May 31, 2013

Catholic and American in New England

This year’s Portsmouth Institute conference, next weekend, addresses “Catholicism and the American Experience,” a subject for which Rhode Island has provided fertile ground.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:23 AM
Ocean State Current

May 30, 2013

Public Education Versus the Public's Education

Reactions to school choice legislation in the General Assembly raise the question of whether "public education" really means the system by which the public educates itself.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:34 AM
Ocean State Current

May 29, 2013

Growing the GDP with Promises

Pending revisions to GDP appear to treat pension promises as risk-free assets, highlighting the difference between realities of accounting, politics, and resources.

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:00 AM
Ocean State Current

May 27, 2013

Memorial Day's Silent Reminder

A contemplation for Memorial Day, 2013.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:09 AM
Ocean State Current

May 25, 2013

The Built-In Trap of Progressive Politics

Sam Howard misses the point of questions about who the RIGOP is and who is to blame for both its trouble's and the state's.

Posted by Justin Katz at 1:09 PM
Ocean State Current

May 24, 2013

Substantive School Choice Legislation

Legislation introduced in the RI House would offer a broad school choice opportunity for Rhode Island families and may indicate that the state's dire circumstances might finally be opening fissures for big ideas and bold policies.

Posted by Justin Katz at 2:33 PM
Ocean State Current

May 23, 2013

Betting the House for Rhode Island

Legislation submitted last week would allow people to gamble their assets (such as houses and investment accounts) at the new state-run casino.

Posted by Justin Katz at 10:48 AM
Ocean State Current

May 22, 2013

Whose Fault, RI?

The question of blame for Rhode Island's political culture requires an accurate view of how politics (and media) operates in the state. It's not sports or business competition; it's life.

Posted by Justin Katz at 12:30 PM
Ocean State Current

May 20, 2013

Things We Read Today (50): Scandals, Rules, and the Economy

The national scandals facing the Obama administration arguably point to the underlying causes of Rhode Island's economic troubles.

Posted by Justin Katz at 3:36 PM
Ocean State Current

May 17, 2013

April Employment, the Slog and the Skepticism

The most significant change on the employment-data front might be confidence in the numbers, not just in terms of their raw validity, but in terms of increasing understanding that a falling unemployment rate isn't necessarily a marker of economic health.

Posted by Justin Katz at 3:21 PM
Ocean State Current

May 16, 2013

Fairness at the Sales Tax Hearing

Rep. Larry Valencia's question on the relative morality of different taxes points to the question of how tax policy decisions should be made.

Posted by Justin Katz at 11:54 AM
Ocean State Current

May 13, 2013

The Box That's Formed by Being Watched

A "surveillance state" doesn't just snag those who are overtly criminal, and it can affect a society most profoundly by adding risk to creativity.

Posted by Justin Katz at 7:58 AM
Ocean State Current

May 10, 2013

Two Bills: When You've Got Rights, and When You Don't, in Rhode Island

A proposed new quasi-public authority with powers of trespassing and eminent domain bring into question legislators' beliefs about rights, particularly in contrast with another bill to make it more difficult to restrain potentially dangerous patients and students.

Posted by Justin Katz at 4:48 PM
Ocean State Current

Taxing the Rich in Testimony and Looking Forward

Notes from testimony on tax-the-rich legislation raise interesting points about what happened with tax policy and the economy over the past five years and what would be likely to happen under other policies moving forward.

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:37 AM
Ocean State Current

May 8, 2013

Rebranding Manipulation

Some policy strategists on the right are looking to behavioral science for ways to use government to encourage preferred behavior, but conceding the appropriate role of government to manipulate has an intolerable cost.

Posted by Justin Katz at 9:52 AM
Ocean State Current

May 7, 2013

Legislative Control and Distance from Peak Employment

Charting the fifty states' distance from their peak employment along with the party controlling the legislature shows some interesting results, not the least of which is the ability of other states to change their courses.

Posted by Justin Katz at 7:51 AM
Ocean State Current

May 6, 2013

Chariho to 0%, but for More Control, Tax Hawks Must Win Elections

Taxpayers in the regional Chariho school district scored a substantial victory in getting the district to reduce its 2014 budget request to a zero percent increase, but in the long run, all such victories will be minor unless the victories start including elections for public office.

Posted by Justin Katz at 11:38 AM

May 3, 2013

Misplaced Grand Pronunciations of New England Catholics' Practices

A professor of "religion in public life," by his flawed analysis of regional religious affiliation and same-sex marriage, nonetheless raises some interesting points.

Posted by Justin Katz at 4:56 PM
Ocean State Current

May 2, 2013

Medicaid: An Expensive Placebo?

A study finds that Medicaid doesn't measurably improve health outcomes by much, raising questions about why Rhode Island leaps into every government program that becomes available.

Posted by Justin Katz at 7:51 AM
Ocean State Current

May 1, 2013

Valencia's Brand of Equity and Sacrifice

Rep. Larry Valencia wants to tax "the rich" at 10% in the name of equity and "shared sacrifice," but dynamic policy modeling suggests that the sacrifice will mainly be Rhode Island's.

Posted by Justin Katz at 5:21 PM
Ocean State Current

The Mouse That Designs Its Own Trap

A politically correct American Left encourages Americans to turn their eyes away from horrors that illustrate that which euphemisms cover, whether it's infanticide or global jihad.

Posted by Justin Katz at 8:05 AM
Ocean State Current