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Pretty, creative state seeks businesses wanting same


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Downtown Providence.
Downtown Providence.

The idea that Rhode Island’s government is good at picking business winners and losers is bankrupt—even setting aside 38 Studios. While cutting taxes and offering incentives may draw corporations, they flee when publicly funded freebies are withdrawn or lowballed by another state (see Bank of America, the “Superman” building, Metlife and CVS’s recent rumblings).

Here are three paradigms to transform our small state into a powerful commerce engine.

Environment is our advantage

Landscape is our natural resource, and it draws tourism. It’s taken 40 years to fix much of the industrial pollution. Putting the DEM’s environmental permitting in the hands of business interests is like asking the fox to watch the henhouse. Give DEM and local governments the ability and resources to maintain and improve our children’s environment.

Additionally, public transportation systems are crucial to 21st century viability. Borrowing money to fund road construction is insufficient. We must replace RIPTA’s funding formula so that bus, trolley and future light rail services can expand to meet growing demand, save energy and reduce CO2 emissions.

Invest in small, innovative and exportable

Providence isn’t just the Creative Capitol; the entire State of Rhode Island is an innovation magnet. Many of our artisans are small independent businesses that don’t show up on the economic radar.

More energy can be directed to encouraging, supporting and streamlining small and micro businesses, diversifying our portfolio.

At the same time, a new “Commerce Concierge” can be created to serve as a single point of contact to navigate the rocky waters of permitting and regulation, and then report back on roadblocks with proposed fixes.

Finally, promoting our “brand” as an international arts center will increase income at home as we export premium-designed work and draw tourists who will watch us create.

Improve public education, smartly

No educated person wants to send their child to a bad school. Not everyone can pay for private schools.

Instead of resisting the fact that we have so many school districts, let’s leverage it. Give local districts the power and the funding to choose how to best improve themselves. All schools need advanced tracks and most schools need supportive tracks. While standardized testing has identified flaws, it is not a panacea for correction. Allow teachers to adjust classes to suit the needs and abilities of their students. We also need to accept that growing up in poverty undermines education, and experiment with innovation to give everyone the opportunity to learn and succeed.

“Hey Mr. Buffet! I just heard about a beautiful place that’s filled with creative energy and has great schools… It’s called Rhode Island.”

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Things To Do At The State House, Early 2013 Edition


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Pass Marriage Equality

Ok, so Marriage Equality is a half step away from becoming law. The General Assembly has gotten things rolling quickly for a change.

But Marriage Equality isn’t enough.

America’s Best Public Schools

On her FaceBook Page, Commissioner Deborah Gist posted a picture bragging—or promising—”Welcome to Rhode Island Home of America’s Best Public School.”

This was my response:

The best public schools in America are not about having students who do well on tests… The best schools are ones that allow teachers to teach with creativity, that allow students to learn at their own pace. They push students to go beyond where they are comfortable. The best schools may have the best facilities, where the roof doesn’t leak and the heat works, but that’s not the point. The point is that in the classroom, young people are listening, talking, excited, working, writing, creating and asking questions. And the question isn’t, “Is this going to be on the test?” The best schools in America don’t prepare students for the jobs of today, they prepare them for the work that has yet to be invented, which is to say they trust the teachers to teach the students how to learn. No teacher can force a student to learn or perform on a test, but every teacher can nudge the student along. The best schools in the country aren’t worried and fearful about being “left behind”. Can Rhode Island have the best schools in the country? Yes. Are these the policies that will take us there? I don’t know.

My opinion on what would work?

  • Use tests to help students, not evaluate teachers
  • Make superintendents and commissioners accountable for the results of their districts. There is a 3 year revolving door policy on district superintendents. Every three years someone new is put in charge, with a raft of new policies (same as the old, but different). Two and a half years later, they are ready to move to the next district where they can tout the progress they’ve made and blame the administration they’ve left of the mistakes that remain.
  • Allow principals to quarantine poor-performing teachers. They do exist, and they wreck learning for students today. Perhaps make them do duty as administrators.
  • Allow principals to reward the best teachers. There are so many of you out there. Keep it up.
  • Eliminate the fear factor in our schools. High testing is used to dominate, manipulate and control teachers. Teachers pass this fear to their students. How many of you fondly remember testing? What did you learn from those tests? Every few weeks I get a robocall from the school system saying, “Testing tomorrow is important. Make sure your child is on time and gets a good night sleep.”
  • Permit, but do not require, every school to have accelerated and remedial tracks. Our children are not being challenged to reach beyond “Grade Level Expectations.” Those who need help must get it. Those who need nudging must be inspired.
  • Restore arts, sports, theater and everything that makes school fun. Science and Math are great. Where are the science fairs? English is important. What about school plays? Rather than buying computers for schools, teach the students how to build them.

Reform Payday Lending

I’ve said this before. 260% interest on short term loans is usury. It is debilitating and addictive.  We’ve made Heroin illegal to buy and sell. It’s time to stop permitting large out of state companies to profit from our state’s poverty.

Either Investigate 38 Studios or Drop it

Looking into the mechanism of what didn’t work with the 38 Studios Disaster won’t help if it’s an internal look at the people who made the mistakes by the people who made the mistakes. It certainly won’t work if they aren’t held liable or accountable.

We know what didn’t work.

  • Back Room Deals
  • Razzle Dazzle by Sports Hero
  • Bet the farm on something unproven
  • Overpay for borrowing (we’re not allowed to pre-paydown the loan)
  • Don’t take responsibility when things fail and blow up
  • Lack of boldness in negotiating with bond holders
  • Assume that a big company from out of state is better than little companies in state
  • Assume that the Government can actually make good decisions about which businesses will work and which won’t
  • Offer tax incentives to the wealthy and big (hello CVS!)

What could work?

  • Tax incentives for businesses that create infrastructure
  • Penalties for businesses that default on their obligations to produce results
  • Stop bribing companies to come to Rhode Island (they’ll just leave when someone gives them a better deal)
  • Invest in our roads, internet, education
  • Create collaboratives between businesses and schools to produce workers for today’s jobs.
  • Invest in teaching students how to learn and master new skills — not just perform on the test (Yes, I know I’m repeating myself. This is key.)

Reform Election Finances

I spent $12,000 on my election. My opponent spent ten times that. Both figures are, in my opinion, too much for a job that would have paid me $14,500. Our state legislators are probably the worst paid employees in the government. I don’t blame them for hanging onto their “free” health care.

Here are a few suggestions…

  • No campaign contributions during the legislative session. (Thanks John Lombardi and Spenser Dickinson)
  • Eliminate the Master Lever (Thanks Ken Block). If you can’t get someone to mark your name, then you don’t deserve their vote.
  • Make casting a ballot mandatory and fine the folk who don’t vote. Use this funding to publicly finance elections. This is the system that works in Australia. We ought to try it here. (Note: Special exemptions for weird scenarios like Central Falls’ 300 elections this year.)

Got it? Now go!

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Speaking to the Speaker


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State House Dome from North Main Street
State House Dome from North Main Street
The State House dome from North Main Street. (Photo by Bob Plain)

Winners in political races have it easy. They thank everyone and move forward. The Silver Medalists analyze what went wrong and fade into the shadows. Is it possible to write a post-election column as the loser and not sound self-serving, shrill or sour? I’m going to do my best.

From the beginning, this race was about the way that the legislature hasn’t been working effectively for the citizens, voters and taxpayers.

My analysis of the way the system functions is this:

  • On Election Day, 75 men and women are voted into the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
  • Shortly after that a number of them meet. They horse trade over issues and bills and power. Then they determine who will be the Speaker. You’re either on the team or you’re off.
  • In January, the 75 Reps vote on the Speaker and the Rules of the House. Currently, these rules give the Speaker the authority to set the agenda and move legislation on and off the floor at his or her discretion
  • And for the next two years, all of the Reps who are not part of the “Leadership” beg for scraps and line items. The true outsiders get nothing.

The system, as a voter in Mt. Hope said, isn’t broken. It works great for those in charge. But it doesn’t work so well for Rhode Island. We, the people, elected you to be our Representatives, not to give away your power.

The deals that representatives make are supposed to be in the best interest of the state as a whole, not the special interests and campaign donors. Payday lending rates of 260% annual interest are usurious and unjustifiable.  Votes on social issues, like Marriage Equality, ought to be held early every session rather than suppressed.

Our State’s business climate is not just dependent on tax rates, tax breaks and loan guarantees. Your business should not depend on the whim of a Speaker and the uninformed consent of the Legislature.

Our children should not be educated in a system that is overhauled in the middle of the night on a budget vote with no public debate, discussion or even planning. Children need more than institutions and buildings, they need books and materials. Students need more than testing, they need teachers who have the time and permission to teach them on their own terms.

I hope that my challenge to Gordon Fox reminds him, and every other Speaker who follows, that the power that they wield derives from the people.

You are not in charge. We are.

