Pretend that you are researching whether you should bring your business to Rhode Island. You obviously are assessing your chances of making a profit, whether your children can get a great education, and the quality of life you’d have here. A look at the legislature would certainly deter you from getting to the quality of life issue.

The Senate Labor Committee is now headed by Senator Frank Ciccone III. As reported by Katherine Gregg of the Providence Journal (1/21/19), just last year this committee handled legislation that dealt with proposed changes to police, fire, and municipal arbitration laws, labor-management conflicts over eligibility for overtime, a proposed minimum wage hike, and Senator Ciccone’s then “healthy workplace” bill. He has held various posts with the Laborers International Union of North America. He is a consultant for Local 808 and he does negotiations for the Local with municipalities. How do you say “a hatchet over the heads” of town leaders?

He, of course, sees no problems of conflict any more than labor leader and Senate President Dominic Ruggerio sees any conflict in appointing him. Mr. Ciccone certainly has overdosed on pensions which, to date, number five, since he is a recipient of a pension from the state, from the City of Providence, the LIUNA Staff and Affiliates Pension Fund, the Rhode Island Laborers Pension Fund, and the LIUNA National Industrial Pension Fund. His legislative pension, going back to 2002 when he started to serve, will give him another pension boost.

In doing your research you would also see that Senator Valerie Lawson, a schoolteacher and vice president of the National Education Association, also serves on the Labor Committee. All these folks invoke the very narrow ethics decision that says that they can’t vote on anything that personally affects only them, but it is ok to vote on anything of which you are a member because there is a group that is benefitting besides you. Imagine if you are a business person going to testify before this panel?

Throw in for good measure that there are no uniform standards for education that are enforced. A few years back Rhode Island did adopt “Common Core standards” but little policing happened as to whether the standards are the focus of local education. Massachusetts will take over a low performing school but Rhode Island won’t intervene. Add in the acknowledgment by the Commissioner of Education that Rhode island’s curriculum is “totally incoherent ”which not only varies from district to district but from school to school in the same district then you will have your answer: Any forward thinking executive will look elsewhere to locate his/her business.

This conclusion as to whether to do business here is an obvious one so the solons on Smith Hill have to see it, too. Yet, the inescapable conclusion is that they don’t give a hoot since they are all about enriching themselves using your dollars. Rhode Island voters have obviously been domesticated to accept these slings of outrageous fortune since they send back the same people time and time again to fleece them. It’s no wonder that we don’t attract new medium sized businesses or keep our children here for work. It is acceptable to bid adieu to Johnny because the citizens have been beaten down to submission.

Arlene Violet is an attorney and former Rhode Island Attorney General.