Roadmap to a comeback

Posted 3/5/15

Stop the decline, spark the comeback. That’s been the message Gina Raimondo has brought Rhode Islanders even before she took the oath as governor.

Like this neverending winter, the picture she …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Roadmap to a comeback

Posted

Stop the decline, spark the comeback. That’s been the message Gina Raimondo has brought Rhode Islanders even before she took the oath as governor.

Like this neverending winter, the picture she projects is bleak. For the moment, her focus is on the budget, although it was clear from her opening remarks to The Economic Progress Institute and The Latino Policy Institute Tuesday she is thinking in bigger terms.

“It’s a little bit of a sad day in Rhode Island,” she said. “We need to stop that decline.”

It was a commentary on the news that former House Speaker Gordon Fox, who played such a pivotal role in the pension reforms Raimondo engineered as general treasurer, would plead guilty to bribery, improper use of campaign funds and income tax evasion. She didn’t need to mention Fox’s name. Everyone knew what she was talking about.

But she was there to talk about the “bad” economic cycle Rhode Island is in and what needs to be done to create good paying jobs, thereby increasing state revenues. Making comparisons to other states such as Wisconsin and Kansas, she does not see the state cutting its way out of a projected $200 million deficit. She prefers the approach taken in Vermont, where the state is “investing” to create business opportunities that have fueled new industries and jobs.

And therein is the corundum. Where, if taxes aren’t raised, is the money going to come from?

She offered a glimpse of her efforts to measure the effectiveness of existing programs and make adjustments. There will be cuts in Medicare. She labeled DCYF and BHDDH as “not well run departments.”

And Raimondo made it clear she’s depending on the right people to come up with the answers. She said Secretary of Commerce Stefan Pryor quickly concluded the state lacked some of the basics, such as funding for low-cost small business loans that could stimulate economic growth. She was refreshingly sincere when she observed she needs to fill the position of commissioner of education and turned to her audience for suggestions.

Raimondo will unveil her budget next Thursday evening before the General Assembly. It will offer a roadmap of how she intends to address her key goals of stimulating the economy and creating good-paying jobs. It will also provide an assessment of current state operations and what she would do to enhance the delivery of services while reducing costs.

Raimondo has set ambitious goals. She did that as treasurer when she tackled the high cost of pensions and unshackled taxpayers from an unsustainable system that would have left retirees with nothing.

Now, she is looking to start the comeback. We look forward to seeing her budget plan. We need something to break this cycle.

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here