Blog « RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity

Individual Property Rights in the Cross Hairs in the Ocean State

Homeowners, businesses, and other property owners should be aware that a series of bills under consideration in the Rhode Island General Assembly would undermine or erode their individual property rights — the foundation of the U.S. Constitution and the free-enterprise system.

In the name of vague environmental resource benefits, three bills in particular would systematically give the state, or new state and local agencies, authority to infringe upon the rights and freedoms of local property owners.

It appears that the state is ...

22
MAY

Categories: Blog, Recent Posts

Tags: business, General Assembly, homeowners, Property rights

38 Questions on the Superman Building

Posted by: RI Center for Freedom

Would Saving Superman be Kryptonite to RI’s Economy?

Opinion

Local developer Arnold “Buff” Chace of Cornish Associates and a Massachusetts real estate investment fund, High Rock Development, recently released a “redevelopment plan” for the property at 111 Westminster Street in Providence’s Financial District popularly referred to as “The Superman Building.” As the Providence Journal reports, the plan requires state-taxpayer-funded public subsidies of $39 million, $21 million in federal-taxpayer-supported tax credits, and up to $15 million in city-taxpayer-supplanted tax forgiveness in order convert ...

10
MAY

Categories: Blog, Commentary, Recent Posts, Taxes, Transparency

Tags: 38 studios, business, cronyism, economy, taxes

Online Merger of The Ocean State Current and Anchor Rising

Posted by: Akash

Providence, RI — The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity announced today that its online journalism and commentary wing, The Ocean State Current, will be merging the content of Anchor Rising into a single location on The Current’s existing website and URL.
The co-branded joint venture, launched today at OceanStateCurrent.com, will now also feature content from an experienced team of Anchor Rising contributors who set the standard for conservative blogging in Rhode Island, including Andrew Morse, Marc Comtois, ...

26
APR

Categories: Blog, Commentary, News, Organizational, Recent Posts

Rhode Island Employment Snapshot, March 2013: Slipping

Posted by: Justin Katz

Rhode Island’s unemployment rate fell again, down to 9.1%. If that’s good news, however, then the state’s strategy must really be to get people to give up on ever finding work.

The first chart below shows that employment slid a little, creating a trend mainly of stagnation. But it appears that the bottom may be falling out from under the total labor force (those either employed or looking for work). But for the decrease in the number of people looking for ...

19
APR

Categories: Blog, Jobs, Recent Posts

A Moral Defense of Free-Enterprise

Posted by: Mike Stenhouse

Commentary by Mike Stenhouse

Capitalism - not Redistribution - is Moral & Unifying

As Rhode Island suffers through one of the worst economic, educational and fiscal crises in its history, a new vision of revitalization is required for a better future for our children and citizens.

Ideas matter. Public policy has real consequences for real people. Recent policies in the Ocean State that have promised too much to too many have had the adverse effect of fraying our economic and educational fabric, and have failed our residents. ...

16
APR

Categories: Blog

Protecting Citizens from Unjust Prosecution

Posted by: RI Center for Freedom

Why Rhode Island needs a Default Mens Rea Provision

Download a PDF of the 2013 policy brief here ; related Senate Bill No. 414; related 2012 policy brief

Background

The rapid expansion of criminal laws in modern day jurisprudence requires a default mens rea (criminal intent) provision to ensure innocent citizens are not given serious criminal penalties for conduct outside the realm of traditional criminal laws.

Every state should be careful when seeking to convict its citizens of crimes ...

8
APR

Categories: Blog, Recent Posts, Regulatory Environment

Minimum Wage’s Cost in Jobs: 432 at $8.25 and 3,466 at $10.10

Posted by: RI Center for Freedom

Profile of minimum wage worker is NOT of a low-income, family bread-winner.

Related Links: WJAR-10 TV Story; GoLocalProv Story

As an update to prior studies of the effect of increasing the minimum wage on Rhode Island’s employment situation, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity estimates that proposed increases could cost the state hundreds or even thousands of jobs.

Legislation currently making its way through the General Assembly would increase the minimum wage to $8.25 per hour, from its ...

3
APR

Categories: Blog, Jobs, Recent Posts, Youth Issues

Rhode Island Employment Snapshot, February 2013: Mixed, Stagnant Picture

Posted by: Justin Katz

For the first time in years, Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is out of the bottom three for the nation, down to 9.4%. Once again, however, the Ocean State’s “improvement” hinges on a loss of people in the labor force.

The first chart below shows that, while employment edged up in February, the total labor force (those either employed or looking for work) continued to fall. February’s number was down, and at the same time, January’s number was revised downward, as well. ...

29
MAR

Categories: Blog, Recent Posts

RI Medicaid Abuse Puts New Spin on “Laundering” Taxpayer Dollars

Posted by: RI Center for Freedom

MEDIA: NBC- Channel 10, ABC Channel 6, 630 WPRO

The State of Rhode Island has developed a new spin on the idea of “laundering” money, as part of the cycle of taxpayer dollars that end up in the pockets of the special few, according to a follow-up post today on The Ocean State Current, the journalism wing of the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity.

According to the post ...

27
MAR

Categories: Blog, Featured, Labor, Recent Posts, Transparency

High Overtime, Evasion Raise New Questions About Medicaid Fraud and Waste

Posted by: Mike Stenhouse

Related Links: GoLocalProv, New Allegations Surface in RI Medicaid Fraud;

In the wake of an investigative article published this morning in The Ocean State Current about suspiciously high overtime payments to government employed nurses and psychiatrists, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity plans to publish additional related information in the coming week.

Considering that public dollars are being paid to government workers who, for years, have collected six-figures in overtime from a facility that was cited in ...

26
MAR

Categories: Blog, Labor, Recent Posts, Transparency

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Individual Property Rights in the Cross Hairs in the Ocean State

38 Questions on the Superman Building

Would Saving Superman be Kryptonite to RI’s Economy?

Online Merger of The Ocean State Current and Anchor Rising

Rhode Island Employment Snapshot, March 2013: Slipping

A Moral Defense of Free-Enterprise

Capitalism - not Redistribution - is Moral & Unifying

Protecting Citizens from Unjust Prosecution

Why Rhode Island needs a Default Mens Rea Provision

Background

Minimum Wage’s Cost in Jobs: 432 at $8.25 and 3,466 at $10.10

Profile of minimum wage worker is NOT of a low-income, family bread-winner.

Rhode Island Employment Snapshot, February 2013: Mixed, Stagnant Picture

RI Medicaid Abuse Puts New Spin on “Laundering” Taxpayer Dollars

High Overtime, Evasion Raise New Questions About Medicaid Fraud and Waste

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