards an oligarchy represented by the likes of “Cap” Wiley, if we aren’t there already.

Citing an Economic Progress Institute (EPI) fact sheet, Plain wrote, “The clear winners are a small number of wealthy taxpayers whose estates will pay less in taxes and in many cases, nothing at all starting next year. The clear losers are tens of thousands of low- and modest-income Rhode Islanders who will pay more in taxes next year. Unemployed homeowners and renters are among the biggest losers, because they will no longer qualify for property tax assistance and are not eligible for the earned income tax credit (EITC). Many of the lowest-wage workers will also be negatively impacted by the loss of the property tax refund, even with an eventual boost in the EITC.”

“SBEC’s stated mission, says Fisher, “is to ‘encourage entrepreneurship and small business growth,'” but “its lobbying activities reveal a very conservative, anti-government agenda.” ALEC, “is a mechanism by which corporations pay substantial sums of money to draft legislation benefiting them.” Neither group has the interests of state economies or average citizens in mind when they advance their agendas under the guise of “economic research.” These groups are made up entirely of the oligarchic prosperous and their servile, deluded sycophants.

Our gullible state leaders are not searching for real economic solutions to our state’s budgeting issues, they are instead looking for the excuses they need to pass the legislation their corporate masters demand.

To truly help our economy and budget, instead of eliminating the estate tax we should be increasing it.

Also, do yourself a favor and familiarize yourself with Peter Fisher’s website:

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016

State leaders demonstrate their priorities, and it’s not you

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Our state leaders seem to care more about a handful of dead millionaires than they do about over a thousand living seniors and disabled people. Here’s a video, “Dueling Concerns,” that I think best illustrates the priorities of our elected leaders in state government.

The first person you will see in the video is Grafton H. “Cap” Wiley IV, speaking at the eighth Rhode Island Small Business Economic Summit last Friday. Our state leaders were there, on stage or in the audience, to listen attentively and take notes. One of the many tax policy ideas Wiley suggested was to eliminate the Estate Tax, the tax that only dead millionaires pay. House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, responding to Wiley’s idea later in the program, promises that he will take a serious look at this idea.

The next person in the video below is Maxine Richman, co-chair of the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition, speaking at the eighth Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty vigil at the State House, held two days earlier. This event has been occurring at the State House for about the same amount of time that the Small Business Summit has been taking place at Bryant University. Richman also has a series of proposals for government leaders, including funding the free bus fare system for seniors and disabled riders. In response to Richman’s ideas, Governor Gina Raimondo shrugs her shoulders and asks, “That sounds great, but where will we get the money?”

Richman was advocating on behalf of some of the poorest people in the state. Instead of promising to really grapple with these ideas, Raimondo and Mattiello essentially said, “Sorry, the cupboards are bare.”

But in truth, this has nothing to do with how much money the State of Rhode Island has to spend, it has to do with government priorities. Dead millionaires count for something in the eyes of our leaders; the poor, the elderly and the disabled do not.

For years now, for instance, the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty has asked that the General Assembly do something to reign in the usurious PayDay Loan companies, all to no avail. Mattiello dismisses the harm such companies do to our communities as ideological in nature without irony, unable to see that it’s his own ideological fixations that are responsible for enormous suffering in our state. The PayDay loan companies fund a powerful lobbyist who happens to be a close friend and mentor to Mattiello.

Lowering or eliminating the taxes on dead millionaires is a policy that flows naturally from an ideology that Mattiello and Raimondo embrace. This ideology, that has no basis in economic reality, says that lowering taxes on the moneyed classes will “trickle down” to the rest of us, and magically fund RIPTA and increase the fixed wages of the poor and elderly. The fact that it doesn’t work this way, never has and never will, threatens the deeply held beliefs, ideologies, of our government leaders and those they are beholden to, who were aptly represented at the Small Business Summit.

At one point in his presentation “Cap” Wiley told the crowd of small business owners and politicians that “businesses don’t vote,” implying that such a state of affairs denies business people political power.

That’s a crock of self-serving shit.

Businesses don’t need to vote as long as they are able to buy the attention and loyalty of elected officials.

Here’s my suggestion: Raise the estate tax. Use the money to not only fund the free bus fare system, but to also raise the earned income tax credit for low income families to 30 percent. That will do more to get our economy cooking than lower taxes for dead millionaires ever could.

