Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A few of the things you've said about Rhode Island's economy are true; most are not. Rhode Island has issues it needs to overcome. I can admit that because I'm fundamentally an honest person. When someone is so fanatical about a subject that they refuse to admit that any evidence exists to the contrary, you can feel free to dismiss everything they say, regardless of its possible merits. It's just not safe to listen to those people. That's the general rule I live by and it's worked out pretty well for me over the years.
RI has a very large immigrant population for such a small state. That in itself is going to impact its % of college degrees. Also it was a factory manufacturing state. When those industries left the state never recovered. RI has had a struggling economy for decades. My family has lived in the Attleboro area for 50 years. That area and points north experience countless Rhode Islanders crossing into Mass everyday. They work, shop, go to Doctors, school any number of reasons for coming to Mass each day. It has always been this way, and the reasons obvious. Before Commuter Rail was extended into RI. The parking lots at So Attleboro and Attleboro stations were primarily RI plates. The economy in RI has just never been able to compete with its neighbors. I'm sure it's location sandwiched between 2 wealthier states, is much of the reason it struggles. Its a poorer state a small state with a different population, and economic base than its surroundings. Otherwise I have always liked RI. Believe me there are alot worse places than RI.
Prime real estate in a capital city doesn't sit vacant for 5 years in an economy that isn't struggling. And that's the topic here. And they haven't broken ground yet, 5 YEARS LATER! And even the ProJo, a mouthpiece for the governor, admits that with tax incentives equalling $80,000 per job created, Wexford is hardly an economic miracle. States with vibrant economies, sound infrastructure and a skilled/educated workforce scarcely need to bribe companies to locate within their borders. When was the last day that bankruptcy wasn't floated as a possibility for Providence? Our capital city! Our own governor, she of the rose colored eyeballs, admits that we're on a path to a $500 million deficit by FY 2019. 500 million! States with vibrant economies don't rank dead last, 50th out of 50 states, in condition of bridges and roads. States with vibrant economies don't rank dead last, 50th out of 50 states, in climate for business. Ranking after ranking, RI sits at or near the bottom. All the while, collecting some of the most confiscatory taxes in the nation. And it's well reflected in our lack of population growth. The folks that could turn this thing around are heading the wrong way. This is NOT a recipe for economic growth. Entering RI from MA on either interstate, I'm immediately struck by 3 observations: the road turns to rubble, trash and auto parts line the highway and, slimeball ambulance chasers grin down at me from overhead billboards. Welcome to Rhode Island. Yuk! At this point, we should check to be sure that we're discussing the same state.
RI has a very large immigrant population for such a small state. That in itself is going to impact its % of college degrees. Also it was a factory manufacturing state. When those industries left the state never recovered. RI has had a struggling economy for decades. My family has lived in the Attleboro area for 50 years. That area and points north experience countless Rhode Islanders crossing into Mass everyday. They work, shop, go to Doctors, school any number of reasons for coming to Mass each day. It has always been this way, and the reasons obvious. Before Commuter Rail was extended into RI. The parking lots at So Attleboro and Attleboro stations were primarily RI plates. The economy in RI has just never been able to compete with its neighbors. I'm sure it's location sandwiched between 2 wealthier states, is much of the reason it struggles. Its a poorer state a small state with a different population, and economic base than its surroundings. Otherwise I have always liked RI. Believe me there are alot worse places than RI.
With supporters like this, you folks don't need many more detractors. Wonder what he means by "different"?
Interesting topic to try to wrap your head around. On one hand Rhode Island's numbers aren't bad at all relative to the whole country, but on the other hand, something is amiss. Consumer confidence (I'll call it) really is very low in RI these days. Can a state have low self esteem?
I spent a week last summer in Newport and around Providence talking to as many people as possible; trying to paint RI as a cool state (I went to college there in the 80s), and people consistently expressed worry, angst and something like defeatism. So different to being in a thriving area like the DMV. I never thought of RI as a backwater in the 80s but it is now.
And look at their recent presidential voting history:
2000 - 61.0% DEM
2004 - 59.4% DEM
2008 - 63.1% DEM
2012 - 62.7% DEM
2016 - 54.4% DEM - quite a drop
So I'd say their is a new desperation in RI, particular in "regular folks" (military, college students, serious professionals, and the rich are doing fine). Small business owners also seem to have hit a wall of non-growth.
