State’s role gets needed facelift

In a wide-ranging PBN Q&A cover story this week, Gov. Gina M. Raimondo stuck to her talking points about how she feels the state must approach the coming years in order to lift itself out of the hole Rhode Island finds itself in.

Sharp-eyed attention to high-cost yet low-performing programs – chief among them Medicaid – should help solve large projected state budget woes, which should free up capital for investments in education, infrastructure and property tax relief. Those investments should in turn produce job growth, which should lead to increased tax revenue, allowing for the cycle to begin anew.

Most important is Gov. Raimondo’s view that government must accept its role as a key investor in Rhode Island’s short- and long-term economic health. The 38 Studios LLC mess has paralyzed the state for too long into not making any investments.

Just balancing the books, which seemed to be Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee’s main goal, is not enough. Gov. Raimondo’s background as an investor helps her understand that with nothing ventured, surely nothing will be gained. •

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