Media Alert: RI Falls Back to 48th in August JOBS & OPPORTUNITY INDEX (JOI)

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 23, 2016
Drop in August “Prosperity” Drags RI Back to 48th on national Jobs & Opportunity Index

Providence, RI — Due to an increase in the ratio of tax dollars paid as compared with personal earnings, the Ocean State dropped back to 48th place in the August Jobs & Opportunity Index (JOI), a multi-data metric developed by the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity. 

Based on the release of new state and local tax collection data from the U.S. Census, Rhode Island lost ground on the national JOI metric, remaining – as it has for years – in the bottom five among all states. JOI is a broader and more accurate measure of employment and well-being than the traditionally cited and highly narrow unemployment rate, which has fluctuated more dramatically in recent years for Rhode Island, but which is not an accurate barometer of economic prosperity.

“Political leaders want us to believe that conditions are improving for families and businesses, but JOI shows this just isn’t true,” commented Research Director for the Center, Justin Katz.  “Based on August data, our Ocean State remains worst in New England for each of the three JOI factors that measure employment, income, and independence. Lawmakers must adopt broad-based reforms that can make Rhode Island a state where all Rhode Islanders, not just government and targeted special interests, can truly prosper.”

The Ocean State’s second-quarter increase in taxes collected over the first quarter compared with New York’s decrease made the difference by decreasing its “Prosperity” factor, leading Rhode Island to lose ground against the U.S. and New England averages.

Supporting the conclusions from the JOI metric, Rhode Island also ranks 48th in the Family Prosperity Index, the broadest national measure of family well-being.

For the JOI homepage, click here.

For a description of JOI and its three sub-factors, click here.

Jobs & Opportunity Index (JOI), August 2016: State and Local Taxes Drag RI Back to 48

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Printable report and national ranking table.

With the release of new state and local taxation data from the U.S. Census, Rhode Island fell back to 48th for the August Jobs & Opportunity Index (JOI). The Ocean State’s second-quarter increase in taxes over the first quarter compared with New York’s decrease made the difference, leading Rhode Island to lose ground against the U.S. and New England averages. In all, six of 13 datapoints are new the August report.

In Rhode Island, employment was up 1,275 from the previously recorded number, labor force up 1,770, and RI-based jobs down 100. (Note that these are calculated with pre-revision data for the prior month.) Medicaid enrollment increased by 1,243, while SNAP decreased by 711. As mentioned above, second-quarter state and local taxes were up $179 million from the prior quarter.

The biggest shift in the first chart, showing the six New England states in the national race, is Vermont’s big fall to fifth in the region (from 19th to 44th in the nation), above only Rhode Island. The reason is a large increase in Vermont’s state and local taxes, which were up by a factor of three, suggesting an issue of timing that might reverse for the next quarter. Although not as dramatic, New Hampshire has seen similar fluctuations, and returned to 1st in the nation, from 3rd last month. Thanks to Vermont, Connecticut is now third in New England, which is 33rd in the country (up three slots). Maine slipped a bit, to 20th in the nation, from 17th, while Massachusetts gained two spots, hitting 35th.

ne-joirace-0816

The second chart shows the gap between Rhode Island and New England as well as the United States, which expanded this month. By contrast, Rhode Island’s gap shrunk on the unemployment rate (third chart).

rineus-joi-2005-0816

rineus-unemployment-2005-0816

Results for the three underlying JOI factors were:

  • Job Outlook Factor (measuring optimism that adequate work is available): RI moved forward two slots to 36th place.
  • Freedom Factor (measuring the level of work against reliance on welfare programs): RI remained at 39th.
  • Prosperity Factor (measuring the financial motivation of income versus taxes): RI moved up two spaces to 44th.
Printable report and national ranking table.

Center to Sponsor GA Candidate Debates. Kate Nagle to Moderate. Portsmouth Democrat Controversy?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 21, 2016
Center to Sponsor Two Debates in Partnership with Local Groups

Kate Nagle from GoLocalProv.com to be moderator.
Portsmouth Democrats create controversy so as to not participate?
Other local groups invited to partner with the Center.

