A massive snowstorm is heading toward the Ocean State. Superstorm
Sandy was bad enough, but now the Northeast is taking another battering.
Governor Lincoln Chafee has declared a state of emergency in Rhode Island, telling
residents to stay off the roads and stay in their homes.
Mother Nature's wrath is falling white and cold across the
Northeast, but a worse disaster has descended on the New England states, one
worse than intolerant Puritanism or even state-sponsored statism. The fiscal
crisis of underfunded and unpaid pension obligations weigh heavily on voters and
state representatives, worse than a superstorm, which will not only demolish
houses but undo the legacies and savings of hard-working families, both those
who worked in the public as well as the private sectors. General Treasurer Gina
Raimondo has taken what precautions she can to staunch the misery of massive
cuts, yet the tsunami of debt roars ever more over Rhode Island.
Beyond the fiscal fears, the demagoguery of the Democratic Party
has been an unmitigated and unnatural disaster for Rhode Island. For seventy
years, Democrats have dominated the state legislature, where their torrential
cascade of debt, deficits, and bankrupting taxes and regulations have driven
away thousands of Rhode Island residents. Only in 1983, which some have termed
"The Great Fiasco", did some semblance of two-party rule return to
the state, when Republicans won an unprecedented twenty-three states in the
General Assembly. Today, the legislature remains dominated by the unprecedented
disaster of Democratic rule. The real "fiasco", of course, has been
the frightening trend of one-party partisanship (if such a dynamic is possible)
in Providence, one which has unleashed an unearthly flurry of anti-growth
polices.
Rhode Island has one of the worst business climates, replete with
thundering regulations, hurricane-like taxes, and a snowstorm of spending which
has blanketed the state in unrelenting debt. Instead of a field of powdery,
gentle white, there is a thrashing sea of red ink washing along the shores and
covering not just the homes, but the future of the state and its residents. The
"Red Sea of Debt" is so great, that the city of Providence may have
to seek the intervention of Divine Providence to part present bondholders and
taxpayers (what few that remain) from the threatened bankruptcy drowning
everything.
Gov. Chafee must declare another state of emergency, one of fiscal and
political proportions, a formerly subtle disaster which is now erupting across
the state, New England, and is even threatening larger states like Illinois and
California.
Forget about global warming, and forget about gay marriage. The
biggest crisis afflicting the state of Rhode Island is the ungodly dominance of
the tax-and-spendthrift Democratic Party. However, it does not necessarily take
an "Act of God" to end this heinous, disastrous dominance. In
declaring a state of emergency, Gov. Chafee and supporters can enact the
following reforms:
1. Pull the Master Lever once and for all. Get rid of this petty
polling practice which permits one party to dominate every statewide office
with one vote. Every resident in Rhode Island deserves to choose individually
and selectively who will represent them at the city, the state, or even the
national level. Not since the Gilded Age of political machines and politicized
corruption have such hollow tactics existed. Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall would
sprinkle perfume on the ballots that he wanted cast, and others have attributed
the exhortation to him about tallying ballots: "It's not the number of
votes that counts, but vote counters." He also quipped: "As long as I
count the voters, what are you going to do about it?" The voters should do
something all right, and end the Master Lever.
2. Initiate open primaries. Many parties should have the
opportunity to participate in Rhode Island politics. Why should party have all
the fun, partying on the taxpayer's dime? Republicans can coalesce with
libertarians, or Democrats and Republicans who agree on anything can form their
own party. More choices, more freedom, more power to the people.
3. Enact a Citizens' Commission to draw the boundaries for state
legislative and Congressional representation. Instead of permitting the state
legislature to gerrymander local and statewide seats, why not permit a select
group of dedicated Rhode Islanders to draw up the districts. Instead of
creating safe districts for state senators and assembly members, citizens would
only take into account the geographical or at least the basic cultural
similarities between and within cities.
4. Get rid of the massive number of state legislators and excessive
overlapping bureaucracies. For a state as small as Rhode Island, why are so
many people in public office? With every politician comes a pension, benefits,
and guaranteed salary, while voters have no guarantee of any one of those
perks. There is no excuse for anyone to get rich off the state, when the state
merely reaps (or rapes) the profits from hard-working taxpayers, many of whom
are now working hard to leave the state.
Gov. Chafee, it's time to declare another state of emergency: a fiscal and political
crisis. The Capital city of Providence is going bankrupt, and aside from an
"Act of Providence", the well-being of your state depends on
well-meaning reforms which will return the power of representation to the
people instead of the politicians. End the Master Lever, open up the primaries,
and let the citizens design their constituencies. These reforms will expand
choice and limit the scope of government in the lives and livelihood of Rhode
Islanders.