FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2018

Progressive Land of Make Believe Bad Bill of the Week: Paying Families to Move to Rhode Island

Progressive’s Ignorant, Government-Centric Mindset Will Continue to Doom the Ocean State

Providence, RI –– Progressive lawmakers are once again seeking to hand out “free stuff,” this time to wealthy-out of staters, in a misguided attempt to bribe them to move to Rhode Island in order to save the state from losing one of its two prized U.S. House Congressional seats.

The legislation, House bill H8018, has been named the Progressive Land of Make Believe Bad Bill of the Week by the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity, and is an individual-level extension of the failed mindset behind our state’s corporate welfare strategy.

“If we have to pay families, students, and businesses to move to or remain in Rhode Island, to survive our state’s oppressive tax and regulatory climate, then our state is already doomed,” said Mike Stenhouse, the Center’s CEO. “Worse than the obvious face-value inanity of the bill, the ignorant belief of how an economy and family dynamics actually work is what is most troubling. The legislation openly acknowledges the negative economy in our state, yet, as with other progressive policies, it tries to band-aid the symptom rather than cure the core illness.

The Center’s full post describes the many ‘make believe’ assumptions underlying the legislation, which could cost families and businesses up to $300 million:

• • That the real solution to RI’s economic and population stagnation are not staring lawmakers directly in the face …
  • That families want to be dependent on government programs …
  • That this “wealthy-welfare” scheme. like the state’s corporate-welfare strategy, is fair, and will improve overall economic conditions …
  • That RI’s population will actually increase …

Other Bad Bills: An interactive table of other progressive bad bill candidates, as well as posts and video commentary on previously tabbed “progressive bad bills of the week” can be found at RIFreedom.org/Bills.