Here are some of the unedited videos.

Previous coverage of the 2016 RI Small Business Economic Summit:

Business leaders decide issues elected officials will pursue at economic summit

Previous coverage of the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty:

Interfaith Vigil at State House proposes ambitious poverty agenda

January 8, 2016

Business leaders decide issues elected officials will pursue at economic summit

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

“Today is about you putting your issues on the table and [about] how you can influence the decision making process that we have in this great state,” Mark Hayward, District Director of the Rhode Island Small Business Association (SBA) told an eager gathering of business owners, lobbyists and politicians, “Your participation at this Summit will essentially decide… the direction of [economic and business] issues that are going to be critical to you over the next year.”

The 2016 Rhode Island Small Business Economic Summit (Summit) is held at Bryant University and sponsored by the SBA and the Center for Women and Enterprise. A long list of state senators, representatives and gubernatorial staff come out to this event every year. Big names include Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner and Governor Gina Raimondo. It took Hayward two minutes to list the the government reps appearing, and he didn’t get them all. It’s the kind of political access social justice groups cannot imagine.

The point, says Hayward, “is to provide an opportunity for members of the small business community to have a discussion with members of the General Assembly and the [Governor’s] administration and,” he says, “over the years, we have succeeded because many of the issues that are being taken up today, derive from the Summit.”

2016-01-08 Economic Summit — The sold old Summit

Hayward introduced speaker Stefan Pryor, Rhode Island’s Secretary of Commerce. Pryor painted a rosy picture of Rhode Island’s economic future, saying, “We’re beginning to see the optimism lift, we’re beginning to see the unemployment drop, we are starting to see the new projects start, and we are starting to see the pessimism dissipate.”

Pryor did not mention the cruel poverty that affects nearly 1 in 5 children in our state, but he did mention that the state is “still suffering from unemployment. We still compete for the worst unemployment rate in New England.”

Pryor did not draw a connection between the high unemployment, high poverty and what he called a “favorable tax climate” for business. “We have the lowest corporate tax rate in the northeast, a hard-earned distinction at 7 percent. In the recent session we completely eliminated the sales tax on energy, the Business Energy Tax. It’s not an easy tax to eliminate a tax entirely but it’s gone. Gone forever.”

Pryor assured those in attendance that Rhode Island will not be raising taxes on business owners. “We have not raised a major tax, corporate, income or sales, in twenty years,” said the Secretary with pride, “Think about that relative to tax stability and at the same time we’re axing taxes.

“Why do we think we can maintain that kind of stability going forward? In this past session we put the final touches on and solidified pension reform that then General Treasurer Raimondo had begun. With all your help, Medicaid reform, in a substantial way, was undertaken.

“These structural reforms will save Rhode Islanders over $4 billion dollars over the next 20 years” and “this will ensure future retirement security and future budgetary stability, said Pryor, “That’s the platform we’re building. The hybrid of generations of discipline and not raising taxes, even when times were tough.

“These are the signs of responsible budgeting and sensible fiscal stewardship.”

You can watch all of Pryor’s remark Here:

January 7, 2016

STEP fights corporate welfare at City Hall with a carnival atmosphere

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

A petition signed by nearly 400 Providence residents was delivered to City Hall Thursday night by STEP (Stop Tax Evasion in Providence) calling on Mayor Jorge Elorza and the City Council to reject four ordinances that would authorize $3 million in tax breaks to connected developers.

Details on Elorza’s tax breaks for existing properties

Mayor Elorza offering tax breaks Candidate Elorza opposed

The Extraordinary Rendition Band played outside City Hall in support of the protest and then lead a march inside, up the stairs and eventually into the City Council chambers. Seven police officers were on the scene.

At the same time the protesters arrived, people were arriving for the Bike the Night with Mayor Elorza event. The STEP protesters were eager to engage with the Mayor about the proposed tax breaks, but Mayor Elorza did not make it to the bike event that bore his name, citing a conflict.

City Council President Luis Aponte told me that the Council is “taking a real hard look” at the proposed tax breaks, noting that there is some affordable housing in the mix of properties under discussion, and these may need to be subsidized. Aponte also said that he’s “not sure” if the tax breaks amount to $3 million, assuring me that the actual number will come out as the City Council examines the proposals.