Providence, RI — The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity announced today that it has reached an arrangement with a local group to sponsor two East Bay General Assembly candidate debates on October 12 in Portsmouth.

Portsmouth Concerned Citizens (PCC), which for many years has successfully conducted similar debates, has invited the candidates for Senate District 11 and House District 72 to participate in the 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm event, which will be held at the Portsmouth Council Chamber on 2200 East Main Road. The moderator for the two debates will be Kate Nagle, political reporter and editor for GoLocalProv.com.

Incumbent Senator John Pagliarini (Republican) from District 11 has accepted the invitation, while his challenger, James Seveney (Democrat) has not yet responded.

Vying for the open House District 72 seat, are Ken Mendonca (Republican) who has accepted, and former Representative Linda Finn (Democrat), who also has not yet responded.

As sponsor of the debate, the Center’s role is largely promotional: to raise state and local awareness and to potentially host a post-debate video of the event. The Center has also collaborated with the PCC to develop up to four questions of statewide interest that will be asked of each candidate. All other operations and logistics are the responsibility of the local group, in the PCC case, with all other questions to come from the audience.

Garnering a lead, front page story in today’s Newport Daily News, a likely reason for the lack of response from the two

Democrat candidates is a September 18 open letter from Leonard Katzman, Chair of the Portsmouth Democratic Town Committee. In the letter, Mr. Katzman called into question the “legitimacy” of the candidate forums and the “fairness” of the PCC. Katzman also cast aspersions on the Center by falsely claiming Koch-brother backing and that the Center’s agenda is “antithetical to Democratic Party principles.”

“Our Center has earned the reputation as a nonpartisan and strong advocate for taxpayers: I cannot imagine that Mr. Katzman believes that looking out for taxpayers goes against his Democrat party principles. After all isn’t a debate supposed to be about discussing varying views of government? What are he and his candidates afraid of,” questioned Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. “Further, his mindless attempt to impugn the credibility of our Center through a bogus ploy of guilt-by-association to certain non-donors … is completely false. I call on Mr. Katzman to retract that statement.”

Thanks to the generosity of some of its donors, the Center has the financial capacity to sponsor additional debates. Local, nonpartisan groups interested in conducting their own debates should send an email to info@rifreedom.org.

The 2016 “Sheeple” Index: Alarming Number of Lawmakers Vote in Lock-step with Leadership

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Despite polices that have caused the Ocean State to suffer the 50th ranked business climate, the 48th rank in Family Prosperity, and the 47th rank in Jobs & Opportunity, our new 2016 “Sheeple” index demonstrates that there is scant dissent among Rhode Island lawmakers who vote for such policies.

Click Here For The 2016 "Sheeple" Index

This index ranks how often state Representatives and Senators voted in lock-step with leadership. Even with the 2016 General Assembly scoring a dismal (-54.1) on the Center’s 2016 Freedom Index, there was little opposition as more than half of all lawmakers voted with the House Speaker or the Senate President over 95% of the time.

The 2016 “Sheeple” index is a collaboration between WatchdogRI.org and our Center.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Lawmakers who were not present and missed votes are artificially credited in this “sheeple” index as having not voted with leadership. Please refer to the “missed votes” (or Walker) index here to see how many votes any particular lawmaker incurred.

Of the 2016 House’s 489 bills examined, excluding resolutions and solemnizations: 24 Representatives voted at least 98% of the time with the Speaker, with the worst-five “sheeple” offenders are:

  • John DeSimone (99.8%)
  • Ray Johnston, Jr (99.8%)
  • Michael Morin (99.6%)
  • Brian Kennedy (99.39%)
  • Lauren Carson (99.2%).

