Main Street – RI Future

February 3, 2014February 4, 2014

Two commercials: SNL spoofs CVS, Alex and Ani spoofs Main Street

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Alex and Ani wasn’t the only Rhode Island company with a commercial on national television this weekend. The costume jewelry company paid more than $3 million for an ad during the Super Bowl while CVS got a free plug on Saturday Night Live.

Click here if you can’t see the above video.

Both these Rhode Island powerhouses will clean up on Valentine’s Day, but what is even more interesting that CVS and Alex and Ani also both represent the two different kinds of flagships for a neighborhood economy. CVS traffics in convenience and Alex and Ani traffics in style, but one business model or the other usually anchors any successful enterprise zone – be it a Main Street or elsewhere.

But I think the Saturday Night Live spoof on CVS was more honest about that company’s business model than the message Alex and Ani paid local film maker David Bettencourt, senior cinematographer at Seven Swords Media, shot the commercial”to craft for them.

John Feroce's hometown Main Street still looks like this. Wayland Square hasn't since long before Alex and Ani. — John Feroce’s hometown Main Street still looks like this. Wayland Square hasn’t since long before Alex and Ani came along.

Alex and Ani isn’t helping to revive any Main Streets. It’s locating stores on already successful Main Streets. Here in Rhode Island, there are Alex and Ani stores in Wayland Square, Newport and East Greenwich. But there is not an Alex and Ani in West Warwick where Bettencourt shot scenes for the commercial and where company CEO John Feroce grew up.

I’m not suggesting there Feroce should put an Alex and Ani store in downtown West Warwick (though it certainly would certainly help the city’s economy more than it would hurt the company’s profit margin). But it sure does seem like a great argument for state aid to struggling cities if you ask me.

Think about it: West Warwick fits the bill for educating Feroce when he was growing up, but when he becomes a job creator he does so in East Greenwich and pays property taxes on a home he owns on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. That all works out great for East Greenwich and Newport, but not so much for West Warwick. This is Main Street revitalization only if you are okay with the West Warwicks of the world being left behind.

October 29, 2013October 29, 2013

What will be the big issues in 2014 governor’s race?

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It’s all well and good to know who the characters in the 2014 campaign for governor are, but we still need to know the major themes before we can know what the plot might look like.

Here’s a list of some of the public policies I hope get a good vetting during the next 12 months.

Wall Street vs. Main Street: Hedge funds, the real estate bubble, municipal bankruptcies and retirement investments … they all speak to what role high finance should play in economic development. Good, bad or indifferent – and I think it is a very good thing – because someone from Head Start and someone from venture capital are running against each other in a Democratic primary, RI will get to see this popular talking point play out in the form of a political campaign.
Tests vs. teachers: High stakes tests will and should be a part of this conversation, but the bigger issue is the achievement gap between affluent suburbs and impoverished urban areas. If NECAP scores demonstrate anything, they show that rich kids are getting a decent public education and poor kids, by and large, are not.
Cuts vs. expenditures: Conservatives will claim we need the lowest tax rates in the region to improve our economy while it remains to be seen if progressives will campaign on making the rich and powerful pay their fair share. Note that these goals aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive of each other. RI could, for example, the lower the small business tax rate and eliminate corporate tax expenditures (read: giveaways). And here’s hoping Clay Pell runs on a “tax me” platform!
Legal vs. criminal: There are a host of issues before the General Assembly that will likely spill over into the governor’s campaign because of their national implications – think voter ID and pot prohibition. Payday loans will be a particularly interesting one, as both Angel Taveras and Gina Raimondo have worked together on this issue.

What am I forgetting? Let us know in the comments what issues matter most to you this campaign season…

May 7, 2012May 7, 2012

‘Unions Buy Local’ Campaign Set to Launch

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Two of Rhode Island’s largest unions, NEARI and the RI Federation of Teachers and Health Professionals, are launching a new Unions Buy Local campaign just prior to this Mother’s Day weekend. Shopping locally makes sense as we try to work with our neighbors to help grow our local – and state – economies.

Rhode Island union members and other working people have the real purchasing power in the state, much more so than wealthy individuals. We want to use that purchasing power to support local businesses and jobs for local workers in these businesses – and strengthen ties within our local communities.

Participation is simple – members will just pass a “union buck” whenever they spend money at a local business, dine at a local restaurant, or pay for a local service. The project will roll out in three locations next week: Thursday in Warren, Friday in South Kingstown, and Saturday in North Kingstown. More towns will be announced over the next few weeks. The campaign will continue between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Union members know they fight for all working people when they engage in contract fights and legislative battles on issues like increasing the minimum wage or protecting workplace safety. Too often, Big Business tries to pit Main Street businesses against the interests of organized labor. But as is becoming clearer to more Americans, the interests of Wall Street business and Main Street business are truly divergent. That’s why it is a shame that here in Rhode Island, groups like EngageRI tried to severely diminish the purchasing power of retirees and working people in general – something that will truly hurt local business.

Unions Buy Local is a positive way for the working people of Rhode Island to demonstrate to local merchants and shop owners how much teachers and public employees contribute to the local economy. As NEARI President Larry Purtill said in the latest edition of the NEARI magazine Newsline:

“If we want local business owners and workers to support us and our financial security at budget time, then we have to support theirs. Everybody wins in this campaign. We will not be asking business owners to do anything but open their doors and understand we want to help them. All we ask in return is for those who have been critical of union and public employees to stop and think before they act. There are always ramifications to every position one takes.”