Decision of the Century: General Assembly’s Budget Approach Will Set State’s Trajectory for Decades to Come
The problems we face did not come down from the heavens; they were government-made and they can be reversed. Lawmakers should not feel helpless, nor do we have to be reliant of the federal government. Many states are taking proactive steps to prepare their state economies for rapid recovery... and we must do the same. Lawmakers have to understand that they can no longer hide from the responsibilities and difficult decisions they were elected take on: the status quo budget approach - tax, spend, and borrow - can not work in response to this pandemic crisis.
With a one-billion dollar anticipated revenue shortfall, and with recent statements from leading Rhode Island lawmakers indicating a general feeling of helplessness, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity today published a report with proven budget strategies that can help put the state on a long-term positive trajectory. Virtually all recent comments from public officials appear to place an undue reliance on federal bailout funds in the hope that status quo spending levels might be maintained. This is not a budget strategy.
Compiled after numerous discussions with colleagues in other states as well as with state budget experts with national organizations, the Center’s report, Decision of the Century, is premised on the understanding that the decisions that will soon be made by lawmakers in dealing with the pandemic-caused revenue losses, will set the near and long term trajectory for the Rhode Island economy.
Governor’s 2019-20 Budget: The Rhode to Serfdom
Providence, RI — Instead of seeking to shape Rhode Island’s future with the proven ideals of a free-society, Governor Raimondo’s proposed 2019-2020 budget is a stunning departure from America’s core […]
Center Opposes All Three Ballot Questions
The RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity urges Rhode Island voters to reject all three 2018 ballot bond questions as too costly, near-sighted, and overly geared toward special interests. Question […]
DECISION OF THE CENTURY: New Report Lays Out a 2021 Budget Strategy for Prosperity
/in Budget and Spending, Featured, Recent Posts/by RI Center for FreedomFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 29, 2020 A 2021 Budget Strategy For Long-Term ProsperityLegislative Leaders Not Understanding the New Reality? Providence, RI – With about one-billion dollars in anticipated revenue shortfalls, and […]
Progressive Policies Sink Ocean State Back into the Bottom-10
/in Budget and Spending, Featured, Recent Posts/by RI Center for FreedomProvidence, RI– How much bad news can our state absorb before its political leaders change course, asks the Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity? Fittingly, it is on Tax […]