Of the Senate’s 487 bills, 11 Senators surpassed the 98% sheeple threshold, the five least independent when it came to casting votes in lock-step with the Senate President are:

  • Susan Sosnowski (99.6%)
  • Dominick Ruggerio (99.2%)
  • Erin Lynch (99.2%)
  • Steve Archambault (98.8%)
  • Hanna Gallo (98.6%)

“In a healthy democracy, there should be a rigorous debate of diverse policies. Sadly, and conversely in Rhode Island, it seems that when leadership authorizes bills to move forward, legislators feel compelled to automatically support them,” commented Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. “The statistics in this report present an alarming pattern of elected officials blindly following the leader. Voters this November must decide if this is how they want their government to be run.”

EXETER top-ranked delegation; NEWPORT last on 2016 Freedom Index

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 16, 2016
Only 3 Towns Scored in Positive Territory; 16 Cities & Towns Below General Assembly Average

Providence, RI — Following yesterday’s release of its annual Freedom Index and Legislator Scorecard, the nonpartisan Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity today published a 2016 ranking of the General Assembly delegations from the Ocean State’s 39 cities and towns. The Exeter delegation of House and Senate lawmakers, based on their individual floor-votes, was the highest ranked in the state, while the Newport delegation ranked lowest.

EXETER’s top-rated score of +19.37 by its delegation, consisting of Representatives Price and Costa, and Senator Morgan, was higher than the General Assembly’s overall score of negative (-54.1). During the 2016 legislative session, the Exeter lawmakers generally voted to advance freedom in the Ocean State.

Sen. Elaine J. Morgan (R) of district 34 in Exeter scored a +23.73 overall on the 2016 Freedom Index, while Rep. Doreen Costa (R) scored a +20.8 and Rep. Justin Price (R) scored a +13.60.

Conversely, NEWPORT’s score of (-68.5) by its delegation of Representatives Carson and Abney, and Senators Paiva Weed and DiPalma. was worst in the state in 2016, reducing the freedom of Rhode Islanders.

Rep. Lauren Carson (D, district 75) scored a (-67.8), while Rep. Marvin Abney (D, district 73) scored a (-67.8), Sen. Teresa Paiva Weed (D, district 13), scored a (-68.4), and Sen. Louis DiPalma (D, district 12) scored a (-71.2).

TOP-3, BOTTOM-5. Joining Exeter as the only 3 towns to achieve a positive score was Richmond and Charleston. In addition to Newport, the bottom five towns were Pawtucket, East Providence, Providence, and Jamestown, all of which are part of the 16 cities and town that scored below the average General Assembly score.

On the main RIFreedom.org/FreedomIndex home page, voters have access to a multitude of data and tools, including links to:

  • Legislator Scorecards for 2016 as well as for the prior 4 years
  • Interactive data from 2012-2016 that can be filtered by a number of criteria including city/town, party, lawmaker, year, category, etc …
  • 38 Studios Scorecard, released last month
  • “Walkers” Index, which tallied missed votes by lawmakers over the past 3 years, released in collaboration with WatchdogRI.org

Later this month, again in collaboration with WatchdogRI.org, the Center also plans to release its first-ever “Sheeple Index“, which rates how often lawmakers vote in lock-step with political leadership.

How Does Your Delegation Rank On The 2016 RI Freedom Index?

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Based on the 2016 individual floor-votes of each city’s & town’s entire delegation of General Assembly House and Senate lawmakers on bills appearing on the Center’s “Freedom Index”,  a ranking of the 39 municipalities is provided below.

See the 9/16/16 media release here … 

EXETER’s top-rated score of +19.37 by its delegation, consisting of Representatives Price and Costa, and Senator Morgan, was higher than the General Assembly’s overall score of negative (-54.1). Conversely, NEWPORT’s score of (-68.5) by its delegation of Representatives Carson and Abney, and Senators Paiva Weed and DiPalma, was worst in the state.

TOP-3, BOTTOM-5. Joining Exeter as the only 3 towns to achieve a positive score was Richmond and Charelestown. In addition to Newport, the bottom five towns were Pawtucket, East Providence, Providence, and Jamestown, all of which are part of the 16 cities and town that scored below the average General Assembly score.

Click Here For The Freedom Index Main Page

How Does Your City/Town Delegation Rank?