Sam Bell, executive director of the RI Progressive Democrats of America and STEP member called the proposed tax breaks “corporate welfare.” The tax breaks are to be awarded to a bunch of very well-off people who don’t want to pay their fair share in taxes, says Bell. These properties have already had over a decade of tax breaks, he said, and if they can’t get the numbers to work, they need to go to the banks and refinance. Otherwise, these tax breaks amount to a “bank bailout.”

John Jacobson, who organized the petition delivery, arrived in a Santa suit and called the proposed deal corporate welfare and “crony capitalism.”

“We shouldn’t live in a city where if you have the right last name or are connected you don’t have to pay taxes,” said Jacobson. He spoke to the crowd gathered outside the Counicl chambers for some time, explaining the background of the tax breaks connected developers have come to expect in the city.

The STEP coalition also includes Unite Here Local 217 and organizers Jenna Karlin and Heather Nichols-Haining attended the protest.

Candidate Elorza told the RIPDA that he was opposed to granting tax breaks to developers that didn’t generate positive revenue for the city. Mayor Elorza has yet to explain why he changed his mind on this issue.

January 6, 2016

Interfaith Vigil at State House proposes ambitious poverty agenda

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

2016-01-06 Interfaith Poverty Vigil 02 — Bishop Herson Gonzalez

For the eighth year the Rhode Island Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty held a vigil at the State House near the beginning of the legislative season to, in the words of House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello, “remind all of us in the General Assembly of how important it is to keep the issues related to poverty at the forefront of our agenda.”

The vigil was attended by representatives from a multitude of faiths. Governor Gina Raimondo, Speaker Mattiello and Senate President M Teresa Paiva-Weed all spoke briefly to the crowd. The keynote was delivered by Bishop Herson Gonzalez of the Calvary Worship Center in Woonsocket.

Maxine Richman, co-chair of the RI Interfaith Coalition to Reduce Poverty (Coalition) spoke first, outlining the 2016 Advocacy Platform for the group. She began with a sobering statistic. 14.3 percent of Rhode Islanders live in poverty. That rate climbs to 19.8 percent when we talk about children specifically.

“A 14.3 percent poverty rate is the story for this year,” said Richman, “but it need not be the story for next year.”

The coalition believes that all Rhode Islanders are entitled to affordable housing, nutritious food, accessible healthcare, equitable education and work with decent wages.

Though the General Assembly raised the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) last session, something both Paiva-Weed and Mattiello touted as a great success in their opening remarks Tuesday, RI’s present 12.5 percent rate is a far cry from Connecticut’s EITC of 27.5 percent or Massachusetts’ 23 percent. The Coalition is asking the General Assembly raise the RI EITC to 20 percent.

Channeling yesterday’s loud rally, and on the day that Governor Raimondo has officially broken her campaign promise to issue an executive order allowing undocumented workers to obtain driver’s licenses, the Coalition asked state leaders to take this important step.

Right now low and no income Rhode Island families with children are eligible to receive cash assistance for a maximum of up to 24 months within a five year window. A mother with two children is eligible to receive $554 a month for up to 24 months. When the 24 months are done, the family is cut off, leaving children to live in crushing poverty. The coalition would like to end the 24 month limit.

Also, as they have asked nearly every year and to no avail, the Coalition would like the General Assembly to take action to reform PayDay loans. This is unlikely as long as Speaker Mattiello continues to pretend that “arguments against PayDay lending tend to be ideological in nature.”

The coalition would also like to see an expansion of Child Care Assistance and Early Childhood Education. as of Fall, 2014, for instance, only 34 percent of eligible children were enrolled in Head Start, “with many centers maintaining long waiting lists.”

The Coalition further wants to reduce out-of-school detentions which predominantly target students of color and feed the school-to-prison pipeline. They would also like to expand opportunities for workforce foundational skills and occupational training.

The RI Coalition for the Homeless (RICH) needs adequate funding to implement Opening Doors RI, and would like state leaders to seek a $100 million affordable housing bond.

The Coalition also backs efforts to prevent domestic abusers from accessing guns, a bill that died in committee last year to the consternation of supporters and the embarrassment of the General Assembly.

