The Barrington Times carries a very timely and positive message in this week's edition. It is especially refreshing in these times of cynicism about the Rhode Island economy and politics. The Times introduces us to Angus Davis, a successful serial technology entrepreneur, who left the state fourteen years ago, to make his fortune by designing a voice recognition system which he eventually sold to Microsoft.. Mr. Davis has quietly moved back to Rhode Island and started a new venture in 2009 in the Jewelry District in Providence. Today, his venture, is described in the article, His latest startup rewards loyal customers with every ‘Swipe’.
Davis' project and his past success are a sign that things are not all bad here and that there is a base for the high tech web-oriented research and development firms such a Swipe and even, 34 Studio, here in Rhode Island. But as Davis points out in companion piece in the Barrington Times, that "Goal: closing the achievement gap" in the State's educational system is a critical and pressing issue. While others are complaining about the current system Davis has been an activist promoting change and asking hard questions.
On the other hand, the Projo Columnist Ed Achorn appears to be out with a personal vendetta against Lincoln Chafee. In his latest column, May 4th, Edward Achorn: Chafee’s anti-jobs agenda would speed R.I.’s decline, he starts off with a straight forward observation about the level of the state's debt and what it means for the average Rhode Islander. Up to that point Achorn is adding to our knowledge and information. He is helping, as he should be as a columnist, to educate the public about a problem albeit from a particular a point of view.
However, not all that far into the article he unleashes his personal attack on the Governor as the cause for all of the problems facing the state. This is not the first time Achorn has done this. In the process, he paints a sick view of the state and he certainly has nothing positive to contribute to debate that is now going on as ways to solve the state's long term financial and fiscal problems. He fails to recognize that 1. Rhode Island has a weak Governorship with most of the political power concentrated in the State Assembly. 2. The Governor only proposes the budget, it is the Assembly that disposes the budget.
Achorn's blame game is misplaced. It should be directed toward the Assembly and not as all blame - but with positive options - to the Governor's proposals. Instead he is being lazy and grabbed onto all the suggests of the opponents to the Governor's plan which he uses as his ammunition against Lincoln Chafee as a person.
He does so without subjecting these opinions to any critical analysis. For example, he suggests that the Governor accept the offer to"employ Ken Block and his computer technology to track down fraud." On the surface this sounds good, a free service to the people of Rhode Island. But it would be more honest to point out that Mr. Block was a candidate for Governor who lost the election to Mr. Chafee, and that. Mr. Block did not offer the service at the time he was running. If the offer were accepted today, how could his conclusion be trusted now that he is a declared partisan in the political debate and has much to gain from how he writes his conclusions. This is a point Mr Achorn fails to mention.
Mr. Davis offers positive hope and commitment to changing Rhode Island for the future both in terms of the personal invest of his entrepreneurial expertise and resources in a new company but also in his activism to bring about change in educational system. Mr. Davis is focusing on the future and even challenges the Barrington school system by pointing out the charter school serving minority community are showing progress that may out strip Barrington's status as one of the State's top performing school systems.
Achorn sees the lose of "Rhode Island’s non-Hispanic white population plummeted by 54,748, or 6.4 percent, between 2000 and 2010, says the U.S. Census Bureau" as proof of the State's decline.
Mr. Davis see something else a problem as bigger than Rhode Island. If only we re-frame the questions, he sees it as two issues:
Certainly since the Democrats overthrew of the Yankee establishment, the pendulum has swung too far in favor of labor; and the patronage has gone to the Democrats and the Unions. See the following self-serving justification for Democrat patronage, Dominick J. Ruggerio: Stephen Iannazzi is good news for R.I. taxpayers.
This imbalance needs to be corrected but not by a return to a long gone past. It needs innovative ideas that look to a realistic future, a serious and constructive debate and compromise, commitment to a goal and shared vision, a plan committed to the goals, consistency and honesty in the implementation and execution of the plan, an objective and transparent evaluation of the results of the plan, and finally, a realistic factual based modification of the plan as needed to achieve the agreed upon goals. This requires cooperation between all the branches of government and a proactive program to re-establish trust with the public that there is leadership committed to solving the real structural problems we face. Right now there is very little trust in any of the so-called leaders , elected or self appointed..
None of these ideas are evident in Mr. Achorn's solution. His solution is a new Governor. His solution is.to get rid of Lincoln Chafee. Mr. Achorn seems to feel that wasting the next three years obstructing any positive actions to address the State's real problems is the better solution. Reminds me of what we have seen coming out of the Washington Republicans. Maybe he is drinking the same tea.
Mr. Davis may be a model for the type of leaders we need more of in this state. We need visionaries and not quitters. Mister Davis is the future and where I am placing my money for the future. As for Mr. Achorn, I hope he enjoys his retirement in Florida after he decides it is time to take his own advice. "Move out."
from the Barrington Times 5/4/2011:
Stuart Kiely (left), Swipely’s marketing director, goes over some figures with company founder Angus Davis at the Providence office last week.
