Raimondo in the Sights of National Business Press
Saturday, May 04, 2019
In the past week, three of the most influential American business publications have written strongly worded analyses or opinion pieces of Governor Gina Raimondo’s record and economic proposals.
There was no consensus. Business Week, Fortune and two pieces in the Wall Street Journal gave more coverage and opinion about Rhode Island’s Governor in a shorter period of time than maybe any Rhode Island Governor has received in history.
Raimondo is a lightning rod. But now, most of the national coverage is negative.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFor most of her political career, Raimondo has been praised by the national press. There were glowing stories from publications like the Wall Street Journal for her efforts to reform Rhode Island’s pension fund, and she won awards from conservative think tanks like The Manhattan Institute — this year the group is recognizing President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Praise By Bloomberg/Business Week
Bloomberg/Business Week’s Matthew Winkler, the editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, on Wednesday wrote a column titled, “Rhode Island’s Governor Uses Her VC Chops to Boost the Economy,” stating that Raimondo had positively transformed Rhode Island’s economy.
“Thanks to Raimondo, the smallest state in the U.S. is on the rise. When she arrived at the Capitol in Providence in 2015, Rhode Island ranked in the lower half of U.S. states in economic health, according to the Bloomberg Economic Evaluation of States index that tracks employment, tax revenue, personal income, and other measures. It is now above average,” writes Winkler.
Winkler concludes his column with, “A self-proclaimed believer in free-market capitalism, Raimondo doesn’t hesitate to be its sternest critic: ‘Capitalism as it is currently playing out in America is yielding such inequality that people start saying: ‘This isn’t working. Go for socialism,’ ‘ she says. She calls that a dangerous path and counters that her focus isn’t just on growth but also the value and dignity of work. ‘We have to find our way to a capitalism where, if you work full time, you’re not poor; you have health care and housing; and your kids can go to a public school that’s decent. If we can get ourselves to that place, capitalism will be sustained.’ And maybe even look as good as Rhode Island."
Two Highly Critical Pieces in Wall Street Journal
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published an editorial blistering Raimondo and a Saturday commentary piece highly critical of Raimondo’s leadership.
Allysia Finley, a member of the WSJ’s editorial board, wrote in a commentary piece "Blue-State Politics Are Eroding Little Rhody’s Big Reforms" that appeared on Saturday, “The youthful Democratic governor with national ambitions is veering left as the Ocean State’s economy wobbles. Public unions and progressives smelling political weakness are goading her to sign legislation that would repudiate her reforms and economic agenda. Will Ms. Raimondo sell out Rhode Island taxpayers?”
“But since winning re-election, she has marched left. Staring down a $200 million deficit, Ms. Raimondo has proposed extending the state’s 7% sales tax to Netflix subscriptions, iTunes purchases, interior decorating, shooting ranges and other services. She also wants to impose a 10% payroll tax on businesses whose workers enroll in Medicaid even if they offer comprehensive health coverage,” adds Finley.
On Friday, the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board wrote, “Ms. Raimondo has mandated that employers provide paid sick leave, pushed free community college, and proposed extending the state 7% sales tax to services and digital downloads. At the same time the state’s rate of private job growth (0.39%) has trailed Massachusetts (2.1%), New Hampshire (2.7%) and even Connecticut (0.63%). No doubt Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont will welcome a competitor for worst business climate in New England.”
Forbes' Old Foe
In response to the positive piece written Winkler in Business Week, Forbes columnist Ted Siedle writes a highly critical column citing Raimondo’s poor performance as a manager.
“Rhode Island’s Governor Gina Raimondo Uses Her VC Chops to Boost the Economy, is the title of a surreal opinion piece written this week by Matthew A. Winkler, Bloomberg columnist and editor-in-chief emeritus of Bloomberg News. No Rhode Islander will dispute that Gina Raimondo’s venture capital and governing skills are 100% comparable. Let’s all agree with Winkler’s thesis that she’s every bit as good a governor as she was a venture capitalist."
Siedle, who is one of America’s most successful financial whistleblowers has been a long-time critic of Raimondo’s fiscal policies, writes in Forbes this week, “That being said, the indisputable (according to state records) truth is Raimondo was a disastrous venture capitalist and has caused the greatest losses in the history of the state. No Rhode Island governor, or politician, has ever had such a profoundly negative financial impact.”
For Raimondo, who has built her reputation nationally as a high performing, pro-business politician the shift in media coverage by the leading business publications may begin to have an adverse impact on Rhode Island's reputation.
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- Raimondo in the Sights of National Business Press
