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.

Rhode Island legislattive logic - in three stories.

Well the state's General Assembly is doing its last minute sweeping under the rug as it goes through the process of putting together a fiscal budget.

There are three separate stories I came across this morning that lead me to wonder if we will ever get it right before we go bankrupt as a state.

First, is an article in the Providence Journal by Bob Kerr entitled
What’s needed is more of the real stuff (01:00 AM EDT on Friday, June 26, 2009)

Rhode islander's have turned down Casino gambling for everyone including the Narragansett Indian tribe in a number of elections spanning a decade. Yet, we continue to depend more and more upon the revenues generated by Twin River Slot Machine Parlor and Newport Grande Slot Parlor. Kerr points out the darker side how we look at or fail to look at our gambling addiction in Rhode Island.

Thank God for the global economic meltdown. We can plug the projected budget gap with federal recovery dollars (this year, like we did with the tobacco settlement money in the past).

The second story is Governor Carcieri's speech
Governor Carcieri Calls for Tax Reform to Stimulate Economy, Grow Revenues and Create New Jobs

"The Governor stressed the need for tax reform in Rhode Island to stimulate the economy and to grow revenues and jobs." The Governor also posted a web video which outlines his three tax reform proposals: "phase out of the corporate income tax, personal income tax reform, and increasing the estate tax exemption."


Governor Carcieri stated in his video, 'As we struggle through this difficult economy, we need jobs more than ever before."

So we need jobs, entrepreneurship, and lower taxes. I agree. Rhode Island is caught between its legacy of big Corporatie Mill Owner vs Big Unions past and its small business entrepreneurial future. That legacy of the past is the anchor




in the state symbol that is dragging us toward bankruptcy and holding us back from the future.

So as we struggle with a gambling addiction and forgo structural changes in the way government operates,I received a notice in my email this morning. It was from Amazon.com. There maybe other similar announcements going out from Ebay for example, to small businesses and entrepreneurs with a home based, web based start-up business.

I quote this here.

From Amazon 6 26 2009

We regret to inform you that the Rhode Island state legislature is preparing to pass an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that, if passed and not vetoed by the governor, would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with Rhode Island-based Associates. You are receiving this e-mail because our records indicate that you are an Amazon Associate and resident of Rhode Island.

Please note that this is not an immediate termination notice and you are still a valued participant in the Associates Program. All referral fees earned on qualified traffic will continue to be paid as planned.

But because the new law is drafted to go into effect once enacted, we will have to terminate the participation of all Rhode Island residents in the Amazon Associates program on or before the day on which is it enacted. After the termination day, we will no longer pay any referral fees for customers referred to Amazon.com or Endless.com nor will we accept new applications for the Associates program from Rhode Island residents.

Note that other states, including Maryland, Minnesota, and Tennessee, considered nearly identical schemes, but rejected these proposals largely because of the adverse impact on their states residents.

The governor's website is http://www.governor.ri.gov/ [ http://www.governor.ri.gov/ ], the Rhode Island legislature's website is http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/ [ http://affiliate-program.amazon.com/ http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=assoc-center-1&pf_rd_r=&pf_rd_t=501&pf_rd_p=&pf_rd_i=RhodeIsland062609 ], and additional information may be obtained from the Performance Marketing Alliance at http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/ [ http://www.performancemarketingalliance.com/ ].

We thank you for being part of the Amazon Associates program, and we will apprise you of next steps.

Sincerely,

Amazon.com

So we are to gamble the money we don't have to make sure the state has enough money to pay its bills and support the many social programs that support the people who have no jobs because we have taxed the business they worked for out of existence and now when responsible people try to start small web based businesses to support themselves we create a tax on those businesses that drives out the sources that the new businesses depend upon it live. Is that correct???

If you think this last sentence makes no sense -- your right. But it's Rhode Island legislative logic.