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Reforming the Legislature


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State House Dome from North Main Street
State House Dome from North Main Street
The State House dome from North Main Street. (Photo by Bob Plain)

Ask 100 people about Rhode Island’s government and 105 will say it’s broken, and probably not fixable.

Phase 1: Attack the Assumptions

From day one, my campaign for House District 4 has been about challenging that truism. It was clear to me at the start that the Speaker of the House used his power to push through the 38 Studios Video Game disaster, and then denied any responsibility for the outcome.

The most powerful man in the state of Rhode Island beaten by an unknown independent? That would create an opportunity for a breath of fresh air. At the start of the campaign, many people questioned whether my attempt was even credible. Today, few doubt that it is. We’ve had our fair share of media publicity. The smiles on the faces of neighbors and strangers throughout the district when I knock on their doors and give my pitch are reassuring too.

Currently, it’s looking like a close race, so we’re pushing ahead our next plan…

Phase 2: Change the Rules

Politics abhors a power vacuum, and many have expressed fears that whoever comes post-Fox will be “worse.” Better the devil you know? That’s so old school. How about a new way of running the State government that actually works for the State?

The old system works like this. Thirty-eight representatives agree to elect one of their members a Speaker. Then they give all their power to the Speaker, do whatever he (or she) says, and beg for scraps.

Why? I realize that the existence of a Speaker is specified in the State’s Constitution, but the system seems to work well only for the leadership. And the special interests who contribute to campaigns and lobbyists.

It doesn’t seem to work very well for the citizens, voters and taxpayers of this state. It doesn’t seem to work very well for the individual legislators outside the circle of power. Arrangements are made in back rooms, deals are cut, and votes are delayed until the last minute so that no one really knows what is going on.

Today I am inviting and challenging the current and future reps to adopt a government reform proposal in caucus before electing the next Speaker of the House.

Members of the House can and must make it a priority to fix the structural problems that led to such controversial decisions as the 38 Studios deal and this year’s last minute mash-up of the Board of Regents and the Office of Higher Education.  We must adopt a drastic reform plan and secure a commitment from any candidate for Speaker to support the plan before committing our votes.

The starter elements for this plan include:

  • The proposal put forth by State Representative Spencer Dickinson to prohibit campaign fundraising during the legislative session. This will prevent the corrosive contributions before, during and after working on legislation that benefit the special interests.
  • Amending the House rules to prevent the House Finance Chair from introducing amendments to the budget without prior notice. This will prevent late night amendments, like the one that smashed together the Board of Regents and office of Higher Ed.
  • Requiring the General Assembly to comply with the 48-hour notice provision of the Open Meetings Law for both committee and floor actions, thus making our government truly open and public.

There are other ideas floating around: a deadline for bringing bills out of committee before the end of the session to prevent the onslaught of last-minute votes and give legislators time to actually read the bills; allotting time in the calendar for legislators to call for votes from the floor for bills, thus short-circuiting the dead-in-committee morass.

Putting the power of the legislator into the hands of one person doesn’t work for the State. It doesn’t work for the voters, and it costs taxpayers money.  Meaningful steps have to be taken to prevent the kind of scandals and abuses of power we have seen under Gordon Fox and his predecessors.  It’s time to move ahead.

We know that every candidate is getting the message that people are fed up with the kinds of deals and abuses that produced 38 Studios.  So let’s do something about it and make fixing state government a priority.

Legislators need to come together in caucus and say that there will be no vote for Speaker until a roadmap for government reform is in place and has the support of the woman or man elected speaker.

Every legislator who supports this roadmap to reform will be able to tell his or her constituents that ‘I stood up and fought to change the way business is done in the State House.’

Most important, these kinds of changes are wins for the people, the voters and the taxpayers.

The rules that we have haven’t been working. It’s time to change the rules.

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RI Future, Gordon Fox Serve Those in Charge


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In two of his recent Progress Reports, Bob Plain, the editor of RI Future, posted comments that trouble me on several levels.

It’s unlikely Binder will knock Fox out of office, but he could help move him back toward the left side of the political spectrum. Or he could do just enough political damage to make it hard for him to retain the Speaker’s gavel, which might not be a good thing for progressives…
—Bob Plain, RI Progress Report

Fox is more conservative than we’d like in a Speaker and Binder is less experienced than we’d like in a state Representative. Practically speaking, wheen factoring in both of these circumstances, the House of Representatives probably moves to the right if Binder were to upset Fox.
—Bob Plain, RI Progress Report

This logic remind me of what a Mt. Hope voter said to me recently:

“I don’t think the government is broken. I think it’s working just fine for those who are in charge.”

Unlikely?

As I’ve been knocking on doors throughout my district, the reception I have been getting is warm and congratulatory. People smile and thank me for running, especially against Gordon Fox. Then they say, “Do you think you have a chance?” I answer quite honestly, “If you and all the people you know vote for me, then I will win.”

Fox moves left?

  • 38 Studios: A deal brokered by Michael Corso, a Fox business associate who profited at the expense of the taxpayers. Shoved through in a typical late night session with little debate. Representatives on the floor of the house deny that they knew that the $75 million was slated for a baseball players dream team. Even now, Gordon Fox flip flops on whether he knew/didn’t know before ramming the bill through.
  • Payday Lending Reform: 50 State Reps co-sponsored a bill to reduce payday lending from 260% to about 36%. Bill Murphy, a former Speaker, was paid $50,000 by an out-of-state payday lending company. The bill died in committee. Fox said that the bill had been watered down. Why didn’t he just put the straight bill on the table?
  • Marriage Equality: Civil unions are not enough. Maybe when Fox made his great compromise he thought that they were. If so, why have only 52 couples opted for the watered-down civil union option in the past two years? Since then Fox has promised to pass marriage equality but continued to duck his responsibility and avoid wielding his power to bring this black and white issue to a vote. Why? Because it protects Conservative Democrats, and it might fail. Boo hoo.
  • The Midnight Education Merger: At the beginning of 2012, Fox promised no last minute votes. He broke that promise, and one of the results was the mashup of the Board of Regents and the Office of Higher Education. Asked in a debate why, he shrugged and said, “We have to try something.” No public discussion, no debate. From the folk I’ve talked with one in the elementary schools or universities want to be under the thumb of the same organization. George D. Caruolo, another former Speaker, will have a good job.

Where is the Progressive in these issues?

Political Damage?

Our legislature is dominated by fear. The Reps and Senators give away their power at the beginning of the session to the “leaders” and then beg for crumbs.

They cower in fear in the halls of the legislature and then crow when the leaders give them a line item in the budget or let one of their proposals rise from the black hole of committee. They whisper and confer and suspend the rules and vote on bills that most of them haven’t read.  This is called “hardball politics.”

How’s that working for our state? The other day at the gym, a guy on a treadmill joked that every year the legislature passes lots of election bills because they always seems to benefit the legislators.

What else benefits the legislators? They get campaign contributions from special interests, and then submit bills, vote on bills and push bills through that benefit those special interests.

And it’s all out there in the public record.

  • Gordon Fox collected $7,200 in contributions from auto repair shops, just 90 days before he pushed through a controversial auto insurance bill that benefitted those shops at the expense of consumers.  Thankfully, the Governor vetoed the bill.
  • The law firm Adler Pollack and Sheehan raised $7,300 for the Speaker.  Shortly after that, they got the contract from the Joint Committee on Legislative Services to defend the gerrymandering in the legislative redistricting plan in court.
  • And as recently as September 5th, the Speaker hauled in $5,900 from the lobbyist for the car wash industry and a number of car washes.  That came just months after the Speaker rammed through a last minute budget proposal to exempt car washes—an only car washes—from the Governor’s expanded sales tax.

Are these really all coincidences? Who benefits from contributions to Gordon Fox’s $200,000+ campaign slush fund? Voters? Taxpayers?

Was this a move to the right or the right move?

Meanwhile, Fox has bought into the Conservative dogma that raising taxes is bad for business and good for government. And he’s given the Casinos a sweetheart deal that means taxpayers will have to loose three times as much at table games as they do at the slots just for the State to break even on what it gets now.

How’s that all going for us?

Is Speaker Fox retaining the gavel really doing the Progressives any benefit? Is having Gordon Fox in the House benefitting the people in District Four?

I think it’s clear that our “representatives” haven’t been working for us. They have been working for each other and for their special interests.

In Gordon Fox’s case, he’s been working hard  for his business associates, former Speakers, and for the campaign contributors. For the people in his district? Not so much.

I will be honored if you vote for me, and help knock them out.

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Rethinking the Proper Role for the State Politician


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State House Dome from North Main Street
State House Dome from North Main Street
The State House dome from North Main Street. (Photo by Bob Plain)

There’s a “What can you do for me?” mentality about politics that I doubt anyone in Rhode Island will dispute.

People say over and over again, “The legislature stinks, but my guy is ok.” And then they vote for the incumbent.

Sitting legislators have the power of the budget to fund and disburse. Line items in the budget are a great way to fund important projects in local neighborhoods, but they’re also a great source of pork, influence and publicity.

