One more desparate attempt to sell off RI Assets

From Projo.com Breaking News  3/9/2011

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rep. Charlene Lima, D-Cranston, is proposing a Nov. 6, 2012, statewide vote on a suggested change to the state Constitution to allow a privately owned and run casino in Rhode Island in exchange for a $100 million one-time licensing fee. Similar to a bill introduced at least once in the past, the bill envisions a competitive bidding process. But it also suggests possible locations for the state's first full-scale casino.

 In my opinion:
     
     The gambling tradition and short sight legislature once again is asking us to sell off a state assets at a bargain rate price. If a casino is a major source of state revenue, why is  it being offered as one time license and a fixed price? The license should, if we go in this direction, be subject a periodic renewal date and be awarded on the basis of an open competitive bidding process.

     The licensing authority belongs to the tax payers of RI, and the legislature should be acting as the fiduciary agent of the tax payer. Such a duty requires stewardship and acting in our interests, not some backroom deal.

     And Should the State's Constitution be used as the vehicle for such a decision? 
     Is our Constitution that petty that we seal business deals in constitution amendments?

What do you think about it?

Fireworks and the RI General Assembly -- a Combustable Mixture

Insane, Short sighted, incompetent and forgetful is the only way to describe the RI General Assembly and a Governor who goes along with them.

On June 16th, 2010 the RI General Assemble and The Governor gave approval of the

Fireworks bill

This morning the Projo carried this story about fireworks in a public building,Motel guests evacuated after fireworks set off

On Thursday, February 20, 2003, The Station nightclub fire occurred beginning at 11:07 PM EST. Located in West Warwick, Rhode Island, this is the fourth deadliest nightclub fire in American history, killing 100 people, four of whom died after being admitted to local hospitals. The fire was caused when pyrotechnic sparks ignited flammable sound insulation foam in the walls and ceilings around the stage. This subsequently created a flash fire that engulfed the club in 5½ minutes. Some 230 people were injured and another 132 escaped uninjured. Video footage of the fire depicts its initial growth and the exit blockage which hindered evacuation



At least one person appears to remember and care. I just received the following bulletin from the Providence Journal.

From the Projo 6/21/10 Breaking news.'The state fire marshal on Monday expressed concerns about the newly adopted law that allows the sale of fireworks in Rhode Island, but he stated emphatically that it does not permit the use of gerbs -- the kind of indoor pyrotechnic that set off the Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people in 2003. Jack Chartier, the fire marshal, said that under the new law, only "consumer grade'' fireworks, such as sparklers and poppers, are allowed to be sold to anyone 16 years of age or older. He said these type of fireworks are only permitted outdoors"

It does not take a genius to know what Albert Einstein observed.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I guess our elected officials are as insane as those who elect them.

Economic Development and Binding Arbitration

A recent editorial in the Providence Journal Editorial: And they’ll be back warns that a major piece of legislation sponsored by the teachers' union (NEA and AFL) requiring binding arbitration between the unions and local school committees may reappear again when the RI General Assembly reconvenes next year.

The following comment on the Projo Online edition of the editorial from Ethnographer outlines the issues in the broader context of Rhode Island's economic crisis. Ethnographer's comments are quoted below with permission.

Quality education should be the issue, not Union power when the Assemble reconvenes.

Economic development does not come from higher pay and benefits. It comes from higher value production.

When the teachers unions can demonstrate that it can produce a higher value product for the community that buys their services, then they might have a basis for earning the higher wages, and benefits.

But binding arbitration has nothing to do with quality product, only raw power.

Unions serve a useful purpose when a worker group is at a disadvantage, such as the recent article about the "adjunct faculty" at URI and RIC, and the employer is in a monopoly position. But when the union is the monopoly, as they would be in a binding arbitration situation, they no longer serve a useful purpose for the consumers (the communities) which purchase their product (teachers) nor the resource (the teachers) they monopolize through their representation.

The growth of the Charter school movement demonstrates how the public is prepared to spend its education dollars on quality if given a competitive option.

At one time teaching was a "noble" profession and for some it still is seen as a "calling."

Unfortunately, today it is sold as a commodity to the communities and a job to young teachers ("cattle calls")entering the field. Meanwhile the real purpose, educating students suffers as seen in RI graduation rates.

Education is too important to the economic development and welfare of the community and to the next generation to be entrusted to the "wisdom" and monopolistic power of Union leaders and union politics.