  1. Exeter  (+19.37)
  2. Richmond  (+18.65)
  3. Charlestown  (+1.20)
  4. West Greenwich  (-4.48)
  5. Hopkinton (-9.57)
  6. Foster (-10.95)
  7. Coventry (-15.96)
  8. East Greenwich (-15.97)
  9. New Shoreham (-28.70)
  10. Portsmouth (-29.86)
  11. North Kingstown (-30.68)
  12. North Smithfield (-34.58)
  13. Scituate (-37.85)
  14. Westerly (-38.28)
  15. West Warwick (-41.62)
  16. Bristol (-42.70)
  17. Burrillville (-42.80)
  18. South Kingstown (-43.86)
  19. Glocester (-48.10)
  20. Tiverton (-51.08)
  21. Cumberland (-52.17)
  22. Narragansett (-53.43)
  23. Lincoln (-53.44)
  24. Warwick (-54.27)
  25. Middletown (-54.35)
  26. North Providence (-60.14)
  27. Cranston (-61.04)
  28. Woonsocket (-62.82)
  29. Central Falls (-63.83)
  30. Smithfield (-64.67)
  31. Johnston (-64.98)
  32. Barrington (-66.00)
  33. Little Compton (-66.20)
  34. Warren (-66.33)
  35. Jamestown (-67.30)
  36. Providence (-67.30)
  37. East Providence (-67.91)
  38. Pawtucket (-68.04)
  39. Newport (-68.85)

VOTER GUIDE: Final Legislator Scorecard & Freedom Index

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 15, 2016

Failed Status Quo Exemplified by Continued Deeply Negative Overall General Assembly Scores

However, real-time ratings led to more positive individual scores

Click Here For The 2016 Freedom Index

Providence, RI — Loaded with information that may be useful to voters this fall, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity published today the final report for its annual Freedom Index and Legislator Scorecard, as part of its larger transparency initiative.

Led by Representative Patricia Morgan (R, West Warwick) and Senator Elaine Morgan (R, Exeter) only 11 of 113 lawmakers, on a scale of (-100) to +100, earned positive scores: 10 Republicans and one independent; with nine in the House and two in the Senate.

Overall, however, the General Assembly as a body scored a negative (-54.1), continuing its five-year trend deep in red numbers, meaning Rhode Islanders have less freedom than they did last year.

“It is a result of this failed status quo of increased government intervention in our personal and business lives that we believe is why the Ocean State ranks so poorly in so many national indexes,” commented Mike Stenhouse, CEO for the Center. “It is not acceptable that we rank 50th, with the worst business climate in the nation; 48th on the national Family Prosperity Index (FPI); and 47th on the Center’s Jobs & Opportunity Index (JOI). It’s up to voters to review this data and decide whether or not to hold lawmakers accountable for their voting records this November.”

On the RIFreedom.org/FreedomIndex home page, voters have access to a multitude of data and tools, including links to:

  • Legislator Scorecards for 2016 as well as for the prior 4 years
    Interactive data from 2012-2016 that can be filtered by a number of criteria including city/town, party, lawmaker, year, category, etc ..
  • 38 Studios Scorecard, released last month
  • “Walkers” Index, which tallied missed votes by lawmakers over the past 3 years, released in collaboration with WatchdogRI.org

Among other findings:

  • The Exeter contingent of House and Senate lawmakers was the highest ranked in the state, while the Newport contingent ranked lowest
  • House Republicans were the only major party caucus to score in positive territory (+7), while Senate Democrats were the lowest scoring (-68.8)
  • Overall, Republicans moved significantly higher, while Democrats dropped lower, further widening the partisan gap

Also, as a result of its new 2016 policy to post online real-time bill ranking and lawmaker scores, the Center was successful in proactively influencing future votes as opposed to just a reactive scoring of past votes. This can be evidenced by the fact that a number of lawmakers who followed the Center’s recommendations scored in positive territory in 2016, after years of almost no lawmakers scoring above zero.

