|
|
 Weekly Update For the week of September 4, 2009 |
|
|
Dear William,
"I want to reduce the size of government in half as a percentage of GNP [gross national product] over the next 25 years. We want to reduce the number of people depending on government so there is more autonomy and more free citizens." ~ Grover Norquist
As many of you may know, Grover Norquist will be in town next Thursday, September 10th, to visit the Ocean State Policy Research Institute. OSPRI's "Thursday Meeting," which is held each month, is part of the Center-Right Coalition, a division of Americans for Tax Reform. We are thrilled to have Mr. Norquist joining us, and I encourage you all to attend our reception that evening!
OSPRI President Bill Felkner will discuss how transparency can empower municipalities to reform public sector contracts in the President's Message.
Last week, OSPRI took part in a business forum hosted by the South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce. The South County Independent and the Narragansett Times covered the forum and have very insightful articles about the event. See below for more details.
Save the Dates! Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, will be visiting OSPRI on September 10th. We will have a reception that evening from 6-8pm at the Marriott (1 Orms St, Providence), so be sure to mark your calendars! The cost is $100 per person or $250 if you would also like a signed copy of Grover's latest book. More details are listed below.
Also, we have set September 20th as the date for our Second Annual ATF Party! The event will be held from Noon-5pm at 199 Austin Farms Rd, Exeter, RI. The cost of the event is a suggested donation of $20 in advance or $25 at the door. See below for more details.
As noted last week, OSPRI has posted all thirty-five State employee contracts in the RI Data section of our Transparency Train Website. These contracts are certainly interesting to look over.
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!
No new documents were added to the RI Data website this week; other documents can be found by going to the Transparency Train. The RI Votes database is 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.
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 Governor was left with limited choices this week when Justice Goldberg denied him the management rights necessary to tell his employees when they can or can't work. So, rather than tell the workers to take one day off per month, which the court says isn't kosher, he has to fire 1000 of them. Most, but clearly not all, union members will be celebrating this weekend.
There is no retreat in the union's play book. Having spent time on both a school committee and town council I can tell you that how far you are willing to push for contract reform is a matter of power.
In the town council our choice was to use the town manager and council person to negotiate the contract and find a reasonable middle ground, which has no impact on the budget, or spend money for legal help. And in the case of police and fire collective bargaining, they have binding arbitration so at best you will be ordered a middle ground resolution (although more and more legal minds are suggesting that binding arbitration is unconstitutional). So the POWER goes to the union because they have plenty of lawyers on staff and love long expensive battles.
But at the school we had the fear of strike - the POWER of intimidation. When I was involved in a contract negotiations, the Vice Chairman of the school committee (a former teacher) carried the union's water by warning the committee that (paraphrased), 'if we push too far they will strike, then the food service strikes and the parents will complain because they won't know what to do with their kids when they can't go to school.'
In the town example, the union had the power of money, and in the school example the union had the power of intimidation (manifest in parent complaints). Both of these could be remedied with transparency.
I tried to make the case to my Town Council that if we were transparent with the process we might find that the people would support us and want us to fight harder. Most people on the council agree that we treat the public sector employees better than private sector employees, but they think we can only change it in small steps - otherwise it would require legal help ($$$). But I think if we gave the public the information I believe they would be willing to spend the money to fight harder.
In the case of the school, transparency would let the public give input to the school committee members if they did or did not want them to push the envelope - and if they would be willing to stand behind the school if the teachers went on strike.
But school committee members and town council members don't like being accountable. My own town is a perfect example. In January when the Governor proposed a budget article that would have required public sector contracts to be presented to the public for 30 days before ratification, my town council endorsed it. But in June when I asked that we present the police contract to the public for 30 days before we vote on it, the council changed their mind.
Transparency also allows the people to see the truth - that the amateur representing you, no matter how well intentioned, are no match for the professional negotiators in the union, and that the leaders of those unions are willing to let their members go on strike or go to court in order to hold onto double digit raises and gold plated pension while you, the ones paying the bill, must settle for much less. Transparency would at least make them own it.
Onward and upward,
Bill Felkner
President and Founder
|
| OSPRI at SK Business Forum |
As noted above, the South County Independent and the Narragansett Times covered the South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce's business forum, which featured three representatives from OSPRI on the panel. Here are excerpts from the articles:
"WAKEFIELD - Health insurance took center stage at the South Kingstown Chamber of Commerce hosted forum on business issues facing congress at the chamber headquarters on Tuesday. Representatives from the Ocean State Policy Research Institute (OSPRI), a Rhode Island-based think tank, were at the forum to answer questions regarding any analysis of the policies being considered by Congress.
The discussion replaced a meet and greet with Senator Jack Reed at the same venue, which was cancelled by the senator due to a scheduling conflict."
Click Here to read the full Narragansett Times article.
"Small businesses are struggling to continue to offer the benefit. According to a recently released government report, "The Economic Effects of Health Care Reform on Small Businesses and Their Employees," on average, small businesses pay 18 percent more for the same insurance policies than larger companies, and a declining number of very small businesses - those with three to nine employees - are able to offer health insurance at all."
Click Here to read the full South County Independent article.
|
| OSPRI-Grover Norquist Event |
As noted above, Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, will be in Rhode Island on September 10th, so be sure to mark your calendar! OSPRI will be hosting an evening reception with Mr. Norquist. Here are the details:
What: OSPRI 2009 Reception
Who: Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform
Host Committee: Suzanne Carcieri, Daniel Harrop and William Felkner
When: Thursday, September 10 from 6 to 8pm
Where: Providence Marriott Downtown, 1 Orms Street, Providence
Costs: $100 for reception or $250 for reception and autographed book
RSVP: Please reserve your spot by phone, 401-228-6691, or email, placoste@oceanstatepolicy.org.
|
| 2nd Annual ATF Party |
What: 2nd Annual ATF Party
When: Sunday, Sept. 20th, Noon-5pm
Where: 199 Austin Farms Rd, Exeter, RI
Why: to celebrate our individual freedoms!
Cost: $20 donation in advance or $25 donation at the door
This event will feature a firing range operated by an NRA-certified instructor. After everyone has had an opportunity to enjoy the range, it will be shut down and drinks will be served to accompany cigars, food, and fun!
|
| OSPRI Posts All State Contracts |
The Ocean State Policy Research Institute has posted all 35 State employee contracts on the Transparency Train website. Here is an excerpt from the corresponding press release:
"Yesterday, Governor Carcieri announced that he will shut government down for 12 days because, quite simply, we can't afford to pay the employees," said OSPRI President and Founder William Felkner. "Exposing the employee contracts and the outrageously generous compensation they receive should garner him the public support necessary to end these ridiculous seniority based contracts. So, we are very encouraged to have the State cooperating with our efforts to promote transparency in this way."
Public sector contracts rarely allow the administration to manage their employees, which is in part accomplished by motivating them with financial compensation. Public sector contracts grant compensation based on seniority so the best employee and the worst employee are paid the same. And these payments are normally much more generous than the average taxpayer understands.
To read the entire press release, 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 no new monthly check registers and documents uploaded since the last Weekly Update.
|
|
|
