Mike Stenhouse founded the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity in 2011 and currently serves as CEO. Stenhouse earned a Bachelors degree in Economics from Harvard University, where he was also a two-time All-America baseball selection. A Cranston native who attended Cranston East, Stenhouse also enjoyed an 8-year professional baseball career, playing in the major leagues with the Montreal Expos, Minnesota Twins, and Boston Red Sox. Mike and his wife, Wendy, live in Cranston and have 3 sons.
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. The legislation, House bill H8018, has been named the “Progressive Land of Make Believe Bad Bill of the Week” by the RI Center for Freedom & […]
In blocking technological innovation, by seeking a virtual ban on the emerging and promising “ocular tele-medicine” industry, Senate bill S2404 and its House companion, H7608, have been dubbed the Progressive Land of Make Believe Bad Bills of the Week. One reason why Rhode Island has such a dismal business climate and reputation is precisely bills […]
They’re back! Once again unions are pushing for legislation that would give them even more leverage when it comes to negotiating Collective Bargaining Agreements for government workers. House bills 7198, 7633, and 7634 would grant all or some public employee unions an unfair advantage by keeping in place all existing collective bargaining provisions until a […]
This week we highlight yet another issue where the progressive-Democrats want government to control another aspect of our lives … this time, the Internet … with the issue being Net Neutrality. Two related bills, S2008 and H7422, introduced by progressive-left Democrats attempts to solve what is nothing more than a make believe problem. Sponsored by […]
Pretend Discrimination Bill H7150 This week’s bad bill is a thorny issue; but one that highlights yet another danger of the progressive-left’s agenda to control our lives via a government driven by political correctness. In our American society, this means a direct threat to free speech and free thought. House Bill H7150 is the epitome of […]
BACKGROUND: Should the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of Rhode Island families be limited by an arbitrary, politically driven budget number at the bottom of a spreadsheet? Unfortunately, our state is now suffering the consequences of such an approach, dragged-down by the progressive-left’s big-spending agenda; as projected economic growth has not materialized, leaving the state with […]
The Providence Journal and Rhode Island progressives are doing a disservice to the people of our state by advancing a biased and non-realistic perspective on the federal healthcare reform debate. There are few issues that are more personal or important than planning for the care that can preserve the health of ourselves and our families. […]
The PDF below is the written testimony submitted on January 31, 2017 to the House Judiciary Committee by the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse, with regard to the House package of bills recommended by the state’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI). The testimony follows the prior day’s release of the Center’s Right on Crime policy brief, which […]
Job Description THE POSITION: The Center is seeking to hire an Executive Assistant (EA), on a part-time contractor basis, who will assist the CEO in achieving the organization’s development, coalition building, and other outreach goals. The position’s mission is to ensure that key partners are contacted and regularly updated on the Center’s various initiatives. The primary […]
At the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s (DEM’s) second of three workshops to publicly review new rules by which the state agency will buy and resell private farmland, the overwhelming majority of the audience had serious concerns about the state’s plan. A few farmers actually walked out in protest. The only apparent supporters were […]