Later this month, again in collaboration with WatchdogRI.org, the Center also plans to release its first-ever “Sheeple Index”, which rates how often lawmakers vote in lock-step with political leadership.

NEW “WALKERS” REPORT: How Many Votes Did Your Lawmaker Miss?

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 12, 2016
Legislative “Circus” Main Culprit in Missed General Assembly Votes

About one in eight lawmakers missed over 20% of votes; three over 40% in 2016

Calls for legislative action to limit votes in a single day or week

Providence, RI — The annual General Assembly ritual of an “all-night spasm of deal making and lawmaking” is the primary culprit as to why so many elected officials miss so many votes, according to Ken Block, the two-time gubernatorial candidate, who’s WatchdogRI.org group teamed with the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity to produce a report on missed votes since 2014.

Often referred to as “walkers”, thirty members of the 2016 General Assembly failed to adequately represent their constituencies by failing to cast votes on over 10% of all non resolution or solemnization bills.

However, both the Center and WatchdogRI point out that legitimate family, personal, and business emergencies, illnesses, or conflicts often play a role in preventing lawmakers from being able to attend some General Assembly sessions. When such conflicts coincide with the annual all-night circus of voting on hundreds of bills in a single all-night session, voters can begin to understand why so many of their senators and representatives miss so many votes, according to Block, who penned a Providence Sunday Journal opinion piece yesterday on the topic.

Nonetheless, the Center and WatchdogRI compiled a full report of the voting records of all incumbents over the past three years, which included an analysis of 615 votes in the House and 532 votes in the Senate for 2016.

In the House, the top 10 legislators with the most missed votes in 2016 were: Thomas Palangio, D-Providence, 536; John Carnevale, D-Providence, 356; Arthur Corvese, D-North Providence, 263; Jared Nunes, D-Coventry, 221; Joseph Trillo, R-Warwick, 209; John Lombardi, D-Providence, 202; Robert Jacquard, D-Cranston, 157; Edith Ajello, D-Providence, 142; Nicholas Mattiello D-Cranston, 126; and Dan Reilly, R-Portsmouth, 105.

For the 2016 Senate, the top 10 legislators with the most missed votes were: Frank Lombardi, D-Cranston, 138; Donna Nesselbush D-Pawtucket, 130; Edward O’Neill, R-Lincoln, 118; Frank Lombardo, D-Johnston, 115; Leonidas Raptakis, D-Coventry, 107; Nicholas Kettle, R-Coventry, 92; James Doyle, D-Pawtucket, 91; Elizabeth Crowley, D-Central Falls, 89; Joshua Miller D-Cranston, 77; and William Walaska, D-Warwick, 77.

Senator John Pagliarini R-Portsmouth, did not miss a single vote, joining 15 other senators who missed fewer than ten votes. Representatives Robert Phillips, D-Woonsocket, and Raymond Johnston, D-Pawtucket, each missed only one vote, joining 23 other representatives who missed fewer than 10 votes.

CALL TO ACTION: In response to pushback to Block’s oped by lawmakers who feel they may unfairly be listed on the ‘walker’ top-10 lists, both the Center and WatchdogRI challenge all lawmakers to go on record in support of reform to the cattle-call vote process that is the root cause. The oped suggests that the legislature should consider a daily or weekly bill-vote limit, with no floor votes occurring after a specified evening hour. Such reform would clearly enhance a more transparent and representative governmental process.

EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES? There are at least four known instances where extenuating circumstances may have prevented individual lawmakers from taking votes. In the case of Representatives Palangio, Corvese, and Nunes as well as Senator Lombardi … a personal illness, a death in the family, a child-birth, and a pre-arranged family vacation respectively caused these elected-officials to miss all of the votes on the final “cattle-call” late-evening into early-morning of bill passages. In the spirit of fairness, responses from other lawmakers will be accepted at info@rifreedom.org and will be posted and regularly updated at RIFreedom.org/walkers-legislator-responses/.

Click Here For The Responses

To view a PDF of the full report, go to: RIFreedom.org/Walkers.