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This is your RISC-Y Business email for July 10, 2010 |
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Tax dollars you may have thought you were “donating” to a matching-fund program aimed at making it possible for people without huge personal fortunes to run for top state offices have, in actuality, gone into the state’s General Fund.
The Providence Journal, Tax donations mayy take winding trail, July 10, 2010 |
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Click here for an invitation to the RISC Annual Summer Meeting on August 7th! |
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TO TRACK KEY VOTES OF YOUR LEGISLATORS, SEE THE RISC WEBSITE |
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Today's News! |
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Rhode Island Statewide Coalition is on FaceBook and myRISC.com
RISC Business Network is on FaceBook , Twitter, LinkedIn, and myRISC.com |
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RBN pro-business, pro-jobs candidates to be announced
July 20th
THE RACES ARE ON!
SENATE AND HOUSE SEATS ARE SEEING CHALLENGES IN ALMOST EVERY DISTRICT! THIS IS AN HISTORIC MOMENT FOR RI, AND RBN 2010 IS AN HISTORIC IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS ARRIVED!!!
We've reached the $100,000 mark in funding and campaign pledges, but we need EVEN MORE PLEDGES to elect a slate of pro-business, pro-jobs candidates!
THIS IS AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY TO CLEAN UP RI AND GET SOME FRESH BLOOD FLOWING IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE! ARE YOU IN?
WE MAY NOT HAVE SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY AGAIN!
TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW:
RBN2010.COM IS GOING TO CHANGE THE R.I. GENERAL ASSEMBLY!!
FIND OUT MORE!
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Vote on this week's poll: www.statewidecoalition.com:
Over 300 candidates-- an unusually high showing- -filed papers last week to run for the 113 House and Senate seats in the state Legislature. Do you believe the high number of candidates reflects the public’s dissatisfaction with the General Assembly and anger at many incumbents? |
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New figures expose federal workers' lush payouts
Want a 22 percent raise with zero risk of being let go?
Get a federal job.
A just-released report from Heritage Foundation scholar James Sherk reveals that times have never been better for civilian employees of Uncle Sam.
To wit: Federal employees enjoy salaries 22 percent higher than folks in the private sector with comparable qualifications and job descriptions -- 30 to 40 percent higher when you factor in extra-generous fringe benefits.
Plus, civil-service protections make it almost impossible to be fired.
Nice work if you can get it, right?
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United States v. Arizona — How 'Bout United States v. Rhode Island?
Well whaddya know? It turns out that Rhode Island has long been carrying out the procedures at issue in the Arizona immigration statute: As a matter of routine, RI state police check immigration status at traffic stops whenever there is reasonable suspicion to do so, and they report all illegals to the feds for deportation. Besides the usual profiling blather, critics have trotted out the now familiar saw that such procedures hamstring police because they make immigrants afraid to cooperate. But it turns out that it’s the Rhode Island police who insist on enforcing the law. As Cornell law prof William Jacobson details at Legal Insurrection, Colonel Brendan P. Doherty, the state police commander, “refuses to hide from the issue,” explaining, ”I would feel that I’m derelict in my duties to look the other way.” |
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Key ruling by PUC on wind farm objections could come next week
WARWICK – The R.I. Public Utilities Commission could rule next week to continue a hearing on a proposed offshore wind farm or pause the case and consider legal questions brought by an environmental group.
For the second time the PUC is mulling whether to approve a power-purchase agreement between National Grid and wind farm developer Deepwater Wind. In March the commission rejected the contract, citing the price of 24.4 cents a kilowatt-hour in the first year. |
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Are you depending on one of these 108 worst-funded union pension plans?
Millions of working Americans are depending at least in part on pension funds provided by their trade unions. But at least 108 of those funds are in danger due to being inadequately funded by the union officials responsible for insuring their financial integrity, according to the federal government.
If you are depending on one of the following at-risk union pension funds, here are two questions you should ask your union's leaders:
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Jobs outlook for small businesses may be getting bleaker
For the recovery to gain steam, most economists believe small businesses need to be strong enough to hire new workers. But according to one measure, the employment picture in this sector is weakening.
Intuit Inc., which provides payroll services for small employers, says the nation's tiniest companies had fewer new hires last month than any time since October.
The data are further evidence of a trend that has had many economists worried for months and intensifies concerns that smaller firms may not be robust enough to help lead the country out of its financial slump. The slowdown in hiring is particularly troublesome, experts say, because small businesses typically hire first during a recovery. A reluctance by little companies to add positions could mean that the big firms, which typically lag behind, will add jobs even more gradually. |
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The Real Tragedy of Persistent Unemployment
It erodes the skills of the labor force and reduces future productivity
June's employment report was disappointing. Though the national unemployment rate fell slightly—it's now at 9.5% from 9.7% in May—the report reveals deep structural problems that go beyond the number of those who remain without jobs.
Almost half of unemployed Americans have been without a job for over six months. The average duration of unemployment, which hit a post-World War II record many months ago, continues to go up. Last month it clocked in at 35 weeks. Unemployment is particularly severe among the young: A quarter of Americans between 16 and 19 years old in the labor market are without a job.