When a politician builds a playground, what is she really doing but returning your tax money to your block? She might have shown up on groundbreaking day to hoist a shovel. And she’ll show up again for the ribbon cutting.

One voter recently told me that my opponent had regularly donated $2,000 to an organization she cared about. I asked if it came from him or from his campaign committee*, and she didn’t know. I said, no. I can’t do that, and I can’t even promise that I’ll have enough power to swing a line item. If you want business as usual, I told her, then you can vote for my opponent.

What is shocking is how inexpensively Rhode Islander’s sell their votes. A playground here, lifting a parking ban there, getting a sidewalk fixed here.

Even the pernicious practice of getting rides to the polls implies that a voter doesn’t care enough to walk or drive or arrange a ride to cast a ballot. Remember those pictures of women in Iraq with the purple fingers? They made it hundreds of miles and waited days to cast their ballots.

No politician is going to promise to raise taxes in an election cycle. And no politician is going to say, “We’re going to cut your funding.” (Well, the Democrats are saying the first about the rich, and the Republicans are saying that to the poor, but let’s set aside those quarreling minorities ;-)

So, in a time of shrinking tax bases and increasing costs, how can we solve our problems? Can a politician help?

Creating Connections

Not long ago, I met a woman who was taking care of her two grandchildren, ages 6 and 2. She’d had a good job, but had been laid off. When she did, she lost her child care, and now she couldn’t get a job because she couldn’t find someone to take care of the kids while she looked for a job. Catch 22.

I told her that I had no idea if I, as a possible State Rep could do anything to help her, but I’d see.

Half a block up the street, I met another voter who told me that Casey Family Services had a grandparents group.

The next day, I called them and learned a bit about The Rhode Island Partnership for Family Connections. 

Here was a group of grandparents helping other grandparents. I emailed the grandmother the information, and hope that she follows through.

A few days after that, I met with Ray Watson at the Mt. Hope Community Center. He said that his organization couldn’t host something like a baby-sitting group, because of insurance liability concerns. He also said that he would be happy to help or connect people any way he could.

“We try to make this organization part of the community,” he said. “We’re open most of the time. People can just stop by.”

We also brainstormed that a local FaceBook group to connect people with similar issues might be another low-cost solution. Another email went out to the Grandmother. I haven’t heard anything back yet.

Connecting the Threads

A few days later, I was at one of those unique Rhode Island meetings where twenty people spend an hour discussing the placement and economics of four or five crosswalks.

Held at the Rochambeau Community Library after hours (the next time someone asks why we have libraries, aside from the wealth of knowledge, they serve as one of our key non-religious meeting points), the purpose of the meeting was to explain the future traffic calming measures near the Hope Street “business district.”

The short version was this: because the Narragansett Bay Commission was going to repave the streets, the Hope Street Merchant’s association hired a firm to design a traffic calming plan. The NBC offered to pick up the tab for the new raised sidewalks (think Kennedy Plaza not Smith Hill) and pedestrian bumpouts. The only problem was that the NBC’s mandiate stopped at the Cumberland Farms, just north of Rochambeau Avenue. In other words, the one place in the neighborhood where children cross the street most frequently—the library—was on the outside of the domain.

Fortunately, most of the players were in the room, so I asked a few questions:

  1. Was the NBC hiring a contractor to do this work?
    Yes.
  2. Since the contractor would have workers, machinery and supplies on-hand wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to build six crosswalks instead of five?
    Maybe.
  3. Why maybe?
    Building any raised crosswalk creates drainage problems. Since the NBC was redoing the sewers and rebuilding the streets, they could pre-grade the streets to handle the runoff from the five they were agreeing to do.
  4. But it’s possible to build the crosswalk, right?
    Yes. Provided someone does the study and it doesn’t cost too much to fix the drainage problem.
  5. Does the City of Providence have money for this?
    Probably. There are some federal funds and some neighborhood funds that might be available.
  6. Would the city look into this?
    Yes.
  7. What’s the deadline?
    Before Christmas. If the City conducts the study and finds the funds and informs the Narragansett Bay Commission, they can write it into the contract with their construction firm and make it happen.

On the way out of the meeting, I explained this to Councilman Jackson. The architect joked that this was the first meeting he’d ever been to where people actually wanted more construction.

There oughtn’t to be a law…

In both of these stories, both the problem and solution were in the same geography. One woman’s answer was a block away or a FaceBook group away. One sidewalk’s answer was in the same room, just missing someone to rethink the problem.

Did the “politician” solve either problem? No. Someone else will have to follow-up and make sure that the solution is implemented.

What I did was create opportunities for these problems to be solved without raising taxes, levying fines or writing legislation. No closed door meetings or back room deals either.

Not a bad few days.

———–

*Campaign bank accounts can be used to make donations to non-profits, something I’ve already promised to do with the whatever small funds are left in my account after the election.

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Mark Binder Takes Campaign to TV


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“Are you a credible candidate?”

I’ve heard that question again and again and again. What it’s code for is, “How much money have you raised?” (And “Do you own a car?”)

I learned during my first campaign that the press and media have a Woodward and Bernstein relationship to money. (Remember the scene from All the President’s Men where Jason Robards growls, “Follow the money!”) Money is something you can measure and count. The Board of Electors requires regular mandatory filing  of campaign contributions and expenses. So it’s easy to find out how much money someone has raised, who contributed it to their campaign, and where they spent it. This gives “the media” the illusion that they have the measure of a candidate.

It’s the reason that you hear so much about presidential fundraising. If they have more money, they must be getting more votes, right?

Bought and Paid For?

Why do people donate money to campaigns? Sometimes it’s because they believe in the candidate and her/his mission. Sometimes they want to oppose the opposition.

And sometimes they just want a favor down the road…

For example, let’s say that an important piece of legislation is coming before the House on say, Auto Body Repair. And you know that nothing gets on the floor without the Speaker’s approval.

Do you think that more than $3,000 worth of campaign contributions from people who work at Auto Body shops makes a candidate more “credible” or have they been “bought and paid for”? (See Gordon Fox’s filing for January-March, 2012)

10 News Conference

I was all excited. Last week I’d received an email from Stephanie Cunha inviting me to participate in the 10 News Conference program with my opponent, (soon-to-be-former) House Speaker Gordon Fox.

Then I got nervous. Here I was, the “challenger” going up against a 20-year politician. I did a lot of preparation and homework, and when I got to the TV station, I learned that he wasn’t coming. Instead it would be Jim Taricani and Bill Rappleye and me. For a time, I got even more nervous. Me and two journalists. I was worried that they might tag team me…

Maybe I could talk to an empty chair, I joked.

Instead it was a wonderful gift. I had a full half hour news broadcast to explain why I got into the race (38 Studios and Mr. Fox’s continued silence and refusal to take any responsibility), what else bothered me about my opponent (wimping out on Gay Marriage… not letting the Payday Lending reform come to a vote, even though 50 representatives had signed onto it… 38 Studios and Michael Corso… creating an atmosphere of fear in the State Capitol… 38 Studios), and even time for some thoughts on public education (reduce testing, decouple testing from teacher evaluations, halt the end of session midnight merger of the Board of Higher Ed and the Board of Regents…).

Finally, they asked me the question I’d been waiting for, “Are you a credible candidate? You’re going up against the Speaker of the House.”

Believe it or not, it was an upbeat and positive and jovial time.

The air date: NBC 10 on Sunday, September 16 at 11:30 a.m. to watch, and then ask yourself the question, “Is this a credible candidate?”

Or you can watch it here:

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The Public Education / Transportation Challenge


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I’ve found a way for the Providence Public School System to save more than $400,000 annually in transportation costs.

Every month, the School Department buys thousands of RIPTA bus passes, which it distributes to high school students from low income families or who live more than three miles from their school. In May of 2012, according to RIPTA, the School Department purchased around 2,000 bus passes.

How much does the city pay for these? Full price: $62 per pass.

After making several phone calls, I learned that RISD and Brown University, which issue passes to their students and faculty, pay $1.15 per ride, if the number of rides exceeds 500,000.

If the Providence Public School system used this model, the savings to the schools would be more than $400,000 annually. The savings actually increases because this year, the school is giving out more bus passes to ninth graders.

The School Department’s goal is to get students from their homes to their classrooms. If “giving” them a bus pass makes that happen, then they believe it’s money well spent. At the same time, someone needs to use the power of those numbers negotiate a better deal for Providence.

The downside, of course is that this means a $400,000 annual cut to RIPTA.

What is a supporter of both public schools and public transportation to do?

Imagine abundance and pleasure in public transportation

Last week, while the Republicans were busy in Tampa imagining a future with no taxes, smaller government, no unions and a plethora of jobs and millionaires, was  dreaming about how we can get around our small state for the next 50 or so years.