The Coalition would like to see adequate funding for Senior Centers and lastly, the Coalition wants the General Assembly to maintain the current RIPTA Senior/Disbabled Fare Program, recognizing that balancing the budget of public transit of the backs of the most vulnerable is simply cruel. Paiva-Weed was the only state leader to state that she would work to make this happen. Raimondo vowed to make RIPTA “affordable” which is apparently a number other than free.

“These all sound good, but where do we find the money?” asked Raimondo.

“I am very concerned about imposing a fee on elderly and disabled RIPTA passengers,” said Paiva-Weed, “and I am committed to looking at alternative funding.”

Attempting to explain his statement at last years Interfaith Poverty Vigil where he said that he wants to eliminate the social safety net, Speaker Mattiello spun a vision of a Utopian future world. “When we get the economy to a point where everybody’s thriving,” said the Speaker, “every single family has a wage earner that is successfully feeding the family, and everybody is doing well and is well fed… families are happy… that will be the day we don’t need a safety net. And at that time our safety net will justifiably be smaller.”

Here’s Bishop Herson Gonzalez’s keynote address.

Note: I was fortunate today to get permission from Rachel Simon to run her pictures of the event. So all these pictures are under her 2016 copyright.

And here’s the full vigil.

January 5, 2016January 6, 2016

Mayor Elorza offering tax breaks Candidate Elorza opposed

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

As a candidate, Jorge Elorza promised that tax deals would not be given out unless Providence could profit from the deal in some way. Mayor Elorza, however, seems intent on perpetuating the kinds of bad practices that lead inevitably to higher tax rates for home owners.

When the RI Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA) were in the process of interviewing candidates for Mayor of Providence in search of the group’s endorsement, they took the liberty of recording the interviews. One of the questions that the group posed to then candidate Elorza was about Tax Stabilization Agreements (TSAs) which are essentially massive tax breaks given by the city to what it considers to be worthy investments. The idea behind TSAs is that a company might want to build in Providence, and in order to lure the company here, a tax break is given. This might spur building and development, and if used properly, is arguably a good idea.

However, in practice, these tax breaks are not doled out in ways that might spur growth or development, but are given out to developers who have back room connections to City Hall. It’s cronyism at its worst, and it costs Providence home owners directly, as their taxes are raised to cover the breaks given to insiders.

According to the Progressive Democrats, “The deals pending before the city right now are even more egregious than usual. That’s because the development has already happened. There’s no question of encouraging development–the developers want their special tax deals to continue. This is just giving the city’s limited tax dollars to big developers. Pure and simple.”

Sam Bell, executive director of the RIPDA, said, “One of the things that really inspired us about Elorza when he was running was his commitment to crack down on the abusive culture of corporate welfare. It’s very sad to see him change his tune now that he’s won.”

You can watch Elorza answer the question about TSAs below.

See more here: Details on Elorza’s tax breaks for existing properties

December 28, 2015December 28, 2015

Poor workers deserve a just wage, a ‘living wage’

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

“An unfettered pursuit
of money rules. That is
the dung of the devil.”
Pope Francis

The Pope doesn’t care much for greed.

The wages of 30 million U.S. workers cause so much misery they leave within a year. The Economist states this chaos continues because, “The most obvious incentive—more money—is often the last to be considered.”

Often, the issue is greed.

Retail and fast-food businesses also stiff taxpayers. Walmart pays ‘low, low’ wages to impoverished employees: Forbes reports taxpayer assistance totals about $6.2 billion annually.

James Parrott, the Fiscal Policy Institute’s Chief Economist, states, “Wages are so low that 60% of fast-food workers qualify for public assistance.”

What to do? Purdue University’s study concluded that doubling Indiana’s fast-food workers’ wages to $15 an hour would raise prices only 4.3 percent. A $3.99 hamburger would increase 18 cents.

This increase is slight because employee turnover is significantly reduced: Recruiting and training costs decrease; worker morale and productivity improves. With current turnover greater than 100 percent, retail and fast-food industries, on average, lose all employees every year.

This can change. Seattle restaurant owner Jeremy Price says of paying $15 an hour, “It has been a positive change for our staff and our business.”

