What's this? A Book!
Or buy here: Light Publications, Powell's, or Bn, Amazon A look at the lousy situation Rhode Island is in, how we got here, and how we might be able to get out. Featuring
Now at bookstores near you, or buy it with the button above ($14, or $18 with shipping and sales tax). Contact information below if you'd like to schedule a book-related event, like a possibly entertaining talk on the book's subjects, featuring the famous mystery graph. Join the RIPR Mailing List! For a weekly column and (a few) other items of interest, click here or send an email to ripr-list-subscribe@whatcheer.net. RIPR is a (paper) newsletter and a weekly column appearing in ten of Rhode Island's finer newspapers. The goal is to look at local, state and federal policy issues that affect life here in the Ocean State, concentrating on action, not intentions or talk. If you'd like to help, please contribute an item, suggest an issue topic, or buy a subscription. If you can, buy two or three (subscribe here). Search this siteAvailable Back Issues:
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AboutThe Rhode Island Policy Reporter is an independent news source that specializes in the technical issues of public policy that matter so much to all our lives, but that also tend not to be reported very well or even at all. The publication is owned and operated by Tom Sgouros, who has written all the text you'll find on this site, except for the articles with actual bylines. Responsibility: Tom Sgouros
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Mon, 31 Oct 2005
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM - news) on Thursday posted a quarterly profit of $9.9 billion, its biggest ever and one of the largest in U.S. corporate history, as it raked in a bonanza from soaring oil and gas prices.Are you surprised? Read here.
22:31 - 31 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
Read all about Alito here. If you have a little time, it's worth a look at the RIPR July issue for a look at how much damage one persuasive and intransigent activist Justice can do. That would be Scalia we're talking about.
15:31 - 31 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
Sun, 30 Oct 2005
The 2006 legislative session is coming soon, and the Governor is beginning to get into the festive mood by proposing a couple of terrible tax reform ideas: a "sales tax holiday" for the busiest shopping days of the year, and a cut in the sales tax.
Because we expect the season to be a busy one, we thought we'd remind everyone of the real state of our tax system. Click here to see the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy study about tax fairness. (Or at least the RI pages. See here for the whole thing.)
The takeaway message: the system is not what you'd call fair. To be more precise, in 2002, the richest Rhode Islanders paid about 8.6% of their income in state and local taxes, and since some of these can be deducted from the federal tax bill, the effective rate is about 6%. On the other hand, the poorest folks in the state — which is to say the bottom 60% — pay more than 10% of their income in state and local tax. The bottom 20% pay more than 13%.
Since 2002, as the regressive property tax has increased, the picture has only gotten worse.
20:37 - 30 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
Mon, 24 Oct 2005
Trillion dollars in the national debt.
Remember the point isn't that the debt is a bad thing. But debts are most usefully incurred in order to buy us something that will become more valuable later. So what did the $2 trillion added to the debt since 2000 bring us?
23:39 - 24 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
Thu, 20 Oct 2005
Words from US Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska:
"When a natural disaster, be it a hurricane, earthquake, tornado or flood, hits a particular region or state, the rest of us can often feel disconnected because it's happening to 'them' and not 'us,'" Young said."Buying bonds that are specifically designated for these types of disasters can help bring together Americans and create a sense of patriotism."
America has averaged 31 major federal disaster declarations annually for the past 50 years, Young said.
"We must find a way to meet the inevitable needs that will arise after future disasters," he said. "We cannot continue deficit spending."
One wonders how he imagines the deficit is financed, if not by bonds. This is one of the people in charge of our nation's budget.
Via Atrios.
17:38 - 20 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
And a good one:
...executives who complain about the high cost of labor in the United States compared to, say, China, are surprisingly silent about the high cost of executive talent in the United States compared to, say, China.
What's with that, anyway?
Read more via here.
15:05 - 20 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
Wed, 12 Oct 2005
This makes me feel better. How about you?
Apparently we're supposed to feel better about Harriet Miers because of her religion. Good to know about that ol' first amendment.
On the other hand, I suppose it wasn't supposed to comfort me, since I'm the sort of guy who once imagined church and state separation was widely considered a good idea.
18:06 - 12 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
Tue, 11 Oct 2005
Not for them, from them.
21:19 - 11 Oct 2005 [/y5/oc]
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