We could not agree more. It’s one of the reasons RI Future was so hard on Bob Flanders, the former Central Falls receiver – he should have been more contrite about the city’s unfortunate position; instead he joked about his power. It’s also why we took Woonsocket Reps. Jon Brien, Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and Bob Phillips to task when they pushed for a receiver – because they moved to strip their residents of their democratic rights to keep their taxes low.

Speaking of municipal bankruptcy, San Bernadino became the third California city in two weeks to seek financial help from the courts.

Rhode Island public sector retirees protested outside a DC fundraiser for Gina Raimondo yesterday … no surprise there. What I’d like to know is who was inside the Washington DC fundraiser for the smallest state’s general treasurer.

Great Mitt Romney jokes by Bob Kerr in today’s Projo: “Which brings us to Mitt Romney, who keeps his money and his sense of humor in places that are hard to find.” And: “To call Romney stiff as a board is an insult to lumber.”

Froma Harrop also pens an interesting piece, calling out conservatives for enjoying big government on vacation but not at the workplace. “Why do conservatives from elsewhere hang out in places that tax and regulate and do all kinds of other mean things to rich people like themselves? The reason is that these are nice places, and they are that way precisely because they tax and regulate. And these guys know it. If cooler summers were all they craved, they’d be partying in Upper Wisconsin.”

The Obama Administration on voter ID laws: “We call this a poll tax,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

Looking for a fun and socially enlightening summertime activity? The class warfare comedic classic “9 to 5” opens at Theatre-by-the-Sea on July 18. For another all-time classic comedy on class warfare, try Caddyshack.

Taveras fired Flanders yesterday because the retired Supreme Court justice, who was acting as an legal adviser to the Capital City in its quest to avoid going belly up, said he thought bankruptcy was inevitable.

“Judge Flanders’s recent comments concerning Providence’s fiscal crisis are unacceptable,” said Taveras in a statement. “Because of the harm his comments have done, effective today the City of Providence has severed its relationship with Judge Flanders.”

Somewhere between being named the receiver for Central Falls and being fired as a bankruptcy adviser to Providence, Flanders had become both obsessed and enamored with the idea of municipal restructuring. He penned pieces extolling bankruptcy’s benefits, and seemed to tell anyone who would listen what a boon Chapter 11 could be.

He even traveled to a bondholders conference in Philadelphia and, in trumpeting the virtues of coerced contract negotiations, according to the Huffington Post, said, “We could blow up any contract we liked.”

Turns out, however, that Providence didn’t mind blowing up his contract either.

Flanders had become an outspoken and often obnoxious force in the realm of municipal restructuring. He turned even ardent supports against him when he gave a poorly-received performance at the annual Follies, cracking wise about his job of stripping working class people of their agreed upon retirement plans. Dressed as an executioner, Flanders likened himself to Darth Vader and called himself the “lord of the pink slip.”

Prior to that, Gov. Chafee had to revoke Flanders decision to outlaw street parking in Central Falls after it became painfully evident that the decision was little more than a way to charge Central Falls residents for having cars (most homes in CF don’t have driveways, so parking on the road is the only option). He’s being sued by the ACLU for not properly adhering to the state’s rules for democracy in his role as Central Falls receiver.

While Flanders has done good work in getting Central Falls’ budget back in line, he proved disastrous at the public relations aspect of his role. He came across as arrogant and uncaring. He belittled the people he was supposed to be helping. He made Rhode Island seem like a state that didn’t care about its struggling communities, only their bottom lines.

Gov. Chafee would be wise to show the same kind of leadership that Taveras did and rebuke Flanders for giving municipal bankruptcy a bad name. But he shouldn’t be removed as Central Falls receiver; Chafee should simply slash Flanders exorbitant contract that pays him more than $360,000 a year.

Surely, Flanders would be amenable to taking less money to be the “lord of the pink slip” in Central Falls because, as we all know, a haircut is better than a beheading.

Crowley has to live with the effects of bankruptcy. Flanders doesn’t even show up for public meetings in Central Falls, and will get paid more than a third of a million dollars because of bankruptcy.

Crowley went to Central Falls High School, and worked for 40 years there as a city clerk. Flanders went to Harvard Law School, lives in East Greenwich and I’ll bet had never been to Central Falls before becoming its receiver.

Crowley has said bankruptcy has been bad for Central Falls’ morale. Flanders told the Projo “it’s not a mark of shame.” But he also made some pretty pointed jokes about it at the Follies, for which he was roundly criticized.

Crowley said Central Falls lost its public libraries and community center because of bankruptcy. In East Greenwich, where Flanders raised his family, the school committee recently decided to spend $1 million renovating its school library. Oh yeah, about a third of that project will be paid for by the state. In 2010, East Greenwich renovated a historic gym into a community center for $3 million.

Woonsocket may indeed decide that bankruptcy is the best option for it to right its fiscal issues. But it would be wise to consider Crowley’s perspective on it more than Flanders. Doing otherwise would be like asking the fox, rather than the farmer, for advice on protecting the hen house.