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Westerly: Police contract talks still in limbo
WESTERLY - Contract talks are continuing between town and police union representatives, with both sides are mum about where understandings have been reached and what hurdles remain.
While they had initially aimed to strike an agreement by mid-June, the bargaining teams for the town and Westerly Local 503 International Brotherhood of Police Officers now hope to broker a new contract by mid-August.
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Harry Staley and Arlene Violet: What Do We Need to Know and Do to Fix RI Now?
What do we need to know and what do we need to do to fix RI now? This question lies at the core of this two part program. The guests share their insight about what is wrong with Rhode Island and what we need to do to fix it now. Host John Carlevale asserts that Rhode Island is at "critical mass" and that if we do not correct the structural and political problems plaguing Rhode Island very soon, we may not be able to fix matters at all. The guests agree and cite as examples: the State's huge budget deficits; unfunded pensions, which are not sustainable in the form they exist; too much government doing too little well; and special interests superceding the interests of the general population and taxpayers; and more.
How do we fix these problems? The solution resides in changing the composition of the general assembly, because that is where the power resides but the will to do what is necessary is lacking. The key is to elect to the general assembly people who have the best interest of the State and its People in mind and the will to make the necessary changes. All agree that this process begins with voters electing the right people with the right intent to the general assembly. Arlene Violet and Harry Staley plan to give voters a little guidance through the RISC Business Network, which will ask candidates to pledge to certain practices and principles, which are supportive to business to enable job creation and economic growth.
Arlene Violet and Harry Staley Interview
Guests: Harry Staley of the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition (RISC) and RISC Business Network
Arlene Violet, spokesperson for the RISC Business Network
For more information visit www.RBN2010.com and www.statewidecoalition.com
Host: John Carlevale
Produced: July 8, 2010 /Run time: 30 minutes
Broadcast dates and times:
Saturday, July 10 and 17 at 11:00 PM on Cox channel 13, Verizon channel 32, and Full Channel 9
Sunday, July 11 and 18 at 8:00 AM on Cox channel 13, Verizon channel 32, and Full Channel 9
Monday, July 12 and 19 at 9:00 PM on Cox channel 18, Verizon channel 31, and Full Channel 9
Thursday, July 15 and 22 at 9:00 PM on Cox channel 18, Verizon channel 31, and Full Channel 9
Cox channel 18 - local Public Access in Kent County includes Coventry, East Greenwich, Exeter, North Kingstown, Warwick, West Greenwich, and West Warwick.
please e-mail info@ocgri.org with the time and date of any irregularities noted in the telecast schedule above.
Continuous streaming of this program will begin on OCG's website www.ocgri.org soon after the program is broadcast on television
State of the State is a cable television production of Operation Clean Government featuring topics and guests that inform the public about the functioning of their government and its leaders. If you have any suggestions for topics that you would like us to consider, please forward your requests or comments to info@ocgri.org. |
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New Jersey Senate OKs 2 percent cap on property tax increases
TRENTON - The New Jersey Senate on Thursday approved a revised plan to cap at 2 percent annual spending and property tax increases.
The measure passed by a vote of 35-3.
Gov. Chris Christie and Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced the compromise over the weekend.
Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver wasn't part of the deal. But Oliver says she won't obstruct passage once the Assembly's concerns over some details are resolved. The Assembly must still consider the plan. |
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IRS Ombudsman Says ObamaCare Compliance to Impose "Significant" Burdens on Businesses
A new report by the National Taxpayer Advocate, who acts as an ombudsman within the Internal Revenue Service, has warned in a report to Congress that the agency is currently ill-equipped to handle the implementation of the new national health care law and that the legislation will place severe burdens on businesses.
“I have no doubt the IRS is capable of administering social programs, including health care,” advocate Nina Olson said in a press release. “But Congress must provide sufficient funding and the IRS itself must recognize that the skills and training required to administer social benefit programs are very different from the skills and training that employees of an enforcement agency typically possess." |
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California Local Governments Push to Cut Pension Benefits
Local governments across California are poised to roll back pension benefits for public employees.
Sacramento County officials have had more than a half dozen meetings with their counterparts in nearby counties and cities as part of a collaborative effort to set more conservative, uniform pension guidelines.
Other agencies, including Placer County, already are negotiating with unions to lower retirement benefits for new hires. In Alameda County, sheriff's deputies agreed to such a rollback earlier this year.
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MA: AG seeks Cape Wind’s profit estimates
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is demanding that Cape Wind’s developers disclose cost and profit estimates for the energy project and is questioning whether power from the proposed Nantucket Sound wind farm would be a good deal for consumers.
In a statement to the Globe yesterday, Coakley’s office said knowing the “underlying construction and operating costs of Cape Wind and profits to the project’s investors’’ will help officials assess the project.
Acting in her capacity as the state’s advocate for ratepayers, she filed her official request Tuesday with state public utility officials, asking them to order Cape Wind Associates LLC to release the figures within three days.