I call for Rhode Island to become a leader in public transportation for the 21st century. Through an integrated system of trolley, bus, light rail, and commuter rail, citizens will be able to quickly and efficiently get to work, market, other cities and towns, and even to the beach. They’ll even be able to ride home after a late movie or show. (Currently RIPTA service ends around midnight.)

A high quality public transportation system will change the demographics of Rhode Island. It will encourage smart growth and eliminate sprawl.

I call for a system that can elegantly handle a tenfold increase in ridership within the next 10 years, reducing the need for one car per resident, reducing wear and tear on the roads and highways, and decreasing pollution and carbon waste.

Riding the bus doesn’t need to be free, but it does need to cost less, become more efficient and get you where you need to go when you need to go there.

We need a public transit authority whose goal is to maximize and increase ridership. As citizens we need to find a different model to fund it.

Current RIPTA funding is based on a fixed percentage of the tax on gasoline. This means that every time the price of gas goes up and people drive less, revenue for RIPTA goes down at the same time that the bus company is paying more for fuel and the ridership increases. This leaves RIPTA with less money to provide more services.

If we are determined to fund RIPTA through a gasoline tax, then it must be a percentage of the cost of gas, and a higher one at that – except that won’t work because people will drive out of state to buy gas. If we fund RIPTA through automobile registration, we must plan for a time when there are fewer automobiles registered. We must explore other options—public/private cooperatives, trolleys systems, jitney buses and so on.

Ultimately, to create a 21st century public transportation system, we must decouple RIPTA and the automobile. The goal of public transportation ought not to be just to provide free transportation to seniors , students and the disabled, but to reduce the need for and impact of cars on our cities and towns.

The Numbers

Approximate number of High School Students receiving bus passes in May 2012: 2,000
Number of days in the school year: 180
Cost of 2,000 bus passes per month for September-June: $1.24 Million
Maximum number of rides for those students during that time: 720,000
Cost of 720,000 rides @$1.15 per ride: $828,000
Minimum estimated annual savings to School Department: $412,000
Dollars cut from RIPTA, if these savings are implemented: $412,000

 

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I’m not Bruce Bayuk, and Other Tidbits from the Trail


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When I started this column, Bob suggested that I stick to “Progressive political issues.” This column is one exception. It’s going to be a collection of political shenanigans, conversations with constituents,  notes and anecdotes from the trail so far.

The Article that Was/Wasn’t…

I’ve been noticing a lot of divergence between the Providence Journal’s paper paper and it’s online editions… Huge hunks of articles, and even entire pieces are missing online.

Maybe you saw the big piece that Ed Fitzpatrick wrote last week? Chances are, you didn’t, or if you did, you were scratching your head. I spent an hour or so talking with Ed in my favorite part of the district, down by the Seekonk River. We watched herons and cranes and gulls, and discussed the 38 Studios debacle as well as the important issues that I’m focusing on. Ed followed up with some phone questions.

Then, last Thursday, I woke up at 5:30, excited to see the article about the campaign in the Providence Journal. I’d had long conversations with the reporter, and was hopeful about the piece.

The headline? Bruce Bayuk hopes to buck history, beat Fox. In blog terms, WTF?

What might have been a breakthrough article about the campaign became a head scratcher. A fair and balanced article with a headline that might have been written, Mark Binder hopes to buck history, beat Fox, was instantly irrelevant and inconsequential.

The cynic in me might think that the headline was rewritten on purpose. I wrote Ed and he called the headline the “ridiculous” mistake of a copy editor. A correction was posted in the paper the next day, but the article remains uncorrected in the online archive, and invisible from the newspaper’s website.

We sent an email today to the newspaper requesting they fix it online, but nothing has changed yet. I finally wrote a letter to the editor, which appeared online a few days ago, and finally appeared in the paper: Bad Headline Indeed, (Providence Journal, August 16.) Only one mistake… it says I’m running in the primary as a Democrat… I’m not. I’m running in the General Election as an independent. Sigh.

Q: If the online archive is incorrect, and a correction is issued, should the online edition be changed in retrospect?

Her Health Insurance is Killing Her

She was shaking her head as the kid a few doors up chased a ball into the street. Aside from the general economic climate, her biggest concern was health insurance. She worked, but her boss didn’t provide health insurance. Instead, she had to pay $640 a month. As a candidate, and not a reporter, I didn’t ask what her job was, or what she was getting paid. If she was making $10 an hour, though, that would be roughly 40% of her income before taxes.

The problem, she said, was that the only insurance available in Rhode Island is Blue Cross. “Even if you go to the United Way, they tell you that you have to see Blue Cross.”

Taxes and Roads

“What issues are important to you?” I asked the fellow answering the door.

“Taxes and roads,” he said. “The excise tax on cars is too high and the roads stink. Lower the taxes and fix the roads.”

How do you fix roads, I wanted to say, without taxing the cars that use them?

But he didn’t really want to talk just then. He was in the middle of watching a ball game.

Not Now!

It was about 7:30 on a Thursday night. I knocked on the door, and was about to walk off, when the door opened.

“What is it?” the woman said. “What?”

“I’m Mark Binder, I’m running for…”

“Not now! Not during dinner,” she said, turning away and shutting the door.

Note to self about campaigning in the evening: they’re either at work, just back from work, relaxing after work, about to sit down to dinner, eating dinner, just finished dinner, watching a ball game, or getting ready for bed. Aim for the windows in between those.

 Student Loan Rip Offs

One man owns a garage, works 60 hours a week, and his wife works as well. They’ve put two children through college and are enrolling their third. They’re mostly paying for their child’s education, but wanted to give their son some responsibility, so they applied for a loan. (I believe he said it was Fannie Mae, but I could be wrong.)

They were told that a $5,000 student loan would be payable at an interest rate of more than 9%.

Previous student loans for other children were in the 5% range.

Given that the current prime lending rate is so low, and that student loans are guaranteed by the Federal Government, and that they can’t be waived away in bankruptcy, they asked why it was so high. Was there something wrong with their credit rating?

“No,” the loan officer said. “Your credit rating is good, and the loan is for a small amount. That’s why the rate is so high.”

Time off for good behavior

“What are you going to do about criminals getting time off for good behavior?” the woman asked.

I hesitated. I’m learning how to be a politician. “Why do you ask?”

“My brother was killed by a man who had gotten fifteen years in prison for a violent crime, but got out in three. If there wasn’t any time off for good behavior, my brother would still be alive.”

What do you say to this? I was speechless.

On the one hand, I believe in people being able to redeem themselves. On the other, this woman’s brother was murdered.

“I don’t know,” I said. “If I think of something, I’ll let you know.”

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In Search of the Cleaner Campaign Contribution


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Several years ago, when I ran my first political campaign against Patrick Kennedy, the first thing the reporter from the Providence Journal asked was, “How much money have you raised?”

I asked him why he wanted to know, and he told me the truth: You can measure fundraising. You can count the dollars. It dates back, he told me, to Watergate, when Ben Bradlee told Woodward and Bernstein to “follow the money.”

At the time, Patrick Kennedy already had millions in the bank. So, I ignored the reporter, and got about 25% of the primary vote on a budget of less than $500. When the Federal Election Commission called to check on why I hadn’t filed any paperwork, I joked that I’d received more votes per dollar spent for National Office since 1864.

But if you’re a ‘serious’ candidate, conventional wisdom says, you need to raise and spend money.

The media still considers fundraising to be one of the best advance measurements of a campaign’s success. Before any votes are cast, the oracles of our society only have a few ways of predicting the future. They can throw the bones (political polls) or read the spoor (report on campaign finances). Of the two, campaign finances are, by and large, more reliable, because they have to be filed publicly, reporting who gave what and when, and where the money was spent.

(This, of course, assumes that you don’t accidentally forget to report in-kind contributions of beer and shrimp from corporations who are owned by tax credit brokers—as my adversary did…)

Last week, the Providence Journal ran a front page article with this headline:

Heavy investment in 2nd District

The piece was all about Michael Riley’s campaign against James Langevin.  According to the Journal, “…in at least one area — an ability to invest in his own campaign — Riley stands apart from the five others seeking Langevin’s seat.”

So far, Riley has “invested” more than $360,000 in his campaign. At first pass, I thought that this was a horrible and cynical headline, but the more I thought about it, the truer it seemed.

You see, candidates are allowed to “loan” money to their campaigns, and then repay themselves from the funds they raise. In fact, when I went into the State Board of Elections, for training on how to enter my own contribution to my campaign, I was advised to enter it as a loan, so I could be reimbursed later. “You don’t want to put in your money as a contribution,” I was told, “otherwise you can’t get it back.”

So, if Riley—or any other candidate—does a good job of fundraising, he or she will probably break even, or come out ahead by either winning the office or getting the publicity generated by the campaign.

I’ve since corrected this, marking my “loan” as repaid, and accepting a “contribution” from myself. I don’t think it’s fair to ask people to give more money than I’m willing to give. (Tip of the hat to Ken Block’s Op Ed, R.I.’s incumbent protection must go)

A Hope Chest, not a War Chest

I will spend the money you donate to the campaign on the campaign, and not accept any money with strings.

