Robitaille: Times Are Tougher Than Ever for RI
Monday, July 05, 2010
Everyone knows times are tough, but Republican candidate for governor John Robitaille says things are even worse than some people may realize.
His campaign has developed something called the "Hardship Index," and, when they ran the numbers, they found that economic conditions in Rhode Island are the worst they have been at least since the early 1980s.
The Hardship Index is calculated simply by adding up the unemployment rate, the underemployment rate—which measures how many people are only able to find part-time work, and the percentage of mortgage loans that are delinquent or in foreclosure. The result? The Hardship Index for Rhode Island is 33.4 percent—double what it was in 2005, according to his campaign.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“It’s a reality—it’s a reality check,” Robitaille told GoLocalProv.
Robitaille Blames Democrats for Economic Hardships
He said his campaign got the idea from Ronald Reagan, who developed a Misery Index to show how bad the economy had become under Jimmy Carter. And, like Reagan, Robitaille is asking Rhode Islanders if they are better off with Democrats in control.
“I’m saying, after 70 years of one-party rule—Democratic rule—how are you feeling now?” Robitaille said. “I’m not even asking the voters for 70 years. Just give us four years.”
Of course, the top office holder in Rhode Island for the past seven and a half years has been a Republican—Gov. Don Carcieri. But Robitaille says the economic ills of the state are not his fault because the General Assembly holds most of the power. He said the framers of the state constitution had made the governor one of the weakest ones in the country.
“They had just broken away from an all-powerful king,” Robitaille said. “They didn’t want an all-powerful governor, so they specifically designed the constitution to give heavy power to the General Assembly and limited powers to the governor.”
If elected, Robitaille says things will be different under his administration—if more Republicans are elected to the Rhode Island House and Senate. Which is why he says every chance he gets, he urges supporters at his campaign events to vote for Republican legislative candidates. So far, Republicans are off to a good start, getting a record 88 candidates to file for General Assembly seats.
What’s the Solution?
Victor Moffitt, who is running against Robitaille in the Republican primary, criticized the Hardship Index, saying it doesn’t tell Rhode Islanders anything they don't already know.
That’s a “cute” index—another slick explanation of some of Rhode Island’s financial problems. Nothing new just restating already known facts....without providing any solutions,” Moffitt told GoLocalProv. “The big question is what is John going to do about it?”
As governor, Robitaille said he would dive deep into the budget and evaluate how effective state programs are. He warned that in fiscal year 2012, the state could face a $300 million deficit. Instead of raising taxes, he said would look for cuts in the budget to make up the difference.
In addition, he says the state needs some tax cuts, although he stopped short of called for any broad-based tax relief. Instead, he said the state needs to work toward the eventual elimination of the estate tax. Plus, he said the state should not tax the first $50,000 of the income that veterans and retired seniors over 65 are earning.
He praised the income tax reform that passed the General Assembly in the last session, which dropped top rate from 9.9 percent to 5.99 percent. “I wouldn’t bother with that right now (and) see how it goes for the next few years,” Robitaille said. He has a similar wait-and-see approach with the sales tax, noting that Massachusetts just raised its sales tax from 5 to 6.25 percent. The rate in Rhode Island is 7 percent.
Moffitt, however, would cut the sales tax right off the bat, reducing it to 5 percent. He also said he would trim the state budget by 5 percent each year—eventually cutting the budget by nearly a third—from $7.8 billion where it is today to $5 billion.
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