Guest MINDSETTER™ Girouard: We Can Only Blame Our Leaders for the Loss of the PawSox
Monday, August 20, 2018
I did not want the PawSox to leave. The PawSox has been part of the fabric of Rhode Island for nearly 50 years. I have many happy memories of watching PawSox games with my children and friends. That said, I strongly feel that the taxpayers (which means the State of Rhode Island) should not have been put at risk again. If there was no risk to the taxpayers, then leadership did a poor job conveying that.
Taxpayers do not trust leadership for all the reasons we place on the table when we debate our leadership’s qualities over a beer. This is why 70% of the electorate was against funding a new PawSox stadium. Actually, they are not against the PawSox, they are against the total lack of transparency that leadership has exhibited on programs like:
38 Studios ... this “shady deal” cost the taxpayers millions and to date, only two-bit players have been placed on the carpet. Really!!!!
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTTruck Tolls ... 60%++ of the electorate believes that cars will be tolled if/when the truckers win the lawsuit. Leadership is hiding behind their belief that they can just toll trucks. This gets the gantries up so that the switch to all vehicles can happen with a flip of the switch if they lose the lawsuit.
RhodeMapRI ... the HUD section 8 housing program was supported by a committee and never solicited a vote from the taxpayers.
Lack of Ethics ... while not a formal program, it certainly appears to be one, and leadership has done a good job here. Just read the papers.
RI’s big government does whatever it wants, with as little discretion for the taxpayer as possible. While leadership wants to keep their power position jobs, they push the envelope as far as possible to drive the economic engine to fund their insatiable appetite to spend. A $9.6bn budget for a state the size of RI with only one million people is ridiculous by any measure.
I do not think that there are many, if any, Triple-A ballparks in the country that are making money. At some point, losses will fall back on the taxpayer despite the promise of $1M in net revenue coming back to the State from the new ballpark. With the expected cost of the ballpark being $85M based on the last funding mechanism, the return of $1M per year certainly raises the question regarding the quality of the investment. Perhaps this is why net worth people like Mr. Ryan and Mr. Murray did not support more of the investment
I am not a believer in the “if you build it, they will come” mentality. RI must change its business culture if our State wants to attract investment. The facts remain that business investment has been minimal, Rhode Island is at risk of losing a house seat after the 2020 census, and most importantly, RI continues to be in the bottom 10% of the business-friendly studies (CNBC, Thumbtack, WalletHub, and the like). Take this low rating coupled with Rhode Island’s abysmal ethics reputation, and you have a State brand that totally discourages investment.
This is why the electorate is not willing to gamble on the PawSox promise. RI Leadership has clearly demonstrated that they are NOT willing to make the changes needed to change the direction of the State ... for example:
They refuse to grant the governor the line item veto (one of only 6 states that does not have this)
They refuse to create an office of Inspector General that will place a watchful eye over the activities of leadership.
They refuse to reduce significant business regulations that would lower the barrier of entry ... this should be easy
As you know, when you are in last place, or near the bottom, the opportunity for dramatic step function improvements are right in front of you. This is true both for a business and a state. The opportunities are there, but you have to have the courage to drive change. Our leadership lacks that courage and, as a result, you see the results.
A shiny new PawSox stadium would have been part of the icing on the cake for Rhode Island, but the cake is very stale and uneatable. The cynic in me says that leadership only wanted the PawSox for one reason, and one reason only >>> union jobs at the ridiculous prevailing wage.
So now the finger pointing starts with leadership as they balance their own personal agendas with their “for the good of Rhode Island” public persona. This blame deflection should be most entertaining. One can only hope that the dissatisfaction of the electorate is reflected in the polls this November.
Related Slideshow: Who Lost the PawSox? August 2018
Related Articles
- EDITORIAL: RI Politics at its Worst — Last Minute Legislation Moving For PawSox Owners
- UPDATED: Grebien Blasts Mattiello and House Over PawSox Failure, Legislation Posted for Thursday
- “This is What the Average Rhode Islander Doesn’t Like,” Says Giarrusso of PawSox Deal on LIVE
- Dickinson Blasts Raimondo Over “Failure to Provide Leadership” on PawSox Legislation
- PawSox Legislation Headed to Raimondo, Brown Calls for Veto
- End of the Session PawSox Battle Continues in House Finance Hearing Tuesday Night
- RI House Approves Record $9.6B Budget, PawSox Bill Posted for Tuesday Hearing, Frias Awaits
- Bishop: PawSox or Not to Sox – That is The Question
- GoLocal Statewide Poll: Just 13% of Rhode Islanders ‘Strongly Support’ Funding the PawSox Stadium
- $18M Developmental Disability Funding Restored, No PawSox in $9.5B House Budget Unveiled Friday
- EDITORIAL: Just “13% Strongly Support” Public Financing for PawSox Stadium
- Whitcomb: Border Wars; Ninth Inning for the PawSox? Kochs Derail Public Transit; Small Real Retail
- UPDATED:Raimondo Signs PawSox Funding Bill — Costs $83M More, Draws Fire from Brown
- Worcester to Make PawSox Announcement, Grebien Tells GoLocal Pawtucket Will Retain Team
- LIVE VIDEO: Worcester’s PawSox Press Conference
- Worcester Chamber Celebrates PawSox Move to Worcester
- PawSox Sign Letter of Intent to Build a Triple-A Ballpark in Worcester
- VIDEO: Pawtucket Councilman Vitali on PawSox Delegation City Hall Visit on Friday
- PawSox Edge Closer to Worcester, What Will Be the Fallout in RI
- PAWSOX: “Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory” - Guest MINDSETTER™ O’Neill
- Moderate Party’s Gilbert Blasts Raimondo, Mattiello Over Use of Eminent Domain for PawSox Stadium
- Did the PawSox Just Tweet that they Reject the Mattiello Legislation?
- Central Falls, PawSox to Honor Baseball Hall of Famer Hemond