David Cicilline Signs Grayson-Takano Letter
Thank you Congressman Cicilline for standing up against cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security! When Barack Obama proposed cuts to Social Security in his current budget, progressives were horrified. Fortunately, in the First District of Rhode Island, we have a congressman who opposes this dangerous unraveling of the New Deal. David Cicilline has signed [...]
In Budget Vote, Cicilline Betrays Progressives
As I predicted on Tuesday, Congressman Cicilline voted against the Progressive Caucus’s budget on Wednesday. For a vice chair of the Progressive Caucus, this is a major break—especially after Rhode Island progressives have made it very clear they do not want Cicilline to abandon House progressives. This is a tough vote for Rhode Island progressives [...]
Will Cicilline Abandon Progressives On Budget?
Many progressives worked hard to reelect David Cicilline. I spent a lot of my summer and fall knocking on doors for him instead of helping out progressives in tight General Assembly races. When everyone was piling on Cicilline a year ago, we were defending him. We took a lot of flack, but we knew that [...]
Whitehouse’s Week That Was In Washington DC
It was a busy political week here in the Ocean State, and it was for those who represent us inside the beltway, as well … off-shore drilling, climate change, carbon pollution, the debate on how to control gun violence, the budget process and much more… Senator Sheldon Whitehouse managed to stay involved in all of [...]
Cicilline To Paul Ryan: ‘My Question Is A *Factual* One’
This is exactly why Rhode Island reelected Congressman David Cicilline: so we would have someone who would stand up to Paul Ryan. From The Hill today about his bizarrely inappropriate budget proposal: “Ryan this year made a concession to conservatives and moved up the date when his budget balances.” Paul Ryan making a concession to [...]
EPI on Gov’s Budget: Right Problems, Wrong Solutions
The Economic Progress Institute, Rhode Island’s lone progressive economic think tank, has released a report that is largely critical of Gov. Chafee’s budget proposal. Like our analyses of Chafee’s speech and proposal, it acknowledges that the governor has identified the right problems, but not the right solutions. According to the Institute’s report released this morning: [...]
Arguing With The Tax Policy Switcheroo
I was or will be on Channel 10′s News Conference Sunday show this week, depending on when you’re reading this. John Simmons, of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council, was a guest with me. An exchange we had reminds me of many I’ve had recently, including this comment from Dan DaPonte, the Senate Finance Committee [...]
Want an Efficient Historic Tax Credit? Raise Taxes
As the maneuvering in advance of the next legislative session gets into gear, we keep hearing that the state’s historic structures tax credit is to be revived. To recap: for several years, Rhode Island had a tax credit available for developers who restored historic buildings. It was essentially a subsidy for 30% of the cost [...]
RI’s Gambling Addiction: Vote No on Questions 1, 2
Every couple of years someone in RI has the same brainstorm: “Let’s balance the budget by increasing state gambling revenue!” There is often some time-critical imperative requiring that we do it immediately if not sooner. This election cycle it’s the threat/certainty of gambling casinos going up across the border in Massachusetts: our addicted gamblers will [...]
Legislature Wanted to Force Cities to Cut Taxes
June in Rhode Island means two things: ripe strawberries and gubernatorial vetos. The silly way our legislature schedules things — with all important bills held until after the budget passes to ensure every legislator falls into line on that vote — means that hundreds of bills are passed in the last few days of the [...]
Legislature Ignores Public Transit in Budget
Who cares about buses? Apparently no one on Smith Hill. The House Budget, to be voted on Thursday, contains not a penny in new revenue for RIPTA. It also contains no ideas, proposals, or signs that anyone in the House Fiscal staff spent more than a dozen minutes thinking about the agency. This is hardly [...]
As Legislature Spends Money, Cities Feel Pinch
I see from the Providence Journal that the new state-appointed budget commission has decided that the city council and Mayor Fontaine were exactly right to request permission from the state to impose a supplemental tax increase on their citizens. Last week, after an impassioned speech by Rep. Lisa Baldelli-Hunt, the House rejected Woonsocket’s request. This [...]
Netroots, Occupy Should Protest State Budget Bill
Sometimes the stars align for good things to happen. Here’s hoping such is the case with the seemingly-destined convergence of progressive events to play out in Providence Thursday afternoon. Netroots Nation will be in the middle of its first day inside the Convention Center. Occupy Providence will be protesting economic inequality outside on Sabin Street. [...]
Budgeting for Disaster: Like What We’ve Got? Good
As has been amply reported by other writers here and in other places, the state budget has emerged from the mists of the Finance Committee, and will likely be voted on and passed this week. It contains no broad-based tax changes, though there are small increases in cigarette taxes, and small expansions of the sales [...]
Better Government, or Just Cheaper Government?
One of the great things about sophistry is that in any argument there is always enough dust around to throw in people’s eyes. Whatever the argument, the dirt at your feet is always at hand. One of the great things about intellectual honesty is that you don’t take positions without multiple sources of support. It [...]
Budget Bill Restores Previous Cuts, Adds Sales Taxes
It’s been called the year of restoration, in part because this year’s proposed budget will restore cuts made last year to programs for the developmentally disabled and low-income dental insurance. The “education funding formula will be fully funded for the second straight year,” House Finance Committee Chairman Helio Melo said, noting that $22 million is [...]
Clothing, Cigarette Taxes Considered for Budget
With the proposed budget expected to restore some funds cut last year, several revenue sources first identified in Gov. Chafee’s budget proposal may be used to pay for them. House Finance Committee Chairman Helio Melo, who has been tight-lipped about the budget he has been crafting with staff for the last several weeks, said, “Revenues [...]
House Democrats Offer Clues About Budget
As House Democrats emerged from a closed-door caucus on Tuesday afternoon concerning the budget proposal, a picture began to develop of what might be included in the annual spending bill which will be released Thursday. “There’s probably not going to be tax increases,” said Frank Ferri, a progressive Democrat from Warwick. But he and other [...]
Paiva Weed Pushes for Reversing Cuts to Disabled
Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said she is pushing for restoring funds to programs for the developmentally disabled in this year’s budget. “From an overall policy perspective we believe decisions in last year’s budget resulted in a negative impact on the community,” she said. “The senate has consistently made restoration of funding for the developmentally [...]
President Obama and the Imaginary Spending Binge
Recently, I did something I shouldn’t have done, and I’d like to confess here. Someone I don’t know wrote me a nice note about some things I have written and some banking issues I’m working on (more on this someday). In the process of the note, he described himself as moderate Republican, “fiscally conservative and [...]
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