My goal is to spend the least amount of money possible to win. Personally, I’d rather not do any campaign fund raising. I’d rather ask you to convince ten or twenty of your voting neighbors to vote for me, and call it a day.

I don’t want a $250,000 “War Chest” to get a job that pays less than $15,000 a year. A small “Hope Chest” will do quite well, thank you.

The point of raising money for a political campaign is to get the word out. Days after I filed my candidacy I started getting letters and postcards from printers and tee shirt makers. I have received inquires from newspapers and magazines fishing for ads.

There are already some hard costs. The website and URL cost a little bit of money.  We bought some refreshments on the Fourth of July. Our current campaign flier is simple: blue cardstock with black type, printed locally at minimal cost. It says, “I’m running a grass roots neighborhood campaign, and I’d like your vote…” And we ordered some bumper stickers. (Let me know if you want one.)

My plan has been to knock on doors – but there are a lot of doors, even in our small neighborhood, and I have to earn a living and take care of my family too.

But then I drive around and start seeing the lawn signs…

So, yes, I’d like you to contribute to my campaign. I’ll spend the money on printing and advertising, on pizza for campaign volunteers, mailings and such.

At the end of the campaign, whatever is left over won’t be kept in a “War Chest” for future campaigns. We’re going to donate it to the following charities: The Friends of Rochambeau Library, Mt. Hope Learning Center, MLK PTO, and The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence.

To make a contribution, please visit the http://markbinder.org/contribute/

Footnote: Can you fund raise without creating a web of obligation or broken promises?

I don’t know. I’m going to try. I’m running to try and make things work better for our entire state and end the cycle of real and perceived corruption.

Here’s why I’m donating to my own campaign, along with some caveats…

  • Giving money to an inspiring candidate feels good.
    But… The inspiring candidate could fall short of his promise, leaving you disappointed and dissatisfied.
  • Contributing to a candidate is a way to push the causes and political agendas you support. For example, you might donate to a candidate who you believe will vote for Choice or Marriage Equality.
    But… If your candidate isn’t the Speaker of the House, he might not be able get an important bill to the floor. Or, if he is the Speaker, he might not call for a vote on something like Marriage Equality.
  • The current office holder has disappointed you or made you angry, so you’ll fund his opponent as a way of demonstrating your disapproval and discontent.
    But… If you back the challenger and the incumbent wins, then you might experience political retribution.
  • You can “invest” in a candidate with the hope that she or he will help improve your business. Personally as a professional author and storyteller, aside from the $14,000 annual salary I don’t see this happening for me. However, if you run an auto body repair shop, you might give support a candidate who supports a particular agenda. Or your friendly candidate might take a meeting with an ex-sports star in your office to discuss a multimillion-dollar loan guarantee.
    But… Your candidate might just be honest and ethical and not make political decisions influenced by your “investment.”

So far, I’ve donated $200 to my campaign. That’s money I’m not getting back in loans. Won’t you join me?

To make a contribution, please visit the http://markbinder.org/contribute/

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Reinvigorating Education


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Looking for ways to attract businesses? Improve education. Want to reduce crime? Improve education. Open opportunities? Education.

The key to improving our state is reinvigorating our public schools—especially schools that serve urban or lower-income communities.

Businesses say they want educated workers. Executives and employees want to send their children to good schools.

According to the Rhode Island State Constitution,

The diffusion of knowledge, as well as of virtue among the people, being essential to the preservation of their rights and liberties, it shall be the duty of the general assembly to promote public schools and public libraries, and to adopt all means which it may deem necessary and proper to secure to the people the advantages and opportunities of education and public library services.
—RI Constitution, Article XII

The Possibility of the Public School

A dozen years ago, during the brief time I was a stay-at-home dad, all the conversation on the playground was about schools. What are you going to do? Keep them in Preschool another year? Send them to private school? Everybody thought I was crazy for enrolling my kids in the Providence public school system. Back then, so many young families were moving to the suburbs to find better schools for their kids.

I love the possibility and promise of public education. We, the people, will provide knowledge and wisdom to our children. Public education is both a civic duty and a civic adventure.

Public schools can be a powerful tool for long-term social and economic change. Public schools can give individuals the tools and skills to survive and grow and learn.

I believe that the goal of any education is to teach people how to learn, and encourage them to go beyond where they are likely to stop.

And my children have, for the most part, thrived. My kids have worked hard, and they’ve been lucky.

Orwellian Laws and Other Breakdowns

Despite Ted Kennedy’s best intentions, the No Child Left Behind law was a disaster. It effectively broke the schools, funneling money from teaching into the private sector in the form of testing, books, and tutoring. The bill required “progress” and defunding schools that were failing. Everybody’s job was on the line always. Suddenly everything that wasn’t academic was cut. No sports. Less  music. Less art. Less recess.

Just more and more testing. Test test test test test.

The “Race to the Top” has somewhat mitigated the problem, but especially here in Rhode Island, we seem to be continuing with the test-test-test mentality.

Over the years that my children have been in the Providence public schools, I’ve seen the debilitating and endeadening results of the test-test-test method of evaluation. High stakes testing is still being used to evaluate the funding of schools and the performance of teachers.

My take on the results is biased and anecdotal, but very real for me.

  • The goal of schools is to aim for “meeting grade level expectations”, which is equivalent to schools shooting to make a C.
  • The higher performing kids are not ignored, but not pushed, because they don’t cause statistical problems.
  • Lower performing kids lose privileges and electives
  • Academically Advanced programs are cut (or worse, hidden and winked at)
  • Sports, art and music and even recesses are cut or cut back. There are closets in Providence filled with unused musical instruments.
  • Teachers, who are economically dependent on these scores, must teach to the test and train to the test.
  • Teachers are worn down by the amount of oversight and micromanagement in the classroom. I’ve been in schools where it was required that the lesson plans be written on the board in 15 minute increments.
  • There is the expectation that all students will learn the same material at the same rate. This is flat out impossible.
  • The test-test-test model leaves little incentive for actual learning.

One conclusion…

I am a still “believer” in the possibilities of public schools, but all the (again anecdotal) evidence I’ve gathered points to the elimination of high stakes testing as the focus for funding and teacher evaluation.

  • Do use tests as tools to evaluate and teach students.
  • Don’t make testing  the be-all and end all tool.
  • Stop using testing as the primary tool for the allocation of funds and evaluation of teachers.

Why do so many non-educators think that they know how to teach?

As someone who spends a lot of time in schools, I have nothing but admiration for the women and men who spend their days educating our children. They spend long days being up in front of a room with two dozen or more rowdy youngsters.

Why can’t we just give teachers a curriculum (or even more powerfully, allow teachers themselves to develop a curriculum) and tell them, “Spend the rest of your career getting better at teaching these things?” Instead, the Federal laws change, the State laws change, the superintendents change, the curriculum changes, the testing changes, and the rules change.

One thing I do know, no matter what rubric or standards or measurements we use, all children will not learn at the same rate. Schools are not and can not be factories or assembly lines for knowledge.

The best experience my daughter had last year was when a graduate student from Brown University came into her classroom and led a poetry class. My daughter writes some of the most beautiful poetry with some of the worst spelling mistakes I’ve ever seen. I am truly thankful that this teacher didn’t correct her spelling—it would have crushed her creativity. Instead, she can fix the spelling herself, as she needs to. Or just enjoy the process of creating.

Yes, I believe that spelling is an important skill. But you also need to have something to say and be able to say it well.

The best a teacher can do is to help each individual student learn as much as they can learn, and encourage them to learn more.

More Things That Don’t Help

  • Tell teachers to write their lesson plans on the board in 15 minute increments and force them to teach to the schedule.
  • Pass a bill in the middle of the night  combining the Board of Higher Education with the Board of Regents to produce an unclear benefit for anyone.

What Else Will Help?

  • Support sports
  • Allow the study and practice of arts, music and literature for their own sakes
  • Ensure all children have recess
  • Decrease class sizes whenever possible and practical
  • Encourage advanced students to go beyond
  • Create programs and systems to deal with students who switch from school to school
  • Give teachers freedom to teach to the student not to the plan

Be open to new ideas and possibilities

This is a work in progress. I want to hear from you.

Afterthought…

I just received a second copy of a questionnaire from RI-CAN. In the email, they wrote:

The attached survey is due back tomorrow, August 3rd.  Note that unreturned surveys will be marked “refused.”
—RI-CAN

This was in my reply to them:

I found the either-or choices that you offered in this survey to be both limiting and manipulative. These are complex issues, and are you in/out votes reduce the process. Additionally, the threat that if this questionnaire was not returned it would be marked as “refused” is unworthy of the political process. The NRA also promised that if I didn’t return their survey they would mark me as “possibly hostile to Second Ammendment rights.”
I realize that you support charter schools. I support children.
—Mark Binder

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The Influence Trap


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State House Dome from North Main Street
State House Dome from North Main Street
The State House dome from North Main Street. (Photo by Bob Plain)

Whenever a government makes a decision to spend money, or designs a regulation to right a wrong, it creates a business opportunity. If you reject, as I do, the Tea Party trend toward “all government taxation and spending are bad,” then you are left with a few questions.