Worst of all, the hilarious sarcastic humor of Rhode Islanders I used to love seems to have gone away.
Prime real estate in a capital city doesn't sit vacant for 5 years in an economy that isn't struggling. And that's the topic here. And they haven't broken ground yet, 5 YEARS LATER!
Do you really think we should have accepted all the proposals for this land that were put forward?
I think the Commission should take the time to vet every proposal and make sure it fits as to size, purpose, and assure it will be aesthetically appropriate. Providence isn't just any city- ask the architects who convene here from across the country each year.
Do you really think we should have accepted all the proposals for this land that were put forward?
I think the Commission should take the time to vet every proposal and make sure it fits as to size, purpose, and assure it will be aesthetically appropriate. Providence isn't just any city- ask the architects who convene here from across the country each year.
You're right, Providence isn't just any city. Most aren't nearly bankrupt. And the commission is certainly........ cautious. Five years without a shovel in the ground in this desperate city. More likely though, that any successful company is.......cautious..... about moving here.
With supporters like this, you folks don't need many more detractors. Wonder what he means by "different"?
This is exactly the type of supporter we need: Someone realistic who understands the challenges that exist and doesn't just make stuff up because Everything Is Terrible and Nothing Can Ever Get Better. At the risk of repeating myself: When you hear two opposing arguments, and one is nuanced and the other isn't, always, always go with the nuanced argument.
Here's the whole truth as I see it.
Rhode Island is a state with a tremendous amount going for it. It's beautiful, it has a killer location on the outskirts of the Boston CSA and an easy drive or train ride to New York, it's as coastal as coastal gets. It feels like New England, a region I've been fascinated with since I was a small child. Its only real city, Providence, is one of the most complete smaller American cities I've ever seen, with dense, walkable streetscapes and a cultural scene that matches cities several times its size. It's a city where you can palpably feel the importance of the arts. Newport is probably one of my top five favorite places in America, a small city that allows visitors to experience two different historical eras -- the colonial era and the Gilded Age -- along with possibly the best beaches in New England and stunning waterfront vistas.
Years ago I embarked on a quest to find the perfect place for me to live, and I decided Rhode Island was it. It hit more marks than any other place. Affordable for the Northeast? Check. Easy access to both nature and urban amenities? Check. Lots of water? Check. Easy on the eyes? Check. Good food? Check. Political culture with which I was comfortable? Check. Driveable to hundreds of amazing destinations? Check. Not dominated by religion? Check. People and culture I was comfortable with? Check. No other place I considered offered all of that. Either they were prohibitively expensive, insufferably bland, too run down or culturally incompatible with me.
Rhode Island has issues. The economy has been at times very weak and more often weaker than it should be. The culture of negativity is not something I enjoy, though I actually don't feel it all that much in real life -- certainly this forum has a lot more of it than I ever get in person. The infrastructure needs help. Much of the workforce hasn't transitioned away from the deader-than-dead manufacturing economy, which, by the way, is dead almost everywhere in this country.
That said, I've seen significant forward progress in the less than four years that I've been here. I see many fewer vacant storefronts. Small businesses are multiplying. Serious moves have been taken to improve the infrastructure, as the somewhat icky rah-rah RhodeWorks signs across the state are there to demonstrate. You cannot deny, you simply cannot deny, that economic indicators have improved relative to the rest of the country. You just can't deny it! It's a fact! The numbers are right there! Corporations are moving in. (You can spin it as the fact that they were "bribed" to show up, but who the hell gives a crap? Jobs are jobs -- would you prefer that the friggin' job fairy sprinkled her fairy dust and made them appear in a poof of smoke? You guys are always talking about a "business friendly" environment, which is a euphemism for favoring businesses at the expense of workers and taxpayers, and then denounce moves to attract business -- such hypocrisy. Come back to me with criticism of corporate welfare when you're a liberal. Where's AlfieBoy when you need him?)
You can disagree with some or even all of what I just said, but if you're not willing to provide nuance in your disagreement, your point of view is frankly worthless.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