A living wage is a win/win/win: Employees receive a just wage; employers overcome high turnover and reduced productivity; and taxpayers avoid paying ‘corporate welfare’ for low-wage workers.

The primary problem is greed.

The wealthy counter with the myth: “The rich are makers, the poor are takers.” The reverse is true.

First, lobbyists write laws giving corporate welfare for ‘the takers.’ According to the conservative InvestmentWatch, their loopholes and looting are so brazen that, in 1950, corporations paid $3.00 for every dollar paid by workers; corporations now pay 22 cents.

Second, corporations have stashed $2.1 trillion overseas. This ‘takers’ tax scheme, according to the nonpartisan New America Foundation, eliminated 1.3 million to 2.5 million jobs through 2011.

Third, aristocrats’ paltry effective tax rate on inheritance is 17 percent. The wealthy pay only 20 percent on capital gains.

Fourth, it bears repeating: Taxpayers bankroll corporate profits. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is livid, “It costs this state $700 million a year to subsidize the profits at McDonald’s and Burger King—and that is wrong, and that must stop.” UC-Berkeley estimates public subsidies for corporations’ low wages totals $153 billion.

The greedy rich are takers. Justice requires they pay their fair share—in taxes and wages.

Fifth, this myth states government rewards poor people who avoid work. Actually, nearly 90 percent receiving benefits are working or disabled. The rest have job training or must find work to avoid losing their safety net. All laborers, ‘the makers,’ should be paid wages which escape poverty.

Sixth, poor workers pay significant taxes: Sales taxes; Social Security; other taxes on wages; and property taxes—directly, or indirectly through rent.

Seventh, by spending all their pay, the working poor create demand for more products and services. This demand ‘ripples’ from one business to the next, multiplying business spending. Thus, living wages spur economic growth—and poor workers’ increased spending creates jobs.

Eighth, the system cheats workers. Laborers’ wages kept pace with productivity from 1948 to 1975. Since then, productivity increased 100 percent—but wages for ‘the makers,’ adjusted for inflation, declined seven percent.

The working poor are makers. Justice requires they are paid their fair share.

Wage slavery requires abolition. The ‘Fight for $15’ movement is right: The minimum wage must become a living wage.

Barriers to wage justice include ignorance and fear, but the main obstacle is greed, “The dung of the devil.”

Absent government action, businesses can still win—achieving low turnover and high productivity—by paying substantial annual increases until $15 is achieved. In this season of wonderment and thankfulness, businesses must act with courage and caring to restore dignity and decency.

November 19, 2015November 19, 2015

City Council committee passes tax break for hotel at choreographed meeting

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

Some of the business suits worn in the Providence City Council Finance Committee meeting last night were worth more than a hotel worker’s monthly salary.

The power and pressure being brought to bear, to make sure that The Procaccianti Group (TPG) got their multi-million dollar Tax Stabilization Agreement (TSA) was enough to bend reality, as a five member committee was whittled down to three members and the final vote unanimous in favor of TPG.

City Hall was electric with meetings being conducted behind closed doors. What happened in the Finance Committee room was theater, the real deals were all made out of sight. The Finance Committee meeting seemed meticulously planned so that when it started, it would fall like a string of dominoes in favor of moneyed interests and to the detriment of hotel workers.

At issue was a 13-year TSA for the Fogarty Building site downtown, where TPG wants to build a new nine-story hotel. The building trade unions want the hotel, it will provide a couple years worth of good jobs. The hotel workers want the hotel and the jobs it will provide as well, but they wanted an amendment to the TSA “calling for workers to earn 1 1/2 times the federal poverty rate, or more than $14 an hour.”

Good wages for hotel workers are important. TPG is notorious for paying poorly, and the company requires their workers to do much more than workers at competing downtown hotels. Then there’s the steady stream of injuries to workers in TPG hotels. Unionization efforts at the Renaissance Hotel have dragged on for years and only recently did the hotel win a vote to unionize. Without the amendment, a new hotel full of underpaid, overworked and at-risk workers will be coming on-line even as Renaissance workers finally realize a fair contract.

On one side of the Finance Committee meeting room was Mayor Elorza’s Chief Operating officer, Brett Smiley, RI AFL-CIO leader George Nee, Michael Sabitoni, business manager for the RI Laborers’ District Council, state senator Josh Miller, a pile of lawyers and TPG reps, and prominent members of the Providence business community. Council President Luis Aponte stood nearby and monitored the proceedings.