  1. How do you protect the system from corruption and undue influence?
  2. How do you maximize value for taxpayers?

Over the past few years (decades?), Rhode Island’s legislature has done a poor job on both counts. In this article, I’ll focus on the first question.

Don’t re-elect corrupt officials

Every day new fingers are pointed about improprieties and influence on everything from auto body regulation to contract steering. Some legislators appear to profit directly. Others direct state dollars to their partners and acquaintances. Others win friends and get financial contributions and other forms of support from vested interests in exchange for line items, sweetheart contracts and back room deals.

It’s revolting.

On a Federal level, much of this institutionalized corruption is legal. Peter Schweitzer, in his disturbing book, Throw Them All Out, outlines the methods that the so-called, “The Permanent Political Class” use to generate personal wealth for themselves and their friends. According to Schweitzer, there are no solid rules against United States senators, representatives, and even the president, from using their advance and insider knowledge of federal government legislation and regulations. Schweitzer goes into detail about deals made by Democrats and Republicans alike that include advanced IPO purchases, land buys relating to federal funding and so on. It’s pretty horrifying stuff.

Schweitzer also talks about how businesses leverage their profits based on advance knowledge, insider knowledge and the simple massive power of Federal spending to “earn” billions of dollars. The equation is simple. Businesses with ties and links and lobbyists earn a better return than those who operate on a “level” playing field.

Here in Rhode Island, we seem particularly inept and vulnerable to these sorts of machinations. We are a small state, so it’s almost a certainty that a legislator proposing a bill will hear from the constituency who will benefit from it. Indeed, where else ought a legislator turn to learn about a particular regulation?

It’s almost inescapable. For example, when I was discussing the challenge the state faces dealing with the decades of politicians granting union benefits in exchange for union support, my wife, who is a teacher and a union member said, “Don’t touch my pension!”

I think that constitutes “influence”, don’t you?

Subversive “Support”

But other forms are more insidious. As a newly declared candidate, I began to receive “questionnaires” from organizations asking if I wanted their support. The first two that came in,  Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club, were fairly easy to answer.

I’ve always been a 100% supporter of a woman’s right to choose, a proponent of education, and an opponent to government imposition of will on a person’s body. I’ve always been a believer that one of the jobs of government is to protect, nurture and restore the environment.

But I noticed that these letters were lobbying me before I was even elected. I learned, for example, that Rhode Island law requires notification of a husband, if a wife wants an abortion. Planned Parenthood asked if I would try to change that. I said I wasn’t sure, yet. I later learned that how the organization avoided that situation was to not ask women if they were married.

A few days later, the Right to Life questionnaire came in, and I pitched it in the trash.

I’ve gotten a few Union questionnaires, too. In general, I’m a huge supporter of trade unions. I believe that workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively. But my opinion on some issues is nuanced. One political adviser suggested that I avoid using these questionnaires to address subtle issues, but I had already sent in one:

5)    Would you support standards that would link public economic development assistance to companies that create good jobs, pay fair wages, provide decent benefits and comply with environmental, labor and other laws?  (Development Assistance is defined as abatements, loans, grants, contracts, tax breaks, etc).

COMMENTS: YES. However, as the 38 Studios and so many other failed initiatives show, I am wary of providing economic development assistance to companies who are only moving here because of that assistance.

More and more questionnaires. One lured with the promise that all of the people they supported won their elections. Another flat out threatened…

The day after the recent massacre in Colorado, I got a flier from the NRA asking me to support their agenda and warning me that, “If you choose not to return a questionnaire, you may be assigned a ‘?’ rating, which can be interpreted by our membership as indifference, if not outright hostility toward Second Ammendment-related issues.“ (boldface theirs!)

My position? Guns do kill people. I oppose assault weapons in the hands of insane people. The culture of handguns in this country is killing people in Providence every month. Is there anything good about this? I don’t think so. (Although I have to admit that in the darkest days of the Bush administration, I could understand the idea of buying a gun to protect yourself against the government.) If I’m elected, I’ll consider increasing gun regulation and limiting the purchase of devastating weapons. Make of that what you will, NRA, I will not be returning your form.

Vigilance, Integrity and Mindfulness

I am not running for office to make a buck. I want to make our state better, and one of the most powerful ways is to get the corruption out of government.

When that legislator makes (or protects) a buck for himself or his family or his business, or receives a campaign contribution – or the promise of votes, volunteers and support at the polls – the vote is plainly unethical.

The next question people ask is, “How will you avoid that yourself?”

It’s a challenge. Any vote for a tax cut could benefit me. A tax break for the arts would benefit my friends. Any vote for increased funding for education will benefit my family — and certainly benefit my children, who are in the public schools.

I can only promise that I will pay attention and always ask, “Who profits? Who loses?”

And be very very very public about the process.

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A Positive Business Message for Rhode Island


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Rhode Islanders often forget how many advantages we have.

I’m relatively new. I’ve only lived here (on and off) for more than 20 years, but I still remember the thrill of discovering this wonderful state.

It was the late 1980s and everyone was depressed. I left New York to come here and found that everything in Providence was less expensive, more convenient, and just easier.

A trip to change my driver’s license at the DMV (in offices across from the State Capital then) took less than an hour, including the written test. A rush hour traffic jam was ten minutes. Getting to the airport took fifteen. To the beach was less than an hour. Rents were lower, sales tax was lower, and the food was amazing.

I haven’t lost my appreciation for everything we have.

One of the challenges we face today is reversing the negative attitudes about our lively experiment.

We need to stop selling ourselves short. We  consistently underbid, undercut and sell out our state to attract businesses. This undermines the value of just being here. Businesses that are attracted only by tax cuts, tax breaks and tax incentives are by their nature fickle and will leave at the first opportunity.

Make Rhode Island a Business Center

Dear Business Leaders,

Rhode Island occupies prime and relatively inexpensive real estate between Boston and New York. We are centrally located to the entire Eastern Seaboard, with quick air and shipping access to the rest of the United States and the World. Our traffic jams last minutes, not hours. Our beaches are right here. We have amazing restaurants and a highly educated workforce. Our arts community is vibrant. Our universities are many and diverse. And if you commit to us, your employees will be loyal.

We want you to come and live here because this is the best place to live, not because we’re offering you a deal.

Instead, we’re going to offer you the opportunity to work and live in a place that’s intimate and amazing.

What do you need to do business in Rhode Island? We’ll try to help. Our state government is small and can be flexible.

  • We can modify our education system so new hires are able to think and innovate, not just pass tests. We will produce well-rounded students who engage in sports (competition) and learning and arts (creativity). Moving away from the testing model will help to create learning for learning’s sake and a thirst for knowledge and understanding. We will be educating today the workers you need in the future.
  • We can streamline the business regulation process and continuously increasing efficiency in government.
  • We can build effective long-thinking infrastructure. Rather than blindly reinvest in highways, we will look to 21st century options, including light rail, trolley systems, ride sharing and so on. Does your business really need a bigger airport at a time when jet oil costs continue to skyrocket? Can we make our ports more accessible?
  • We will offer tax incentives and rebates to businesses promising infrastructure improvements, long-term payback, and enforce severe penalties for default and exodus.
  • We will clean up the swamp of perceived corruption and remove the “pay to play” and “who do you know who can fix things” beliefs that exist.

Rhode Island is at the heart of Center of New England. Won’t you join us?

– Mark Binder, State Representative (to be) from District 4, Providence

P.S. No, we will not allow your businesses to pollute our environment. We will make it costly if you try. Yes, we will provide you with our natural resources (water, land, clean air) but not at wholesale cost.

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Progressive vs. Old School


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Mark Binder is running against Gordon Fox.

Bob Plain asked me to keep the focus of this blog on the progressive aspects of my campaign. (And thanks, Bob, for standing up for the rights of the free press — particularly in an election.) I’ll do my best, but the writer in me also thinks that the strange things you need to do as a politician are interesting to all readers—not just progressives.

So, I’ll be doing a bit of both.

Disclosure: Yes, I’m running for office, so everything I write will probably be self-serving and “designed” to get me elected. Take it all with a grain of salt. (Or sodium substitute.)

If you want a more personal essay, I wrote about my experiences campaigning on July 4 on the Campaign site.

Grassroots vs. Entrenched

Whenever I introduce myself and say that I’m running for Representative to the RI House from District 4 there is a long pause and people ask, “Isn’t that Gordon Fox’s District? He’s the entrenched speaker of the House. He’ll have all sorts of people supporting him.”

I smile and (like a good politician) reply, “There are 10,000 voters who live in this district. I’m one of them.”

Then they ask me, “Are you insane?”

This is usually followed by a long explanation that my opponent is entrenched, has the support of everybody, hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, and how unworkable and dirty Rhode Island politics can be.

