Individual Property Rights in the Cross Hairs in the Ocean State

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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 ...

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Center Assembles Expert Panel for Sales Tax Hearing

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  May 13, 2013 

Providence, RI — Hailed as the largest tax cut and economic stimulus plan the state of Rhode Island has ever considered, an expert panel has been assembled by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity to testify at Wednesday’s hearing of the “Sales Tax Repeal Act of 2013″ (H-5365) in front of the RI House Finance Committee on May 15, at 1:00 pm in Room 35 at the RI State House.

The panel is comprised of: ...

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38 Questions on the Superman Building

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38 Questions on the Superman Building

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 ...

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Center Provides Testimony on Key 2013 Bills

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The RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity submitted the following pieces of testimony to the appropriate House and Senate committees regarding proposed 2013 pieces of legislation.

As an IRS approved, 501-C-3 nonprofit organization, the Center is not allowed to openly advocate ‘for’ or ‘against’ a specific bill, however we can provide testimony with regard to research and perspective relative to the underlying issue contained within the bill. 

HOUSE FINANCE COMMITTEE:

May 15 (H5365) – Stenhouse, Katz and expert panel present the entire case ...

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Online Merger of The Ocean State Current and Anchor Rising

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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, ...

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Rhode Island Employment Snapshot, March 2013: Slipping

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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 ...

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Protecting Citizens from Unjust Prosecution

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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 ...

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

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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 ...

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

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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.  ...

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

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

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 ...

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