Hotel workers and Unite Here! organizers, vastly outnumbered and outgunned, sat opposite.

Finance Committee Chair John Igliozzi was the city councilor who once suggested tying TSA’s to better wages way back in June, 2014. When it came time to amend the TSA, however, he was silent. Councilors Kevin Jackson and Sabina Matos were also silent, save to deliver the lines required to vote the TSA to the full City Council for final approval next month.

Missing from the committee meeting was Councilor Terrance Hassett, whose day job is Senior Investigator in the Workers’ Compensation Fraud and Compliance Unit at the Department of Labor and Training. He, like two other members of the finance committee, works for the state. It is well known that Governor Gina Raimondo wants this project to proceed. On background I was told that city council members were afraid of losing their jobs if they interfered with the deal, but nobody wanted to go on record.

(Given this, Providence voters might want to reconsider electing council members with state jobs.)

Hassett was a no show, but Councillor Carmen Castillo, a hotel worker herself, was there. She put her purse and coat down into her chair, then left the room to talk off stage with someone. While she was out of the room the Finance Committee meeting started and attendance was called. She was marked absent.

As the meeting got underway Castillo entered the room, recovered her purse and coat, and left without explanation.

There were three members left of the five member committee, enough for a quorum. As hotel workers looked on, the TSA was passed out of committee without the amendment they had requested. Millions of dollars in tax breaks were given to TPG.

There were smiles and handshakes all around as one half of the room erupted in enthusiastic conversation. Finance chair Igliozzi pounded his gavel for order, there was still the city’s contract with Local 1033 to be decided, so $40,000 worth of fine business suits moved outside and into the hallways, and eventually outside into the street.

The hotel workers gathered in a corner on the third floor so that a translator could explain to some of the Spanish speaking members what had happened.

But they understood.

This was government as business and business as usual.

September 15, 2015

Don’t miss the Progressive Dems annual fundraiser!

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387

The Rhode Island Progressive Democrats of America (RIPDA) are holding their annual fundraiser Thursday, September 17 from 5:30-8:30pm at Ogie’s Trailer Park, 1155 Westminster St in Providence. This year, they’re honoring Mike Araujo of the Restaurant Opportunities Center and the One Fair Wage Coalition with the Progressive Hero award.

In Rhode Island, Democrats have near total control over the state government, yet we see almost none of the economic advantages that other blue states, like neighboring Massachusetts and Connecticut, enjoy. Our General Assembly will not pass reasonable gun legislation, moves to prevent cities and towns from raising the minimum wage, passed the biggest tax cuts for the rich in the nation, slips anti-reproductive rights legislation into the budget at the eleventh hour (preventing real discussion around the issue) and is the only Democratically controlled legislature in the country to have passed voter ID.

In short, our Democrats are political and economic conservatives and on core issues of concern to progressives, have more in common with the national Republican Party than the national Democratic Party platform.

That’s why RIPDA’s voice is so important and deserving of support. They are the conscience of a political machine in Rhode Island that would much rather be unbothered by thoughts of the poor and vulnerable. They consistently fight back against the worst abuses of state government, and they do so with virtually no funding, just the dedicated work of a gung ho group of volunteers.

Mike Araujo, honored this year with the Progressive Hero award, worked tirelessly to eliminate the tipped minimum wage, which unfairly discriminates against women and opens them to sexual harassment in the workplace. After a year long battle the tipped minimum wage was increased for the first time in decades, meaning there is still much work to be done, and you can bet that Araujo will be leading that fight. He’s also a terrific speaker and advocate.

So come on down to Ogie’s Trailer Park Thursday night and enjoy some fine food and fine company. Think about joining the RIPDA and moving the Rhode Island Democratic Party out of the hands of neoliberal blue dogs and into the hands of the working class, where it belongs.

There’s work to be done, and the RIPDA is doing it.

Order your tickets here.

Deprecated: Function get_magic_quotes_gpc() is deprecated in /hermes/bosnacweb08/bosnacweb08bf/b1577/ipg.rifuturecom/RIFutureNew/wp-includes/formatting.php on line 4387