After watching the Budget Address, then letting some of the proposals sink in, I have some concerns. Here are a few:

Spending vs. Investment

In the past couple of years, I have noticed an annoying trend. Many politicians have begun substituting the word “investing” for Spending. These politicians don’t want to spend your money, they want to invest it. Doesn’t that make you feel better?

Subsidies for the I-195 Land

If the land opened up for development after the relocation of I-195 is so valuable and sought after, then why do we need to offer subsidies? Developers should be tripping over themselves for the right to build their next multimillion dollar project, which will jumpstart the Rhode Island economy. Of course, they’re not.

Jobs, jobs, jobs…

The Governor has placed a focus on creating jobs, yet her plan seems to rely heavily on temporary construction jobs that are at least partially subsidized by taxpayer subsidies.

A state property tax

My mouth dropped open when I heard this one. At first, it will only apply to second homes valued at over $1 million. This certainly won’t apply to me, or anyone I know, but it is concerning nonetheless. The passage of this scheme Opens the door to a new tax, and opens the possibility of the threshold for taxation to be lowered to include more people. $1 million could easily become $500,000 in a few years, and further reduced each year after. This proposal is a Pandora’s box which should never see the light of day.

Lower taxes are good

The Governor proposed cutting the sales tax on corporate energy bills, mentioning how high Taxes hurt job creation. Yet, despite this, there are no bold proposals to make Rhode Island stand out. One suggestion would be to rethink the role of state government by slashing spending, then eliminating, not reducing, a broad-based tax.

These are a few points from the speech that I felt I had to mention, but there were certainly others. Feel free to mention some others in the comments.