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Girard Miller: Benefits, Bankruptcy and Baloney
There is a lot of big talk these days about municipal bankruptcy as the ultimate solution to state and local pension deficits. Somehow an urban legend has sprung up that says federal bankruptcy courts can and would tear up pension promises made to public employees. Although there is a sliver of truth in that idea, it's sadly mistaken in terms of how a municipal bankruptcy really works.
I'm not an attorney and this isn't legal advice. Let a bankruptcy attorney explain all the nuances. But there are some basic concepts that my regular readers and the pension vigilantes should understand better, so that the dialogue is informed and not irrational. The word "bankruptcy" makes for great rhetoric, but as far as solving the public pension problem, Chapter 9 will frustrate the pension-bashers who want the liabilities to conveniently go away.
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As rival table games approach in nearby states, Atlantic City casinos see decline in June
ATLANTIC CITY — The president of the resort’s largest casino operator has no immediate plans to revise its inventory of table games, even as the city’s 11 casinos continue to struggle with increasing out-of-state competition and saw total revenue decline about 11 percent in June.
For now, “the only thing you can do is to continue doing what you’re doing,” said Don Marrandino, president of the Bally’s, Caesars, Harrah’s Resort and Showboat casinos owned by Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. |
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Tax donations may take winding trail
PROVIDENCE — Tax dollars you may have thought you were “donating” to a matching-fund program aimed at making it possible for people without huge personal fortunes to run for top state offices have, in actuality, gone into the state’s General Fund.
The state’s handling of the money came to light after the state’s new Moderate Party filed suit late last month to block the distribution of some of these “electoral contributions,” under a formula that would favor the established Republican and Democratic parties.
But the suit did not address the hundreds of thousands of dollars more the state has collected since the last big election year in Rhode Island in 2006 from the same taxpayer checkoff, and it took several days before state officials could explain where that $436,957 collected since 2006 under the auspices of the state’s public-financing-of-campaigns law had gone.
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Decline in water activities puts pressure on R.I. tourism officials
It’s been a beautiful stretch of summer weather in Rhode Island.
It’s the kind that reminds many people here just why they endure bone-rattling winters, chronic political squabbling and a spirit-sapping job market.
Last one in the water is a rotten egg.
Or, maybe not.
Seems Americans don’t like getting wet so much these days.
And that can’t be good for a place that bills itself as the Ocean State and bases hopes for an economic recovery, in part, on a tourism resurgence. |
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Lynch complains mayor took joyride on fire boat
Congressional candidate William Lynch on Friday called on Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, a candidate for the same seat in Congress, to reimburse the city for what Lynch called a Fourth of July joyride in a fireboat off India Point Park.
“I’m disturbed and disappointed in Cicilline’s decision to use the city’s fireboat for a personal joyride this past weekend,” Lynch said in a news release. “Not only is this an abuse of taxpayer money, but it was a thoughtless decision that put the public at risk.”
Providence Fire Chief George S. Farrell, reached on vacation in San Francisco Friday, said he, his wife, and three firefighters were aboard the boat posted near the fireworks barge as a safety precaution. |
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Editorial: States ‘film flam’
It’s glamorous and often fun, but does it make economic sense for states to spend millions on incentives to lure film productions? Some states that have such programs are saying “maybe not,” and suspending them. Others are saying “yes, but we’re giving too much away.”
Moviemaking does give exposure to a place, and it creates temporary jobs. But it would seem that a desire to hobnob with, and get photographed beside, Hollywood types puts a thumb on the scales when local politicians decide to give princely tax credits and subsidize salaries for this industry and not others. In 2006- 2008, states handed out $1.8 billion in incentives and tax credits to attract filmmaking.
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Alan Hassenfeld/John Marion: Assembly should put ethics bill on ballot
At 4:10 a.m. on June 11, members of the Rhode Island General Assembly adjourned for the year, apparently content to have finished their business and eager to head back and collect signatures for their re-election campaigns. While there were some accomplishments to this year’s session (see tax reform and school-funding formula), we believe that the Assembly left too soon.
In their haste to adjourn, members authored a poorly worded casino referendum and passed fireworks legislation that sent the state’s fire marshals scrambling to prepare for July Fourth. But that is not our greatest concern. |
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Hospitals worried about health insurance decision
The day after the state health insurance commissioner approved rate hikes, one of the largest hospital systems in Rhode Island said the decision gave it plenty to be worried about.
Care New England, a hospital conglomerate which includes Butler, Kent, and Women and Infants hospitals, said it would not be directly affected by the rate increases because it self-insures its employees. But it said the 8.4 to 12.3 hikes that were approved could have a broad impact on other Rhode Island businesses. |
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RISC
P.O. Box 567, Charlestown, RI 02813/ Phone: 401-213-6316 / Fax: 401-213-6307 Email: info@risc-ri.orgWeb: www.statewidecoalition.com
The information included herein, not otherwise identified by source or author, is the copyright of the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, Inc. "RISC-y Business", and the RISC logo are trademarks of the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, Inc. Copyright © 2010 Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, Inc. |
