Can RI gets its econ-development act together?

re: Can RI gets its econ-development act together?

Ian — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:23:49 GMT

It'd be great to go out on the boat again! I agree with your point, and hopefully the effort to promote "green jobs," which I've written about previously in the Phoenix, will also yield dividends.

re: Can RI gets its econ-development act together?

John Torgan — Fri, 23 May 2008 17:05:57 GMT

Thanks for the clarification, Ian. I don't disagree. What frustrates me is that the conservative pundits seem to think that the only real economic development comes from industrial mega-projects. What they miss is that our best economic and cultural assets are the Bay and the southern coast. We haven't found a way to really measure that value accurately. Industrial development is important, but it would be foolish to pursue it at the expense of the environment and the character of our coastal communities. Let me know if you want to take another boat ride to discuss this! Best regards, John

re: Can RI gets its econ-development act together?

Joe Bernstein — Fri, 23 May 2008 03:55:52 GMT

Ira Magaziner was the key player in Hillary Clinton's Star Chamber group that was going to re-do the health care system in the US.I moved to RI in 1984 and didn't vote that year so I had no voice on the Greenhouse Compact.Magaziner makes me distrustful because I think he is somewhat of an elitist who knows "what's best' for us "little people".Health care is not a national security issue where secrecy can be justified-it is an issue that IS the business of each and every one of us.Health care is the great common issue-most of us will get sick and all of us will die,mostly from illness.

re: Can RI gets its econ-development act together?

Ian — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:51:53 GMT

John, Yes, I oversimplified the port issue in handling it with a brief mention, but the larger point remains true -- that NIMBYism does stand in the way of a variety of economic improvements.

re: Can RI gets its econ-development act together?

John Torgan — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:26:15 GMT

Oh, come on, Ian! I can't believe that you think the Quonset container port was a needed infrastructure improvement killed by NIMBYism. The truth is that it was a speculative venture that proved to have no backing from private industry once people started asking questions. It would have wasted hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, messed up the Bay, and for whose benefit? I've learned to live with that kind of revisionist history from some of your competitors, but I expect better from you. JT