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):
Bob – Do you and your fellow progressive contributors have ANY principles at all when it comes to these public-private investments and the EDC? As far as I can tell, you maintain no principled stance whatsoever and are simply using the failures for partisan attacks on Republicans whenever it’s convenient. Let’s examine some of the most glaring inconsistencies:
-You support the idea of an EDC that uses taxpayer money to back private companies, but then you blast Carcieri for “bleed[ing] government by redistributing public dollars to the private sector.” This is what the EDC does by law.
-You support EDC investment in local companies, unionized companies, and especially manufacturing companies, but you are now in retrospect against this loan to the Capco company, which meets all three of these criteria.
-You have no issue with leaving public-private investments up to the political process through EDC appointees, but then you are outraged when the funds are dispersed on a political basis.
-You blast Carcieri for supporting the loan, and yet you ignore all Democratic lawmakers involved, including Fox, Paiva-Weed, and progressive Cicillini, who are all explicitly mentioned in the article to which you link. Cicillini, in particular, seems to have been a strong supporter of the company and public investment in it, and is mentioned supporting a separate program to subsidize temporary positions at the company with municipal funds. It also mentions that the company received stimulus funds under the Obama Administration to hire more workers.
The WORST Governor the State ever had = Carcieri
Gay teens increasingly homeless? This might not change much as once again the Boy Scouts of America capitulate to member parent preference over broader ethics in banning homosexual members:
hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BOY_SCOUTS_GAYS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Imagine if the institution of slavery, voting rights for women and people of color, and labor laws prohibiting child workers were left entirely to the preferences of constituent prejudice: slavery decided by plantation owners, voting rights decided by white men, child labor laws to factory owners. But this is just what the Boy Scouts have done in their justification – appeal to current parent preference.
Of course, when no gay young men are allowed in scouting anyway, their parents don’t get a say one way or the other, tout court.
The Hummel Report did a whole bunch of investigation into Providence’s loan program, which was rife with failures of businesses, failures of the city to collect on collateral, failure to follow open records laws, and politically connected individuals getting loans ahead of the rest of us.
This isn’t a partisan issue, both sides are more than willing to play banker with taxpayer-backed loans if they can get more ribbon-cutting ceremonies onto their resumes.