Gencarella: RI’s Fall From Grace Has Been A Long Time Coming
Thursday, June 09, 2016
So, in the wake of state and federal investigations of RI Representative Ray Gallison, along with the public outcry over corruption, the Speaker has an epiphany that RI could use Ethics Reform, and now, the state can also use legislative grant reform. But, in the RI way, the reforms will not go far enough. The Ethics Reform bill will include an ‘incumbent protection’ clause and the legislative reform will not touch the vote-buying legislative grants. These proposed reforms are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to allay the public’s anger while still protecting the one-party rule at all costs. The reforms are certainly not about addressing the corruption underlying both issues.
Meanwhile, Back At The Ranch…
The reason it is so important for real reform is because, after 70 years of the same single-party rule, RI state government simply doesn’t work for us, the taxpaying public. A straightforward example is the fact that more than 10% of Rhode Islanders don’t have their state tax refund yet. That is an abomination. But this is just the tip of the state government iceberg. It is widely known that the DMV cannot get out of its own way, the Medicaid system remains bloated and ripe with abuse and the same goes for the state’s welfare system. Of course there is no need to highlight the failings of the DOT. The Governor herself excoriated the long-standing inefficient and ineffective practices of that department when she first proposed RhodeWorks.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAnd then there’s RI’s education system. It is so far behind our closest neighbor, Massachusetts, its beyond embarrassing. The travesty here is that the General Assembly has taken one bright spot - education reform - and turned it on its head and now threatens a second bright spot - charter schools - proposing to virtually dismantle them with undermining legislation.
Another big government loser is HealthSource RI, the Obamacare Exchange. HealthSource RI has recently lost a competitor, United Health. And while the pickings were pretty slim with 3 choices, Rhode Islanders now have only 2 choices - Neighborhood Health and Blue Cross. Obamacare was supposed to provide insureds with more choices, but in RI, it has simply become a Medicaid portal. And it seems to be on its way to becoming a single payer system if you follow legislation that has been proposed to this effect and the governor’s hiring of single-payer crusader Anya Rader Wallack (originally tapped to head up HealthSource RI, she has since been moved to head up the Medicaid program).
Every facet of RI state government seems to inject more harm than good into our economy. Yet, this year, our state government decided to take a billion of our money, claiming they have addressed the long-standing problems that have plagued the DOT, to ‘fix’ our roads and bridges. Of course that came with a plan for a new funding stream - truck tolls - and more debt.
Worst of all, in a state where the economy is stagnant and its nearly impossible to lure companies here to set up shop, RI government has no respect for private industry. Our government completely ignored the fact that the trucking industry would be decimated with the implementation of truck tolls and moved forward anyway (remember, VP Biden came to RI and basically said about the trucking industry, ’let them eat cake’).
In a recent OpEd, the President and CEO of Lifespan, Tim Babineau, wrote about the financial problems it faces with the interference of government - cuts in Medicaid reimbursement rates and state-mandated caps on insurance increases. The state forced caps in a free market does nothing but shift the cost to you and me. Here, the costs are shifted to the hospitals, providing ‘free’ healthcare to a significant number of people (many of whom are illegal aliens). But nothing is free, so the taxpayer absorbs these costs either through state reimbursement of uncompensated care or in the higher rates for our health policies.
And following the illegal immigrant topic, RI state government refuses to acknowledge the economic blow to our economy from being a sanctuary state. The RI Immigration Law Enforcement group (RIILE) has estimated that RI doles out more than $300 million a year for illegal immigrants, the bulk of which is for medical care. No amount of purported taxes on illegal immigrant wages would cover this cost so Rhode Island taxpayers are left holding the bag.
So what’s a fella to do?
The travesty is that we keep paying more and more and receiving less and less in services. Worthy government support services like DCYF and support for the disabled are cut year after year in an effort to maintain the status quo in the corrupt systems of our government. We need changes at every level.
The only hope we have is a drastic change in the General Assembly, a move away from the single-party rule. The only resource we have at our disposal is the ballot box come November.
Related Slideshow: Ten Things to Know About Gallison Scandal
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