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Yes. Graced, indeed. And people are also free to make complete fools of themselves with their factless whining.
Since you seem to find it necessary to remind the rest of us almost constantly what should and shouldn't be posted here, that looks an awful lot like a personal attack to me
"controversial" LMAO! Not one person has been able to refute a thing I said there.
Hint: A surplus of DPW workers sitting around the garage does not necessarily equate to asphalt being poured...
But neither does laying off DPW workers. The asphalt isn't going to pour itself. Assuming they even had the funds to buy the asphalt.
I admit I don't understand how Providence budgets for road maintenance. I remember a while back they held public meetings to get feedback about which roads should be paved if they got a grant. I got the distinct feeling that there was no plan for repaving ANY roads otherwise! Anyone who's driven down Potters Avenue anytime in the last five years would believe that there is no plan for routine maintenance.
Oh. Okay. I see. We should reject scientific, fact-based analysis -- backed by the U.S. Federal Highways Administration that administers highway funding to all 50 states, we should ignore all published reports in trade journals, and instead rely on YOU. No.
OK, go ahead and relish in the "rankings" if you feel they are so reliable. I take it you must also believe that RI is the worst state in the country to do business, no??? Don't tell me you are going to reject "scientific, fact-based analysis".
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Originally Posted by AlfieBoy
There you go again! I can't believe this! You have "sources that are quite dependable," do you? Really? If you have evidence of this massive fraud, don't lazily post about it on CD, GO TO THE FEDS! Go to the media, go to the state government!
Of course, you have no such evidence, you have only your... perception. And as I schooled you earlier, perception isn't fact, it's merely.... opinion. And opinions are fine -- we all have them -- but they are not fact.
For your information; mismanagement, poor oversight/supervision, departmental inefficiencies, and general incompetence are not fraud. Why would I go to the feds if no one is breaking the law (not to say no one is, but just sayin)! It is up to the city fathers to go in there and clean the place up in a professional manner. That is up to them and the city's voters to ensure they are held accountable for such, but it doesn't seem to be a very high priority for the brainiacs who vote in Providence.
My question for you would be what would it take to "prove to you" that you guys are getting burned. If I dragged you down there myself and showed you what was going on, would you then believe it? Do you have evidence to the contrary? Face it, nothing I or anyone says on here will convince you of certain truths you refuse to believe.
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Originally Posted by AlfieBoy
I don't care enough to go whining on CD about how Mass. "has the worst roads" or how "a friend says state workers are lazy," no, I don't care enough -- why? BECAUSE I DON'T LIVE THERE!
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I bet the paycheck is nice though! It's also nice that we have the MBTA to bring you up here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlfieBoy
Yes. Graced, indeed. And people are also free to make complete fools of themselves with their factless whining.
But neither does laying off DPW workers. The asphalt isn't going to pour itself. Assuming they even had the funds to buy the asphalt.
I admit I don't understand how Providence budgets for road maintenance. I remember a while back they held public meetings to get feedback about which roads should be paved if they got a grant. I got the distinct feeling that there was no plan for repaving ANY roads otherwise! Anyone who's driven down Potters Avenue anytime in the last five years would believe that there is no plan for routine maintenance.
All I was doing was using the DPW as an example of a department that hasn't faced much scrutiny, I certainly never intended a war like this to break out! All I can say is that the payroll is WAY too large considering what little work is being done. That should raise any taxpayer's eyebrows. There is too much idle time for too many employees, and too many overlapping functions. Maybe the answer is cutting the staff to free more money up for paving (which would be done by contractors), maybe the answer is a re-organization where staff are put to better use. I do not know. There would have to be some sort of professional study done by a 3rd party that would determine what the best solution is. Has it been done? Not that I've seen or heard, and certainly nothing that has been in depth or implemented on any significant level.
It's one of the main flaws of RI (as well as MA). Voters are so used to getting screwed and seem to just blindly accept it for what it is. New residents seem to be falling into that state of surrender as well.
Voters are so used to getting screwed and seem to just blindly accept it for what it is. New residents seem to be falling into that state of surrender as well.
I would venture to say that this is attitude of US citizens in general. Political protests are nothing like they used to be. This feeds on itself as the caliber of persons running for office declines and the remaining voters find they have no real choice.