To which I reply, “Then you certainly ought to vote for me.”

A few days ago, I got an email from a constituent:

Your candidacy is already making a difference, as Fox wants to win back his marriage equality constituents.

Answering Mr. Fox on 38 Studios

Gordon Fox doesn’t know. He just doesn’t know. (“I don’t know,” he says, on Fox news, June 7.) I’m no sure why he doesn’t know, but he doesn’t.

The basic idea behind the 38 Studios deal was this wager

  • If we win, we get 400 high paying jobs in Rhode Island that cost the taxpayer a cent
  • If we lose, we lose millions upon millions of dollars and all the jobs.

Because of this candidacy, Gordon Fox has increased his communications with the press about the 38 Studios disaster. (Listen on RIPR. Read in the Providence Journal NOTE: The printed edition of the story differs dramatically from the online version. An interesting shift in history being rewritten as it happens.)

The salient points are this: Mr. Fox trusted that the EDC was going to keep track of things, and didn’t have any checks or balances in place to protect the state of Rhode Island.

Did they? Back in June, Mr. Fox said, “I don’t know.”

I understand that public officials have to trust the people who are working for the citizens of the state. That said, I am fed up with our government giving away tax payer dollars with no concrete backend or long-term payoff.

Some tax breaks benefit… Some not so much.

Do tax reduction incentives and credits bring in business? Sure. Do these reductions and incentives create loyalty? Absolutely not.

The Film and TV credits provided jobs and got movies made and dollars spent here. But movies are by nature short term projects. The Historic Tax credits (by and large) got buildings reconstructed and rebuilt infrastructure that is still standing, regardless of the economic health of the corporation.

Time and again we’ve cut taxes, given credits and breaks and seen projects collapse without benefiting the state, or companies flee Rhode Island when these benefits are done and they’ve made their profits.

Repeat after me: major corporations are loyal to their shareholders, not the citizens of Rhode Island.

Update

For a while, I got caught with the rhetoric that Rhode Island was offering “Loan Guarantees” and it wasn’t going to cost us anything. I was wrong. We, the taxpayers, sold bonds and have to pay them back. Kudos to Gina Raimondo for insisting we own up to the debt.

With unemployment up and the economy down, how are we going to pay them back?

Revamping Education vs. Power… at the 11th hour

One of the key issues in my campaign is a very simple shift in the way this State deals with public education.

I believe that the use of high stakes testing to determine school financing and teacher evaluations is a misdirected travesty. It’s bad for the students, bad for the teachers and good for the testing companies and consultants.

Here’s an equation. An “A student” and a non-English speaking student take a test. One scores 100%. The other gets a zero. The average? 50%, which means that school is failing. Never mind the teachers, potential of the students to learn more  or the curriculum…

Yes, I know there is a ton of federal money tied into this, but how much money would we save if we weren’t spending our time on testing, test prep, test evaluation and test intimidation? More important, how much more would students learn if they weren’t losing class time to testing?

The other week I was listening to NPR, and Diane Ravitch, the former head of education under George H. W. Bush, said something that clicked. I’m going to paraphrase:

Testing kills innovation and creativity. You don’t teach a kid to love and play baseball by testing them on it. You don’t start by teaching them the rules, then give them a test. Then next year, you make them memorize the history of the game to World War II (including the Negro Leagues) . Then give them a test. Next year it’s Post War baseball. Then a test. Then you have options. You can study the statistics of baseball (with tests) or the chemistry and biology of baseball (with tests on testing). Then, to celebrate, they’ll take you to a ball game.

Legislative bodies can pass laws, repeal laws, change laws, or leave things alone. When it comes to testing, I recommend that we back off. Let the schools and teachers use tests to understand what the students need to learn — so that they can teach those students, not as proof one way or another that something is failing or succeeding.

What did Mr. Fox do about education?

In addition to approving full-steam ahead testing, Mr. Fox and the gang decided on a different approach. They thought that a mashup of the Board of Higher Education (the colleges and university) and the Board of Regents (K-12) would save money and be… better. Never mind that pretty much everyone in those departments was opposed. Never mind that the public didn’t know about it. The whole process was taking too long, so they decided to just jam it into the budget at the last minute, and tell everyone, tough. (R.I. House passes plan to merge education boards, Providence Journal.)

Will it work?

Answering Mr. Fox on Marriage Equality

Recently, Gordon Fox promised that if he’s re-elected, he will run for Speaker of the House, and if he wins that, he will push for an immediate vote legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island.

Yaay! Whoo hoo! (About time.)

As a supporter of marriage equality, I applaud my opponent and am glad that regardless of whomever wins this election the Rep from District 4 will cast a vote for this important piece of law.

Why didn’t Mr. Fox  push it through using all the power at his disposal as the Speaker of the House? “I don’t know.”

Personally, I wish that years ago, when we had the chance to be the first state in the Union to legalize same-sex marriage, we’d done so. If we had,  Rhode Island would have gotten all the tourist dollars from same-sex couples wishing to get married in our beautiful state.

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On Your Mark: Binder To Blog About Candidacy


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Mark Binder is running against Gordon Fox.

On Wednesday, I filed the papers to become a candidate for State Representative from the Fourth District in Providence, RI. I’m running against House Speaker Gordon Fox.

Today, I’m blogging about it. Welcome to the third turn of the 2012 political race.

This blog will follow my campaign. I’ll be writing about the challenges, triumphs and breakdowns as they happen.

Disclosure: Yes, I’m running for office, so everything I write will probably be self-serving and “designed” to get me elected. Take it all with a grain of salt. (Or sodium substitute.)

Asking For Votes – “Mark Your Ballot for Mark Binder”

The worst part of the job, aside from fundraising (see below), is asking for votes. I have to ask you—and all your friends— to vote for me. It’s the job. If I don’t ask, chances are, you won’t vote for me.

This morning, as I was meditating down by the river in my favorite part of my district, two lovely ladies sat in the chair behind me. When I was done, we chatted for a while, I asked for their votes. Turns out, neither was in my district. Oh well.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, in the last Presidential Election, my opponent received 4,899 votes to the 1,271 of his challenger. I’ll need about 3,500 votes to win. There are roughly 10,000 registered voters in District Four. That’s one out of three.

Mark your calendar, November 6, 2012. Mark your ballot for Mark Binder.

Logistics

To get on the ballot in Rhode Island is a two-part process.

  1. You need to file a “Declaration of Candidacy” in a 3 day period.
  2. On July 3, I have to pick up nomination papers and begin to collect signatures. For the office I’m running (Representative in General Assembly), I need to collect a whopping 50  signatures of registered voters in my district. (When I ran for US House of Representatives it was 500 signatures. US Senator takes 1,000.) These signatures need to be returned to City Hall by the end of business, July 19.

That’s it. Seems easy, doesn’t it. So why am I the only person running against Gordon Fox?

Why am I running?

I watched a TV news interview of Gordon Fox being asked about the 38 Studios disaster. Yes, Mr. Fox was put on the spot. No, he doesn’t know how a video game company run by an ex-ball player blew through millions of dollars in such a short period of time.

But it was my money and your money and his money that was gambled away.

One thing I know is that I never would have voted for the 38 Studios guarantee. I have been working with and around computers my whole life. I have watched the dot-com bubble burst. Plus I’m sick of corporations extracting tax benefits and giving back squat.

Well, how would I boost the RI Economy?

I don’t know. Not yet. Over the next few months, I’m going to be talking with a lot of people, and listening. And thinking.

There are so many issues that become more challenging when you think about actually doing the job.

For instance, a recent article in the Providence Journal challenged that the State of Rhode Island wasn’t promoting tourism enough. Is that government’s job? If “The State” had created an ad campaign that failed, whose fault would it be? And so on.

Email me your ideas (candidate@markbinder.com)

My first flip-flop

I’m a liberal-progressive-leaning Chafee-style independent. I reserve the right to change my mind. So…

Since the first political piece I published for RI Future was called, “Why I’m (not) Running for Congress,” I thought I should at least address the “I don’t really want the job” component.

1) One of the more distasteful aspects of politics is the fundraising and the web of IOUs it creates. While I am not swearing off fundraising, I don’t plan on making that my job.

The area of my district is small. I live here. I will be walking the district, door to door, introducing myself, asking questions, answering questions, and listening.

Currently, I am not accepting contributions, but I would like help, support and encouragement.

2) My ego hasn’t changed significantly. It’s big, but I’m neither politically hungry nor ambitious. I would like to serve my country, my state and my community and help change the political climate here in Rhode Island. Perhaps there are better qualified candidates, but I don’t see them stepping up.

Maybe it’s an impossible task — to take the entrenched system, work with in it to fix it, and leave our state in a better place to cope with the 21st Century.

Maybe. But I know it’s not going to happen unless we begin to stop complaining and start rising to the challenges.

More to come.

