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Rhode Island Tag

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 22, 2010 2 Comments

Steve Malanga wrote an excellent article for City Journal about how public sector unions have controlled, and ruined, California, The Beholden State:How public employees became members of the elite class in a declining California offers a cautionary tale to the rest of the country, where...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 16, 2010 9 Comments

Underfunded state retirement systems are one of the greatest problems facing states. There does not seem to be a way out, as municipal and teachers' unions are loathe to negotiate substantial reforms and state governments simply do not have the money to meet unsustainable promises.An...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 12, 2010 8 Comments

Someone, somewhere is stoking the notion of Sheldon Whitehouse for the Supreme Court spot being vacated by John Paul Stevens. From the Providence Journal:Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, the Rhode Island Democrat, has appeared on some early lists of prospects whom President Obama may consider - or...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 11, 2010 8 Comments

In early March I wrote how the Southern Poverty Law Center had exaggerated regarding the alleged presence of the Ku Klux Klan in Rhode Island as part of SPLC's report on a "surge" of hate groups.Specifically, I pointed out that SPLC claimed the Ku Klux...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 11, 2010 3 Comments

Rhode Island is the poster child for how municipal employee and teachers unions have devastated state and local budgets through unsustainable contracts obtained through political contributions.Rhode Island is drowning in pension promises it cannot meet and benefits it cannot pay. Yet the municipal employee unions...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on April 05, 2010 4 Comments

Wait for it. The next bailout will be for hospitals devastated by cut-backs as a result of Obamacare. In Rhode Island, the prognosis already is not good for the survival of hospitals already struggling financially, which may be pushed over the brink. As...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 18, 2010 11 Comments

Barack Obama backed the decision of the Central Falls School District in Rhode Island to fire all teachers at its underperforming high school, much to the anger of teachers' unions.Now a teacher at the school has hung Obama in effigy:Responding to a rumor that one...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 14, 2010 3 Comments

William Lynch, Chairman of the Democratic Party of Rhode Island for the past decade, has thrown his hat into the ring to run to replace Patrick Kennedy.Please, please let Lynch get the Democratic nomination. Lynch is so deeply part of the problem, has opposed almost...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 12, 2010 8 Comments

The bowing out of Patrick Kennedy is a plus, on many different levels. But this positive should not be construed as a guarantee that the seat will leave the Democratic Party.Rhode Island is one of the bluest states. The Democrats control the legislature and most...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 06, 2010 34 Comments

As readers of this blog already know, I am cursed with two of the looniest Congressmen in existence, Patrick Kennedy in my home state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, and Maurice Hinchey in Ithaca, NY, where I live during the academic year.In the wake...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 21, 2009 20 Comments

Sheldon Whitehouse, my Democratic Senator from Rhode Island, has joined the Alan Grayson wing of the Democratic party with a speech so over the top that it is an infuriating embarrassment. I wasn't going to post on this. But then I listened to the speech, in...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on December 20, 2009 3 Comments

Here is a photo of our patio taken a little before 8 a.m. this morning. Looks like we have almost a foot of snow. We are expecting snow for about 5 more hours.--------------------------------------------Follow me on Twitter and Facebook...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 29, 2009 11 Comments

My home state of Rhode Island is quirky place. We still celebrate Victory Over Japan Day in August, although the name was changed to VJ Day and then to Victory Day, in a nod to political correctness. Now there is a move afoot to change...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on October 17, 2009 4 Comments

The Stimulus Plan is the key to Barack Obama's claim that he has helped create and save jobs. But it is all a word game, as indicated by this report released by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the state's official name), stating...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on August 14, 2009 2 Comments

This is great. My home State of Rhode Island says it did not receive promised stimulus money for energy projects. The federal government says it sent the money weeks ago: The U.S. Department of Energy says it sent about $22 million in federal stimulus funds...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 17, 2009 0 Comments

Pawtucket, RI, is just north of Providence. Pawtucket (pronounced "p-tuk-et" to those in the know) is an old mill town which has huge economic problems (as does the entire State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations). So what should the federal government do to help...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 16, 2009 0 Comments

I am so proud. My home State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations is tops in home mortgage fraud, according to a study just released: Rhode Island has displaced Florida as the state leading the nation in mortgage fraud, according to a report made public...

Posted by William A. Jacobson on March 15, 2009 9 Comments

Just a little true anecdote on how the "rich" cutting back is hurting the "not rich."My wife went to a hair salon last Friday. The salon is located on the East Side of Providence, Rhode Island, near Brown University. This is the premier neighborhood in...

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