Justin Katz
Bruce Landis had an article in the Sunday Providence Journal with the telling title, “Few, but enthusiastic, riders.” The “few” are people actually taking advantage of the new length of commuter rail to Wickford. The train goes on from Providence to Boston. Data from the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority show monthly rider- ship increasing from…
Justin writes live from the Senate Finance hearing on repealing the Sakonnet River Bridge toll. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…
Economic freedom as the best approach to economic development; what Rhode Island chooses to penalize; the root cause of education decline. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…
Interesting things happen when news producers order wall-to-wall coverage of a storm set to arrive in a day or two and visibility of anything but snow moves toward zero. Over the last twelve hours, two such things came flashing out of the blizzard of pre-blizzard forecasting and caught in my eye via email. The first…
Taxing sweet drinks; collectively bargained legislation; equal pay for unequal merit; Projo promotes the economy; civil rights from heroism to handouts. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…
This month, The American Spectator magazine introduces its readers to Rhode Island’s Independent Governor Lincoln Chafee through a profile by Ethan Epstein in its “Eminentoes”section. The gist of the piece is that Chafee comes from an old-money political dynasty and views political party more as part of a heritage that he, by rights, ought to…
Even if you’ve disagreed with everything I’ve ever written, take a moment to ponder the thinking on display in this Kathy Gregg article. It’s about a study from the left-wing Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy finding that Rhode Island places a high tax burden on lower-income families. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…
Senate bill S0117 is one of those pieces of legislation that disguises its major effect in the description that most people will see (even among the minority of people who actually dig that deeply). The five initial sponsors of the bill are Senators Harold Metts (D, Providence), Elizabeth Crowley (D, Central Falls, Pawtucket), Paul Jabour…
(This essay appears in the January 25, 2013, Providence Journal.) For two years in a row now, The Journal’s article about the first baby born in the new year has contained no mention whatsoever of a father. Studies on the subject are clear that fatherlessness will be a disadvantage to these children, even if they…
Justin liveblogs from the Senate’s “Moving the Needle” Summit.