A $550 million deficit is looming just over the horizon. Now is the time, the governor said, to take drastic measures to save a sinking ship heading toward an iceberg. The state savings account is dried up, the credit cards are maxed out; we are in need of strong fiscal discipline. The only way we’re going to make it out of this mess, the governor said, is to put pressure on a politically-entrenched legislature and push back against the unions and powerful special interests.

We agree. The General Assembly has been irresponsible, playing Santa Claus every year to special interests in the form of out-of-control spending, over-generous state salaries and benefits, and counterproductive social programs. But while it is indeed irresponsible for legislators to “bring home the bacon” so freely, the governor’s aversion to raising revenue – and his claim that his budget will not raise taxes – is disingenuous and irresponsible.

We support the governor’s premise about fixing the broken pieces of state government: about reining in spending at the state and local levels, about empowering Rhode Islanders who could work to contribute to our state rather than abusing entitlements, about reforming over-generous public employee contracts crippling state and local governments, and about restructuring the existence of 36 school districts (and their layers of administration) which educate only 150,000 students.

But none of these problems will be fixed overnight; we’ll be lucky to get there in the next decade. These reforms, while necessary, will not steer us away from that $550 million iceberg in time to avert imminent catastrophe.

Presuming the state cuts $12.7 million in direct aid to communities – even if some of these reforms could be enacted tomorrow – property taxes will have to be hiked to make up the difference whether it’s within the tax cap or not. That buck will necessarily be passed onto the local level.

The governor’s plan will realistically hurt those who can afford it the least. Social programs that benefit poor children and families will take a direct hit. So too will many state workers and their families, who represent a significant segment of the state’s middle class. We can agree that these are unfortunate, but necessary evils.

Noticeably absent from the governor’s plan are contributions from those who can afford to pitch in a little more. The wealthy ought to bear some of this burden too, particularly at a time when the poor and middle class are barely scraping by. Is it really good fiscal stewardship to only cut spending and services, but not raise revenue, governor?

While we urge legislators to enact these reforms immediately to close the state’s structural deficit, we do not believe the governor’s plan will realistically balance this budget or the next – even if every one of these cuts and reforms were to be miraculously approved by the General Assembly. It will not rescue the sinking ship; only shift the weight.

Here are some of our recommendations that we did not hear in the governor’s speech:

·        We believe that a glaring example of an untapped revenue stream is the capital gains tax. These “tax cuts for the rich” should be immediately repealed. Other tax breaks that subsidize the lavish lifestyles of the wealthy ought to also be scrapped.

·        Immediately suspend wasteful legislative grants. These grants are a clear example of government “pork.” These grants from legislators to community organizations – “the big check photo op – are nice when there’s money to spend; now is not the time.

·        In order to control property taxes rather than simply shifting the burden onto homeowners, state aid to cities and towns (and schools) should be at least level-funded, but sent with a law from the General Assembly that, as the governor said, “will remove the designation of any specific health care provider from all local contracts” and allow for “one umbrella health care contract” for all state, municipal, and school employees. Meanwhile, we believe that the General Assembly should mandate consolidation of the state’s school districts.

·        The state should also suspend all non-essential building projects, including the proposed Blackstone Valley Courthouse and the new State Police headquarters, until a time when the state can afford it.      

The fiscal crisis in our state is too dire to allow politics and ideology to drive the decisions on Smith Hill this year. We need our leaders at the Statehouse to fairly and honestly balance the very heavy fiscal burden, and steer us away from disaster.  And, as the governor said, we need you – the people of this state – to stand up and demand reform and accountability in our state government so that we can repair a broken ship.