The Ocean State Republican

For decades now, Rhode Island’s economy has underperformed in comparison to national averages. We’ve long been known as one of the first states to go in recession, one of the ones to go in deepest, and one of the last to come out. In turn, our slow growth rates are like compound interest -– but in reverse! Economic growth is cumulative and builds upon itself, and so over decades a state whose economy grows at an average of, say, 3% a year compounded far exceeds the prosperity of the state that only grows at 2% a year compounded. Thus, over time, Rhode Island keeps falling farther and farther behind other states.

Rhode Island is not alone in this; the whole Northeast is in relative decline as compared to the Sun Belt, and has been for some time. Unfortunately, Rhode Island is a laggard even by Northeast standards. Still, it can be enlightening even for laggards to “benchmark” against each other’s performance.

Following are paragraphs from April 2008 commentaries appearing in major newspapers of two states, Rhode Island and another. See if you can guess which quotes are from the Rhode Island commentary — and from which state the other commentary originates (you’re going to be surprised)!

¶1 To be away from —-, with its beleaguered — industry, labor-management fights reinforcing its rep for militancy and a scandal-ridden mayor and City Council, is to realize just how out of step —–’s confrontational culture and bellwether industry are from so much of the country, especially the South.

¶2 But, inevitably, that approach is catching up to the state. Businesses are being driven out at a frightening clip. Jobs and tax revenues are disappearing. A massive budget deficit has opened up, making it harder to provide services and care for the poor. And the future looks bleak, unless politicians who have never been so inclined before suddenly recognize that —– must re-orient itself — with policies that promote job creation, better schools focused on students, cheaper energy and less corruption, while bringing the cost of government in line with the taxpayers’ ability to afford it.

¶3 How ’bout some optimism? Probably, because blame is a cornerstone of the —– mentality — even if it is counter-productive, unappealing and sad. To be away from the conflict, negativity, pessimism and self-dealing, if only for a few weeks, is to understand how accurate those adjectives are and how foreign they are in other parts of the country.

¶4 Mr. —- is going to lose his $60,000-a-year job, with benefits. That scares him. He has already gone to [his employers’s] plants in North Carolina and Texas, looking for work, hoping to stay with the company he has served for decades. It doesn’t look good. He fears he will have to go onto unemployment — and, worse, lose his health benefits.

¶5 Witnessing the New World. To see the new office towers of Charlotte, N.C., the development around Columbia, S.C., the smooth roads connecting them, the knowledge that new investment is disproportionately going to states largely immune to the fights that grace our news pages regularly, begs one simple question: How could it go so wrong here for so long?

Paragraphs 2 and 4 are from an Ed Achorn commentary appearing in the Providence Journal on April 08, 2008 (Entitled: “It’s like they walk into Disneyland“).

The other paragraphs were published 10 days later, authored by gentleman named Daniel Howes, in the Detroit News (Entitled: “Trip south points out gloom in Michigan“).

Yes that Detroit! Poster-city of industrial decline; perennial contender for murder capital of the United States and Petri dish of urban blight. Isn’t it interesting, and disheartening, that the words describing the economic and political malaise of Detroit could, to a Rhode Islander, have just as well been written to describe this state!

Has the “Rust Belt” spread? Is Rhode Island now part of the Rust Belt? Yes, we have a pretty façade in Providence, and the beauty of Narragansett Bay. But (like Detroit) we also have a declining economy exacerbated by labor unions; rusted bridges on the verge of collapse; potholed roads; growing (and apparently permanent) “underclass” of welfare recipients and a below average public education system. So arguably we very much have the “Detroit disease,” it’s just that our case just not (yet) as far advanced.

Fortunately our case is not yet incurable; but it will take rounds of public sector chemotherapy. The question now is will the Democrat General Assembly be willing to endure the short-term nausea in order to find a cure, or will it continue down its traditional path of short-term political expediency?

The Democrat General Assembly, indeed the Democrat party itself, claims to be the party representing “working families.” It is impossible to reconcile that claim with its pervasive political corruption and pandering to special interests (public-sector unions and the welfare industry) at the expense of private sector jobs. A 1930’s industrial mindset (which in turn has Marxist roots) prevails in the Democrat General Assembly; one that perceives employers (a//k/a “the rich”) as being somehow “bad” or “evil” and who must be punished on behalf of the exploited “working class.” This is accomplished through punitive tax policy and wealth redistribution schemes; assuming that anyone who is upper-middle-class or rich somehow got that way through ill-gotten gains and so should be forced to pay their “fair share.”

So it should come as no surprise that the last census data indicate that only two states have lost population: Detroit’s home state of Michigan and Rhode Island. Indeed Rhode Island’s loss of population is much more significant than the totals indicate, for the influx of tens of thousands of illegal aliens masks the exodus of middle-class workers, college graduates who can’t find suitable employment and “rich” employers who finally decide that the cost-benefit ratio of remaining in Rhode Island versus incurring the one-time expenses involved with relocating to the Sun Belt auger in favor of saying “adios!” to the Ocean State.

The final quote appearing below comes from one of the commentaries mentioned above … in the end it doesn’t matter which one: “Look south: People follow jobs; jobs follow investment. Investment goes where it’s welcome, where conflict and scandal don’t reign supreme.”