Next week Rhode Island voters will be asked – through a ballot referendum - to support the state’s first public institution of higher education. By voting yes on Question 3, you will be improving higher education for thousands of Rhode Islanders, making them more effective and competitive as employees. In addition, you will be creating hundreds of badly needed jobs for Rhode Islanders. more

In a challenging economy, nothing seems more important for employers than productivity during the workday. The focus is on meeting your goals, serving the needs of your customers, managing major issues and/or creating innovative new products or services. While these are critical priorities, it’s also important to consider how your big picture could be positively impacted by other things, such as serving the community. more

Morpheaus, the mysterious leader of the human resistance in the iconic movie “The Matrix,” holds out his hands to Neo, the young seeker of truth, offering him two pills. The red one holds the truth of the world, and the blue an escape back to the carefully constructed world of the Matrix. We learn fairly quickly that the “real” world is a nightmare compared to the dream of the Matrix. You don’t need to see this movie to grasp the meaning of choosing one pill over the other. more

The Obama administration tried last week to convince the U.S. Supreme Court that the federal government can deny landowners the use of their property for years – decades if need be – without ever paying compensation. more

Last week, after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced an unexpected decline in September’s unemployment rate, former General Electric Co. CEO Jack Welch questioned the credibility of the data. more

Global regulators have a peculiar way of assessing the soundness of big banks: Ask bankers how risky their investments are, then figure out if they have enough capital to absorb the potential losses. more

The New England Council was honored to recently host a discussion of federal immigration policy with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch. These two respected leaders highlighted the critical role that foreign-born workers play in our economy, filling important jobs throughout the work force. more

To the Editor: I am writing this letter in response to an article by Patrick Anderson that ran in Providence Business News recently (“Twenty years on, court ruling changes condo law,” Sept. 10, 2012). more

To the editor: Your Morning Call e-newsletter (“Legal fees mounting in 38 Studios case,” Sept. 18, 2012), prompts several observations. I hope there is enough money for potential recovery to justify the large legal fees involved. Before the state spends any more of our money on this, I think they have an obligation to tell the public how much we might be able to recover. more

In the U.S., “middle class” is not just an income category. It’s a cultural norm. more