OK, go ahead and relish in the "rankings" if you feel they are so reliable. I take it you must also believe that RI is the worst state in the country to do business, no??? Don't tell me you are going to reject "scientific, fact-based analysis".
The data is mixed. Most data say California is the worst Some say Rhode Island is 49th or 50th.. But, as I have posted on several occasions, Rhode Island needs to do a lot more to attract business and that the economic development efforts of the state are pathetic.
Quote:
I bet the paycheck is nice though! It's also nice that we have the MBTA to bring you up here.
My employer pays me a high wage because I have skills and an education that are in demand in this economy.
As to the MBTA, the state of RI subsidizes train service in Rhode Island. The new Wickford stop? Rhode Island paid for the station and receives no part of the fare collected. Same is true with the airport stop and the Providence rail stop. It's a win-win for everybody.
Now how about getting this derailment (which occurred on post 7) back on track and address the topic?
Providence's needs, particularly in infrastructure and education, exceed its ability to fund these necessities. Taxes are maxed out and therefore the best way of increasing revenue is a broader, larger tax base. That means new businesses coming to the state, or existing ones expanding. Where is the concerted effort to attract and retain new business? How many more bone-headed 38 Studios can we afford?
I look forward, as the election progresses, to learning what vision the prospective governor has to start moving us forward.
The data is mixed. Most data say California is the worst Some say Rhode Island is 49th or 50th.. But, as I have posted on several occasions, Rhode Island needs to do a lot more to attract business and that the economic development efforts of the state are pathetic.
You know what worries me about that? The traditional way to attract business has been to give them a huge tax break, such as the Providene Place Mall sales tax write-off.
So we end up with another entity that uses city services, but doesn't contribute to city revenues.
There's got to be another way to attract businesses, other than giving them a free ride.
You know what worries me about that? The traditional way to attract business has been to give them a huge tax break, such as the Providene Place Mall sales tax write-off.
So we end up with another entity that uses city services, but doesn't contribute to city revenues.
There's got to be another way to attract businesses, other than giving them a free ride.
Tax incentives on a large scale have a horrible record. Not to pick on North Carolina (honestly), but they offer major-league tax incentives to lure corporations and so they are a good case study in how effective large tax incentives are in creating jobs.
How's that working out for them? They gave Dell nearly $300 in tax incentives and tax breaks to open a plant; it closed after four years, leaving nearly a thousand people without jobs. North Carolina then gave Google $200 million to open a data center. Total job creation? 210. That's roughly $1,000,000 per job created. And after dozens of other major-league tax breaks to corporations, what's the unemployment rate in NC? 8.9%, the exact same unemployment rate as Rhode Island!
So we have to be question the efficacy of large tax breaks as a means of attracting jobs. I think the North Carolina model speaks for itself: throwing cash and tax breaks to corporations is not an effective means of creating jobs. And we can all recall RI's own use of the NC model: 38 Studios. How'd that work out?
Corporations locate where their interests are best served and where their profits are maximized. They seek an educated work force, favorable geographic proximity to their markets, and ease of interaction with local and state government (i.e. zoning, taxation, regulations). It is my belief that Rhode Island has an educated workforce and ideal location, but it has a reputation for being hard to do business with and its corporate tax rate is high. If the state were to focus on its strengths in marketing the state and at the same time work to mitigate its weaknesses, I really wonder if tax gimmes are needed.
QC, my post isn't a comparison of NC vs. RI, which I made abundantly clear for even the most unskilled reader, it concerns the efficacy of tax breaks and subsidies as a means of attracting jobs. This was in response to another poster who is equally baffled at the need for state-sponsored gimmes.
As mentioned, despite pouring hundreds of millions of dollars down the voracious throats of companies, NC's unemployment rate is exactly the same as RI's, so clearly, that model of attracting new jobs isn't working and is a poor model for RI to follow. Clearly, the North Carolina model fails, so the questions is: what does Rhode Island do to attract jobs without swindling taxpayer money to attract jobs?
Now, if you WANT to compare datasets of NC vs. RI, that would be an interesting dialog -- we could use civil liberties as a starting point -- but that's not what this thread is about. If you want to have that discussion of comparing RI to NC, here's a clue: start your own thread on that very topic.
Last edited by CaseyB; 09-13-2013 at 12:03 PM..
Reason: Off topic
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Up to date facts. Honestly. 
