Glenn Reynolds
Instapundit
5/2/2012
WALTER RUSSELL MEAD: Another Domino Falls in Dem War on Blue.
The battle against the blue model is heating up in deep-blue Rhode Island. Via Meadia has already covered the struggle at the state level, but the fight is increasingly trickling down to the municipal level as well. The New York Times is reporting that Providence Mayor Angel Taveras, a Democrat, is planning to embark on one of the largest rounds of cuts the city has ever seen.
Insisting that it’s the only way to avoid bankruptcy, Taveras is planning to cut cost-of-living benefits for thousands of city pensioners—a move which will save the city an estimated $16 million in the coming year and will reduce its pension liability by $236 million. This is only the most notable of a group of pension cuts that could save the city a further $26 million next year.
Crucially, these cuts are unlikely to come with tax increases. Despite the ardent wishes of state unions, Taveras is shying away from this favorite blue solution to financial problems.
Reality sometimes sets in.
CAJ note: The young mayor gives us hope for Rhode Island. But don’t worry, America: the union-run sanctuary state, with the aid of ACORN and other progressive groups, will make certain Angel Taveras and State Treasurer Gina Raimondo are run out of office ASAP. Because, even with Ivy League colleges and universities in their midsts, too many voters still can’t quite seem to connect the dots between a bloated Marxist agenda, sky-rocketing taxes, and tanking economies.
