List of Lasts: RI Worst State in 19 Different Rankings

Calling it “a shameful failure of public policy and political leadership”, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity today published a List of Lasts RI, based on its revealing 2014 Report Card on RI Competitiveness, which was released last week. The List of Lasts documents (19) distinct categories where the Ocean State ranks last, either nationally or regionally, in various national performance indices, as of the spring of 2014.

“Our elected officials keep telling us how they’re moving our state forward, yet we’ve fallen to the bottom of the class in an shockingly high number of subjects,” commented RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity CEO Mike Stenhouse. “Rhode Island has all the characteristics to be an A+ state, yet our political class keeps failing us.”

Rhode Island’s Lists of Lasts (6) National Lasts:

• CNBC saddles the Ocean State with the WORST CLIMATE FOR BUSINESS
• The Federal Government ranks RI as suffering from the HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
• 247 Wall Street ranks our state as having the HIGHEST LEVEL OF SPREADING THE WEALTH; or taxpayer funded income redistribution.
• A Reason Foundation report rates RI as being hampered with the MOST DEFICIENT BRIDGE SYSTEM
• CNBC also handicaps RI as enduring the WORST TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE state in the nation
• RI is burdened with the HIGHEST NUMBER OF HEALTH INSURANCE MANDATES, per the Council for Affordable Health Insurance

New England Lasts: In addition to the above (6) categories, Rhode Island also ranks last in New England in (13) more categories:

• Business Tax Climate
• Sales Tax Rate
• Estate Tax Exemption
• Economic Freedom Index
• State Lawsuit Climate
• Unemployment Tax Rate
• High School Graduation Rate
• 4th Grade Reading Scores (NAEP)
• 4th Grade Math Scores (NAEP)
• Municipal Worker Compensation (vs. private sector)
• State & Local Pension Liabilities
• Medicaid Payments (per enrollee)
• Overall Freedom

NOTE: All citations and sourcing can be found on the 2014 Report Card on RI Competitiveness.

Stenhouse continued, “This November, voters should hold accountable those legislators they feel contributed to these dismal rankings. Hopefully, in 2015, we will see a new public policy culture on Smith Hill.”

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