Archive for 'Blog'

by MIKE STENHOUSE and RICK DANKER

Rhode Island has become ground zero for the public-employee pension crisis owing to the size of the unfunded pension liabilities the state and its cities face along with the sad story of the Central Falls bankruptcy.

But, unlike other states stuck in similar situations, the Ocean State has been proactive in making solid reforms to reduce this debt load. This month, Governor Chafee introduced a municipal pension reform plan that will enable localities to make cuts ...

Pension Data added for 1800+ Police and Fire Retirees for Central Falls, Warwick, East Providence, and Newport

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 20, 2012

Providence, RI – As part of National Transparency Week, the Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity announced today the posting of new pension data on its popular transparency website, www.RIOpenGov.org . The site has also been reconfigured to host the work of its national Task Force on pension reform, as the debate about municipal pensions heats up ...

COMMENTARY: by Mike Stenhouse and Rich Danker

The centerpiece of the governor’s proposed legislation to let municipalities’ independent pension plans suspend annual cost of living adjustments (COLA’s), includes a ’60% critical status’ test that may be irrelevant. While we support the concept of providing “tools” to Rhode Island municipalities, the distinction of which localities are in crisis – and which are not – may be an unnecessary exercise.

According to a study published last November by Eileen Norcross, senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at ...