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No Reckoning: The RI Corruption Video Game


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This morning, former Red Sox Pitcher Curt Schilling blamed the State of Rhode Island for the failure of his video game company. According to the Providence Journal, he blamed the state for not giving him more tax breaks. Additionally, the Journal reported, Schilling has lost “33 pounds in the past 45 days, which he calls a ‘surreal’ stretch.'”

What follows is an exercise in satire….

The State of Rhode Island is pleased to announce the creation of a new state-sponsored video game company, “Thirsty-Ate Studios.”

“After years of complaining about job creation and fiscal woes,” said Governor Lincoln Chafee, “we are finally investing tax payer dollars in something valuable—pixels!”

The new Massive Multiplayer Online game, which is based on the State’s trademarked “Little Rhody Corruption System,” (patent pending) offers every Rhode Islander a chance to earn as good a wage as a World of Warcraft gold farmer in China.

“Now, we can finally say that we are educating our children for the jobs of the future,” said Education Commissioner Deborah Gist. “Video game playing is profitable, and we’re going to be rolling out a new curriculum in the fall teaching every student that video game playing, like reading, is hard work. Of course there will be rigorous testing conducted every three days just to make sure that our teachers are doing their jobs.”

The Department of Education will be purchasing thousands of used and obsolete video game consoles at full price from the Extraordinary Rendition training division of Halliburton, a security company owned by former Vice President Dick Cheney.

According to former EDC director Keith Stokes, the new official state video game will be named, “No Reckoning—Escape from Responsibility.”

“Each player will become an elected official, whose goal will be to collect special interest funding and distribute perks, no-show jobs, and state contracts,” Stokes said. “Bonus points can be earned by making random speeches in ‘obfuscation’ mode and by kissing babies.”

The game will include the following stand-alone App modules:

  • Legislative Blockus: Senators and representatives vie to stall important bills from coming to the floor, and then force them through a vote at the last moment with as many hidden clauses as possible.
  • The Ferdinand St. Germain Running of the Pork: Intrepid politicians chase lobbyists in the shape of greased pigs through State House halls in search of a payoff.
  • The Ed DiPrete Dumpster Diving: where contestants search through trash bins for bags of cash.
  • The Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Pentathalon: including a burning log roll, marinara cook-off, creepy crony collection contest, RICO smackdown, and finally a free-for-all radio talk show comedy slam.
  • The David Cicilline Pass the Buck: A digital version of hot political potato. Whoever is the mayor when the timer goes off loses all credibility points.
  • The Joe Mollicone Bank Run: Get all your money out of the country before the credit unions collapse.
  • The Joseph Paolino Real Estate Swap: Like Monopoly. Collect as much property as you can in downtown. Keep it unoccupied so that the property taxes stay low. Wait until the government knocks down the highway to make it “prime waterfront” then collect your payoff.
  • The Donald Carcieri Ostrich Hide and Seek: You play a large preening flightless bird. Sqwaack loudly and give away millions of taxpayer dollars while complaining that poor people aren’t doing their fair share. Then bury your head in the sand and don’t say a peep. Maybe no one will notice.

While many of these modules are still in development, one current favorite is the Department of Motor Vehicle Paperwork Maze. Find your way to the only open office, get in line to get a number, and then see how many bureaucrats it takes before you are allowed to leave. There is no time limit.

“I’m really keen on that one,” said Governor Chafee. “Of course I usually ride my horse or get a lift in my chauffeured limo, but if I ever went to a bar and they asked me for my driver’s license, it would be a bit embarrassing to say that I never got one.”

In related news, former Red Sox Pitcher Curt Schilling has hit number one with his new bestseller, “How to Win the World Series, Bilk the Government for Millions, and Lose 33 pounds in 45 days.”

Mark Binder is an author and professional liar. His latest novella, “The Buddha Who Wore Keds” is available for Kindle at: http://amzn.to/buddha_kindle

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Trucks Back in Pawtucket, Get Ready For Rumble


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In the next few days, I-95 North in Pawtucket will reopen to large tractor trailer trucks. I am not looking forward to it.

They’ve been gone so long, and it’s been so nice taking those S curves (especially with the new Grand Theft Auto signage) that it’s going to be hard to get used to sharing the road with ginormous semis.

But we need our highways to cut through the heart of our cities… No matter what the cost. Enjoy the weekend because Gridlock starts on Monday.

Sigh.

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Why I’m Not Running for Congress, Again


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Every two years I consider the possibility of running for Congress… Again.

Yes, I ran for the US House of Representatives in 2004 in the Democratic Primary challenger to Patrick Kennedy, who had cast an insanely foolish vote for the war in Iraq.

At the time, I joked that my slogan was, “More liberal than a Kennedy.”

It’s 2012, and we’re finally out of Iraq, but the other issue that I developed during that primary run has become more imminent and remains ineffectively addressed by the current crop of wind-blowing politicians.

I’m talking about the price and cost of fossil fuel energy.

In 2004, I proposed a $.25 a gallon tax on gasoline. The money would go to fund alternative energy and public transportation. The price of a gallon at the time was about $2. “No one will pay that much!” was the UNIVERSAL reply I got from even my most liberal and environmental friends.

$4 a gallon? Just wait.

In 2004, I was talking about peak oil — nobody believed me. They laughed. That’s years away.

Now, it is generally an “accepted fact” that every year — for the rest of eternity — we will be pumping less and less gas and oil from the ground. The well isn’t dry, but it will be.

$5 a gallon? Just wait.

My final oil bill — for only 120 gallons was just over $600 — and it was a warm winter. Anybody out there run a public school? Can you tell me how many gallons of oil you burn to heat those buildings?

Have we budgeted for $6 a gallon fuel oil? For $10 a gallon?

$10 a gallon? Just wait.

Since 2004, what percentage of tax dollars have been spent funding public transportation, mass transit and alternative energy, and what percentage have gone to highways, tax cuts for oil companies and so on?

If I was running for Congress, I’d research the facts and tell you the answers.
But I’m not going to run for Congress.

Here’s why.

After my first run, I realized a few things about being a politician in the current political climate:

  1. You need to raise lots and lots of money
  2. You need to have an Ego the size of Rhode Island (or bigger)

During my campaign, I said over and over again, “I don’t want your money. I just want your vote — and tell other people.”
I got 26% of the primary vote on a budget of less than $500.
But I clearly didn’t get the message across — which needs money.

I also found that I was unwilling to ram my face and political opinions in front of thousands and thousands of people at every opportunity. I was unwilling to stand up at a memorial for Iraq war dead and wounded and say, “The war is wrong—vote for me!” When I did so at the Avon theater on the anniversary 9/11 at an anti-war film, I was hissed and booed. Hissed and booed in the bastion of liberalism because I wanted to run for Congress against the war.

Everybody who knows me, knows I have a huge ego — but it’s not that big. I don’t think I’m “The Best Man For The Job.”

But….

Every two years I look at the clowns who are running for office and running the country and I ask: Where is the leadership who will step forward and say, “We need to start planning and conserving energy NOW. We can’t wait for the invisible hand of capitalism to produce these kinds of results. Capital will be happy to drain this country dry and move to Europe, where they’ve had high gas taxes for decades—and used the funds to pay for the trains!”

What do we need? What would my platform be?

  • Raise the price of gas by 10% and increase taxes for oil companies. The increase will encourage conservation. Use the funds to plan and improve energy efficiency in ALL municipal buildings, to fund alternative energy production for homeowners, and to build trains and fund public transportation.
  • Create tax incentives now for the imminent flood of citizenry moving from the suburbs to the cities. Create energy efficient and affordable and good looking housing (talk to Keith Stokes in RI about this) so that people will be able to live near where they work and shop and play.
  • De-Authorize No Child Left Behind. End the test-test-test focus of public schooling. Use all money saved from the FUNDING INDUSTRY to hire new teachers and make class size smaller.
  • Fund public works of art
  • Encourage urban farming (talk to Cuba about this)

Finally, I’ve been thinking about the Occupy movement, and thinking that we need to find a new “Occupation” for most people. The idea that people will find “work” in a post-industrial post-oil economy is tenuous. I think that people need both work and occupations, things to occupy their time, to produce for the common good (socialism? Gasp!) and for their own livelihood and self-image.

I don’t know how “Operation Keep America Occupied” would work, but there really needs to be something more for our young people than playing Call of Duty and going to the Mall.

So, why am I not running for Congress?
Because none of the issues I’ve mentioned are electable.
Because I don’t want to ask you for money to send me to Washington.

Besides, I like it here.

Mark Binder is an award-winning author and storyteller. You can look at his “Campaign” website, and download my catchy campaign song, at: http://markbinder.com/candidate/ 

___________

In honor of the end of the war in Iraq and the coming end of the Afghanistan mess, Mark’s book, “Stories for Peace” is half-off. Everything else is discounted 20% for RI Future at: http://bit.ly/storyspecials

If you’d like to keep in touch with Mark’s “Storyteller” personna, please subscribe to the Storyamonth newsletter: http://storyamonth.com/


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