Moore: Raimondo, Mattiello Squabble Over Budget Giveaways
Monday, February 27, 2017
I have to say this is rather amusing.
There’s been one major growth industry in Rhode Island over the last two decades: government. And even with that being the case, the politicians around here just cannot dole out the freebies fast enough.
Just look at Friday’s Twitter brawl as proof.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe two most powerful people in the state of Rhode Island took to the social media platform to criticize one another over their budget priorities--both of which are designed to appeal to constituencies that both perceive they need in their corner to preserve their political futures. (Mattiello tweeted directly. Raimondo aide David Cruise came to her defense with a series of tweets).
House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello criticized the governor for her lack of enthusiasm towards eliminating the car tax. Mattiello wants to phase the tax out over a multi-year period, while the Governor wants to cut it by 30 percent.
Twitter Brawl
Raimondo and her aides obviously feel as if they’re vulnerable to a political attack coming from the left. For instance, someone like Clay Pell, (or Lincoln Chafee, it wouldn’t be the first time he did it), could outflank the Governor and best her in a Democrat Primary by pointing to her cozy Wall Street and big business connections.
Raimondo, like the rest of us, understands just how much the left likes entitlement programs. By creating a new one--free college--she can effectively appeal to those voters, who admittedly have flexed their muscle in recent elections, most notably by giving Bernie Sanders the victory over Hillary Clinton in the presidential primary.
Mattiello, on the other hand, must face voters in his rather conservative western Cranston district. So it’s in his interest to try and appease that base by giving them tax breaks on their luxury vehicles.
“I have heard from the citizens of the state and I understand they want the burdensome car tax eliminated,” Mattiello tweeted.
“The Governor is tone deaf on this issue and should start listening to the people of Rhode Island”.
Mattiello also criticized Raimondo’s free college plan.
Unsustainable
“What is truly unsustainable and fiscally irresponsible is her plan to make us the only state in...the nation to give away ‘free’ taxpayer-funded college tuition,” Mattiello tweeted.
Mattiello is correct to point out that Raimondo’s free college plan is flawed. It would devalue college degrees (the liberal arts degrees are worthless now anyways), and it lacks any accountability or reciprocity from the youngsters who will benefit from the program. There are also no income guidelines in the plan. Wealthy folks who can afford to send their children to college would benefit as well.
Mattiello’s car tax plan isn’t flawless either. His car tax cut would hold local communities harmless by refunding the loss of taxpayer dollars from the car tax to the communities. Those communities should be finding efficiencies instead of simply living off the state’s tax dollars.
But let’s face it: it doesn’t really matter if these plans are moral or just or fair or anything.
Here in Rhode Island, might makes right. And those who wield the power are always going to run roughshod over the rest of us.
Sad as that case might be, it does make this whole situation ever the more amusing, and entertaining.
Running Roughshod
It stands to reason that these two powerhouses are both better off if they’re getting along than if they’re not. So the fact that they’re arguing, instead of merely cutting a deal to do both things tells us that they are struggling to find the money.
That’s mind boggling.
The state of Rhode Island’s budget in the year 2001 was $4.8 billion. This year, the state budget proposal by Governor Raimondo stands at $9.2 billion. In just 16 years, the budget has almost doubled.
I went to the website of the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics and calculated what amount of money would be needed today to have the same purchasing power as $1 back in 2001. The amount that I arrived at, according to the inflation calculator, was $1.37. That’s a 37 percent increase.
Outpacing Inflation
The state budget has grown by almost 100 percent (double) over that same time period.
If the state budget had merely kept pace with inflation, the state budget today would be roughly $6.7 billion--not the $9.2 billion that’s proposed this year.
Yet even with $2.5 billion more than the inflation rate would have called for, the state’s two top politicians are fighting over how to fund their pet giveaways. And neither program would cost anywhere close to that much money.
That money, however, still cannot be found, because the state government is addicted to appeasing special interest groups at the expense of everyone else.
Until the state changes the way it does business, and taxpayers demand a fair return on their investment, and we eliminate all the waste, fraud, and abuse, Rhode Island is going to continue to struggle.
In the meantime, we may not be getting good government. But at least I’m being entertained.
Russell Moore has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, both for newspapers and on political campaigns. Send him email at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @russmoore713.
Related Slideshow: Winners and Losers in Raimondo’s FY18 Budget Proposal
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