Davis' project and his past success are a sign that things are not all bad here and that there is a base for the high tech web-oriented research and development firms such a Swipe and even, 34 Studio, here in Rhode Island. But as Davis points out in companion piece in the Barrington Times, that "Goal: closing the achievement gap" in the State's educational system is a critical and pressing issue. While others are complaining about the current system Davis has been an activist promoting change and asking hard questions.
On the other hand, the Projo Columnist Ed Achorn appears to be out with a personal vendetta against Lincoln Chafee. In his latest column, May 4th, Edward Achorn: Chafee’s anti-jobs agenda would speed R.I.’s decline, he starts off with a straight forward observation about the level of the state's debt and what it means for the average Rhode Islander. Up to that point Achorn is adding to our knowledge and information. He is helping, as he should be as a columnist, to educate the public about a problem albeit from a particular a point of view.
However, not all that far into the article he unleashes his personal attack on the Governor as the cause for all of the problems facing the state. This is not the first time Achorn has done this. In the process, he paints a sick view of the state and he certainly has nothing positive to contribute to debate that is now going on as ways to solve the state's long term financial and fiscal problems. He fails to recognize that 1. Rhode Island has a weak Governorship with most of the political power concentrated in the State Assembly. 2. The Governor only proposes the budget, it is the Assembly that disposes the budget.
Achorn's blame game is misplaced. It should be directed toward the Assembly and not as all blame - but with positive options - to the Governor's proposals. Instead he is being lazy and grabbed onto all the suggests of the opponents to the Governor's plan which he uses as his ammunition against Lincoln Chafee as a person.
He does so without subjecting these opinions to any critical analysis. For example, he suggests that the Governor accept the offer to"employ Ken Block and his computer technology to track down fraud." On the surface this sounds good, a free service to the people of Rhode Island. But it would be more honest to point out that Mr. Block was a candidate for Governor who lost the election to Mr. Chafee, and that. Mr. Block did not offer the service at the time he was running. If the offer were accepted today, how could his conclusion be trusted now that he is a declared partisan in the political debate and has much to gain from how he writes his conclusions. This is a point Mr Achorn fails to mention.
Mr. Davis offers positive hope and commitment to changing Rhode Island for the future both in terms of the personal invest of his entrepreneurial expertise and resources in a new company but also in his activism to bring about change in educational system. Mr. Davis is focusing on the future and even challenges the Barrington school system by pointing out the charter school serving minority community are showing progress that may out strip Barrington's status as one of the State's top performing school systems.
Achorn sees the lose of "Rhode Island’s non-Hispanic white population plummeted by 54,748, or 6.4 percent, between 2000 and 2010, says the U.S. Census Bureau" as proof of the State's decline.
Mr. Davis see something else a problem as bigger than Rhode Island. If only we re-frame the questions, he sees it as two issues:
“One is an international problem. We think of communities in Rhode Island like Bristol or Barrington or East Greenwich as being tops in school systems. But if you take our most advantaged kids and stack them up against other countries, we’re at a real disadvantage,” he said. “Other countries are out-educating us and that will ultimately threaten our way of life in America, which is driven by our competitive advantage of our economy.”
"Secondly, he said, the current public schools system is not designed to allow underprivileged, impoverished students to prosper, which Mr. Davis sees at nothing less than a civil rights issue"..On the other hand, Mr. Achorn has given us a negative image of the future. His solution is committed to rolling back the clock to the Republican past.when the special privileges and patronage all went to the rich white Yankee mill owners instead of the workers. . It is interesting that given this Republican bias, when Achorn says ....
"But here, we have a governor, elected by only 36 percent of the voters, who seems to be wrapped in a cocoon of wealth and indifference. Impervious to the bitter realities that most Rhode Islanders confront, he is eager to do only what the government unions that got him elected tell him to do."that he is essentially accusing Chafee as being an out of touch Yankee who does not care for his class interests.
Certainly since the Democrats overthrew of the Yankee establishment, the pendulum has swung too far in favor of labor; and the patronage has gone to the Democrats and the Unions. See the following self-serving justification for Democrat patronage, Dominick J. Ruggerio: Stephen Iannazzi is good news for R.I. taxpayers.
This imbalance needs to be corrected but not by a return to a long gone past. It needs innovative ideas that look to a realistic future, a serious and constructive debate and compromise, commitment to a goal and shared vision, a plan committed to the goals, consistency and honesty in the implementation and execution of the plan, an objective and transparent evaluation of the results of the plan, and finally, a realistic factual based modification of the plan as needed to achieve the agreed upon goals. This requires cooperation between all the branches of government and a proactive program to re-establish trust with the public that there is leadership committed to solving the real structural problems we face. Right now there is very little trust in any of the so-called leaders , elected or self appointed..
None of these ideas are evident in Mr. Achorn's solution. His solution is a new Governor. His solution is.to get rid of Lincoln Chafee. Mr. Achorn seems to feel that wasting the next three years obstructing any positive actions to address the State's real problems is the better solution. Reminds me of what we have seen coming out of the Washington Republicans. Maybe he is drinking the same tea.
Mr. Davis may be a model for the type of leaders we need more of in this state. We need visionaries and not quitters. Mister Davis is the future and where I am placing my money for the future. As for Mr. Achorn, I hope he enjoys his retirement in Florida after he decides it is time to take his own advice. "Move out."
