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Weekly Update For the week of July 24, 2009

Dear William,

"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." ~ President Ronald Reagan

CNBC just released its annual rankings of the "Top States for Business." It should be no big surprise that Rhode Island was ranked 48th overall, with a last place finish in the "Economy" category. You can find more about this story below. While many in the so-called "progressive" movement continue to deny the impact that Rhode Island's anti-business climate has on our state, it is not hard for the objective observer to see that we cannot hope for a better future if we continue to strangle the business community.

This past week, OSPRI President Bill Felkner traveled to Philadelphia to attend the National Conference of State Legislatures and an associated conference of Center-Right Coalition coordinators. Mr. Felkner will discuss his trip in the President's Message.

As you may recall, on April 15th, 2009, in front of 3000+ Tea Party patriots, four more state legislators signed the Tax Pledge: Senators Francis Maher, Jr. and Michael Pinga and Representatives John Loughlin, Jr. and Joseph Trillo. In the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, created by Americans for Tax Reform, candidates and officials bind themselves to oppose any and all tax increases - or at minimum revenue neutral. ATR has now updated their comprehensive list of state signers to include the four aforementioned officials. To find out more information, see below.

This week, twenty-nine new documents were added to the RI Data website, which can be found by going to the Transparency Train. The RI Votes database is now fully updated for the current legislative session: about 2000 bills were introduced in the House and Senate, and you can find them all through the RI Votes section of the Transparency Train.

Once again, I am urging all of you to visit our new Rhode Island Stimulus Watch website (www.ristimulus.org) and cast your vote for the projects you feel are, or are not, critical at this time. This website was designed for you, the taxpayer, and we need your feedback!

Look for an article on the RI Stimulus Watch website in the Providence Business News next week.

I also wanted to take a brief moment to emphasis how important your financial support is to us. OSPRI provides a free market voice in the media, we champion transparency, we connect RI to DC through our Center-Right Coalition meetings, and we provide legislators and other policy makers access to some of the best minds in the nation with our Board of Scholars and related organizations. But we can only do this when we have your financial support. So please consider making a tax deductible donation today -- even $10 a month can go a long way.

As always, OSPRI continues to traverse the state in order to spread the word about our organization and the Transparency Project. We have spoken before neighborhood organizations, taxpayer groups, college students, and local public officials. If you are interested in having Mr. Felkner or one of our scholars and/or associates address your group, please contact us via phone (401-228-6691) or email (info@oceanstatepolicy.org).

Finally, if you have any questions about OSPRI or are interested in getting involved, don't hesitate to contact me!

Best regards,

Parker Lacoste

Assistant to the President

President's Message

Dear Friends,

The National Conference of State Legislators is the big conference for, well, state legislators. It boasts 5500 representatives and senators attending the event and notable speakers this year were Bill Gates and Jim Kelly. Everyone might not put Kelly in the top two, but I do.

I have two "can't miss" conferences each year; one in my capacity as think tank president, and one in my capacity as the coordinator of The Thursday Meeting, Rhode Island's version of Grover Norquist's Wednesday Meeting. The latter conference piggy backs on the NCSL each year.

The week consists of meetings with these state Center-Right Coalition (CRC) coordinators for half the day and attending panel discussions put on by the NCSL during the second half. The "third half" was filled with networking dinners.

I should preface these observations by saying the CRC meetings are, by definition, politically "center-right" while the meetings organized by the NCSL, for the most part, were left of center. Here are some thoughts from the week:

1. Almost every state used stimulus money to fill budget holes.*

a. CRC coordinators fear economic conditions will worsen because so much money is being pulled out of the market to pay for the stimulus.

b. Legislators, at least the vocal ones, believe the stimulus will kick start the economy and increased tax revenues will follow.

2. Green jobs get a lot of talk but little action.

a. Legislators want to use tax dollars to subsidize green projects that promise substantial return on investment.

b. CRC coordinators want Green projects if private money will fund them (after all, if investment returns are substantial, private investors would find those opportunities).

c. Luckily, a struggling economy has put limits on the amounts of Green projects politicians are willing to use your tax dollars for.

3. Transparency works.

a. CRC coordinators see transparency uncover corruption and drive campaign rhetoric.

b. Legislative candidates who put transparency on the top of their platforms get elected.

c. Sitting legislators, for the most part, are silent on the topic.

4. President Obama is using Medicaid as a vehicle to implement his healthcare plan.

a. CRC coordinators and legislators both are surprised at the rapid pace change is being proposed and fearful of the costs that will be passed on to the states.

b. CRC coordinators and legislators both agree that to pay for universal healthcare, rationing and price controls are necessary.

c. It's nice we can agree on something.

There was another kumbaya moment when Bill Gates spoke about the virtues of school choice, although his statements were limited to charter schools. But it reminds me of the old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes - there are no liberals when faced with fiscal calamities.

Onward and upward,

Bill

PS. (*) One of the states running a surplus was South Carolina, which brought the best line of the week when Governor Sanford's indiscretions were discussed. The speaker said, "It is apparent that women find tax cutting politicians irresistible."

CNBC State Business Rankings

As I mentioned above, CNBC released it's annual rankings of the "Top States for Business" and Rhode Island came in 48th overall.

To read the full article, Click Here.

To view the full rankings, Click Here.

ATR Tax Pledge update

As stated above, four more Rhode Island state legislators have been added to the list of those who have signed Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Here is the list for Rhode Island:

RHODE ISLAND
3 Senators of 38 (8%)
Francis Maher, Jr. (R, S-34)
Michael Pinga (D, S-9)
Leonidas Raptakis (D, S-33)
2 House members of 75 (3%)
John Loughlin Jr. (R, H-71)
Joseph Trillo (R, H-24)

To view the complete list, Click Here.

RI Stimulus Watch Update

WE NEED YOUR VOTE!

The RI Stimulus website is designed to provide a venue for Rhode Islanders to give feedback on proposed stimulus projects. The site allows visitors to place comments, add descriptions, write reasons for or against the projects, and cast a vote. We tally the results and rank the projects as "most critical" and "least critical" depending on how you vote.

So, please visit the site (www.ristimulus.org or www.ristimuluswatch.org) and let us know what you think about the projects in your backyard.

RI Data update

There have been 29 new monthly check registers and documents uploaded since the last Weekly Update:

The Thursday Meeting

Are you involved with a center-right group or organization? Would you like to network with other like-minded groups and individuals? If so, please contact me (placoste@oceanstatepolicy.org) for more information about OSPRI's Thursday Meeting. Meetings are by invitation only, off the record and if you can't say it in 5 minutes bring a handout.