RISC Winter Meeting: Economic Forecast Bleak
Monday, February 28, 2011
More than 200 people turned out at the Radisson Hotel in Warwick for the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition’s annual winter meeting to learn something most of them already knew: The state’s economic forecast is bleak.
Guest speaker Leonard Lardaro spelled out the state’s dire circumstances using a mixture of humor and eye-popping statistics as he urged the crowd to help Rhode Island rethink the way it does business politically and economically. The University of Rhode Island professor criticized General Assembly members that are too influenced by special interests and at one point, referred to the state as “Redundancy Island.”
The theme for the event was “A Chance to Change Course” and Lardaro’s message to the crowd was that it starts with the public. He said voters should demand more from their elected officials and suggested the State House needs some new faces.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLearning From New Zealand
The keynote speaker for the event was Maurice McTigue, a former member of New Zealand’s parliament and according to the Rhode Island Statewide Coalition, a “globally recognized expert on turning around troubled governments.”
McTigue, who is now Director of the Government Accountability Project at George Mason University and an adviser to the state of Virginia, talked about the changes his country made to turn large deficits in to surpluses.
“That was at period of time when there was massive reform of the New Zealand economy,” McTigue said. “During that period of reform, we went from being the worst performing economy in the whole of the OECD to the best performing economy in the whole of the OECD.”
OECD stands for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, whose members span from the world’s most advanced countries (including the United States) to some developing countries like Chile. McTigue said it wasn’t easy to institute massive reform.
“It did mean we had to change every facet of government,” he said. “How our government operated, we had to change all of our budgets, we had to change our laws and we have to also reform civil society, so it’s a big undertaking.”
A Fiscal Storm
}Massive reform might be easier said than done, RISC Chairman Harry Staley noted during the event. Staley said the clock is ticking on the state and he believes Rhode Island is “woefully unprepared” for the fiscal storm about to hit.
“The mounting pension debt now facing this state threatens to devour all other spending needs if we do not demand that it is brought under control,” Staley said. “That has been the central RISC message since our founding and it has come full circle now.”
Staley urged the crowd the stay vigilant on elected officials and be a part of dialogue aimed at solutions.
“The lifeblood of funding for the very basics of city and town life like school systems, human services, art and recreation programs, roads, public grounds and all the rest are at risk if we don’t tame this fiscal beast now,” he said.
