Yes, the problem with the RI budget problems and we do have those, are the pensioners and poor children. That's what Sen. Stephen Alves, Senate finance chair, URI Professor Maureen Moakley, and RI rich kid and corp. executive John Hazen White, Jr. (wearing all his gold "bling" to make sure we know he's "cool" and he's rich) said this morning on PBS' "Lively Experiment".
Imagine. These people all think it is a hard thing to do, that is cutting services and pensions of RI's neediest, but they are advocating, indeed proposed, that we do it. Hazen White was beside himself praising Carcieri and the Democratic legislature coming together to finally screw children and pensioners and balancing the budget on their backs rather than raise taxes...on corporations.
Even Alves noted that there are HUNDREDS of RI corporations making profits of over $10M per year who pay the minimum tax of $500.00. Yet these people pass laws (Alves) or support passing laws (Moakley, Layman, Hazen White of Tacky, Inc.) that will reduce pensions for pensioners and cut THOUSANDS of poor children from the RI Ritecare (health insurance) roles.
RI constituencies, voters, unions, Hispanics, academics (Hazen White flaunts his money by donating to places like URI), public workers, and firefighters and policemen ( whom this group of VERY UNREPRESENTATIVE Rhode Islanders attack unmercifully as underserving of pensions and health care they negotiated in good faith with the state and or cities and towns) should come out in force to make sure they are all "thanked" for their concern about our first defenders and Rhode Island's working classes and the poorest of our children.
What is wrong with these people? Heartless ... what is government for anyway, if not to help those in need...and yet they support corporations and the state's wealthiest by cutting their taxes and adding to the burdens of our citizens...who actually work for a living.