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Meanwhile lets just say that we are proud RI Center for Freedom contributed a whooping 536 entries.
Laws maneating that a certain portion of our energy must be derived from renewable sources actually force households and businesses to pay higher energy costs, creating another drag on our already failing state economy. These laws are based on false assumptions. The cronyism and rate-payer funding of related special-interest projects are examples of corruption that […]
View our “End Corporate Welfare” policy brief here … 38 Studios-style cronyism is not capitalism … and it must end! When political insiders secure special funding or bailouts for themselves, funded by your taxpayer dollars, it creates an unfair playing field, upsetting the competitive landscape. Wasteful spending by incompetent bureaucrats and legislators […]
“Bright Today” education reforms Every child deserves not just a bright future, but also a bright today. Students will only be young once and cannot wait for long-term education reforms to take hold. Families must have choices in education, and we must close educational gaps now! Options and Accountability The State of Florida has […]
Provide more options for more people for affordable, quality, healthcare services! The expansion of complex government and special-interest control over our highly personal healthcare decisions will not give Americans what they want. Rhode Islanders want access to quality care and the freedom to choose the best plans for their families! As part of the Affordable […]
Right to Work = FREEDOM for Ocean State workers! All workers want full freedom to pursue a career of their choice. Freedom of Association is a core American liberty that should be extended to all Rhode Islanders looking to negotiate their own workplace rules, have full incentives to perform at a high level, and determine […]
. Rhode Islanders want more financial security and control over their own lives. Increased job opportunities, higher wages, and enhanced job security can all be achieved in a robust economy. Phase out or immediately eliminate the sales tax. This tax reform policy will produce an immediate boost to the RI economy and will produce more jobs […]
Rhode Island is leading the nation in the advancement of a larger entitlement culture via its planned expansion of social services through a health benefits exchange, a component of the controversial federal healthcare law. When collecting detailed personal financial and household information from individuals seeking health insurance support, the state intends to proactively enroll participants in other state programs for which they are eligible.
Gainful employment is disappearing from the experience of the American teenager (ages 16 to 19), and increasing minimum wages are part of the problem. In Rhode Island, teen unemployment was 28.3% in 2011, more than double its 2007 low of 12.9%, and hours worked per week had fallen from 10.0 to 6.1. Rhode Island’s minimum wage climb from $6.75 in 2004 to $7.75 for 2013 will have cost 597 teenage jobs. As teenagers’ employment has fallen and their average hours worked per week have decreased, the weekly working hours per 100 teens in the population has dropped 62% – and 79% for those without high school diplomas. Because 70% of working teens are in the retail or leisure/hospitality industries, a bold policy change such as eliminating the state sales tax would be especially beneficial to them.
For nearly a decade, taxpayers have been leaving Rhode Island. With cities and towns facing wave after wave of difficult decisions, a change of policy course is critical. Between 2003 and 2010, the net migration out of the state has left Rhode Island with 24,455 fewer income-tax-paying households with a total of $1.2 billion of annual income.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will impose a high cost for the Ocean State in terms of budgets, jobs, dependency, and privacy – including the job-killing EMPLOYER MANDATE. The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity recommends that the state of Rhode Island halt its headlong lunge into expensive and intrusive policy changes concocted in Washington, D.C., and join with other states that have taken a more skeptical view.