Guest MINDSETTER™ Jeff Scott: RI Proves Big Government is Not the Answer
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS RI Stats), Rhode Island's labor force has shrunk by over 19,000 since early 2010, with no upticks of any significance. During this time, the official unemployment rate has dropped from almost 12% to 10.8% in July. A thinking person may draw from this a sinking suspicion that the shrinking labor force has been a great benefit to those attempting to convince Rhode Islanders of an improving economy, as most people focus on employment figures as an important barometer of economic conditions. Unfortunately, two years of a consistent shrinking labor force is of no benefit for those Rhode Islanders living and working in this decrepit economy.
The General Assembly has done very little, if anything at all, to reverse this long standing trend. One might remember the ad campaign which reached Rhode Island billboards on our highways proclaiming educational tidbits on economics such as "Interesting Fact About Recessions...They end." The problem with fallicies such at this is that recessions aren't like common colds and just need to run its course, eventually ending as randomly as it began. Policies must be implimented to reverse the causes of a recession and economic problems.
Rhode Island continues to rank at the bottom of business friendly studies, ranking dead last in some. State government continues to be the largest employer, followed only by industries that are also unproductive, which have no benefit in terms of wealth creation. The state continues to be one of the highest taxed states in the country with a high cost of living. Services and functions of state government continue to diminish in quality. The roads and highways of the state, for example, continually rank as the worst and most dangerous, and ironically, very expensive in comparison to the rest of the country. Considering the size of Rhode Island alone, this is inexcusable, and the cost continues to grow with the coming tolls on the Sakonnet River Bridge in June of next year.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island has become a shining example of how big government, high taxes, oppressive regulations, and generous welfare programs leads to increased poverty, decreased quality of services, shrinking employment and business departures, and a lower standard of living. If government were the answer, Rhode Island should necessarily be a shining example to the rest of the country with low unemployment, a low cost of living, growing opportunity, desirable public education, and everything else one looks for in a place to live and raise a family or create a business.
Serious reform and structural change is required if Rhode Islanders desire a prosperous state. The solutions to our problems are easy; creating an environment in which those solutions can be implemented is entirely difficult.
