State of Rhode Island Archives: on Budget & Economy
Barry Hinckley:
Our children have to pay back the debt; it's a train wreck
Whitehouse slammed the debt reduction plan proposed in the House by Vice Presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan. "The Ryan budget is disastrous," said Whitehouse, who maintained it balanced the budget on the backs of middle-class
Americans, while shielding the rich. When asked what measures he would support, Whitehouse said eliminating $4 trillion over the next 10 years; with $2 trillion in cuts and $2 trillion in revenues, or tax increases. "Republicans have not identified
one single loophole in the tax code they would get rid of," Whitehouse said.Hinckley criticized Whitehouse, "If you don't like it, mark it up and send it back. This is an all-hands-on-deck situation."
Hinckley then criticized the Bush and Obama administrations, calling them both "train wrecks." "My children are going to have to pay this back," he said.
Source: WPRI Eyewitness News on 2012 R.I. Senate debate
Oct 23, 2012
Lincoln Chafee:
Pork barrel accounts for 1% of the budget, and is requested
LAFFEY: I think of the $27 billion of pork barrel spending that goes on in this country every year and I think of how we could buy textbooks with it, how we could use the money for other more important purposes. Rhode Island does not benefit it because
while $150 million of pork barrel projects coming back to Rhode Island in the next four for five years, we had to spend $223 million to get the bridge to nowhere up in Alaska for 50 people. It's a wrong policy.CHAFEE: $27 billion in a $2.5 trillion
budget, that's 1% of the budget. If you're saying I'm going down to reform all our financial problems, it's in 1% of the budget. Every year I send a letter to every city and town, the town manager, the mayor, the president of the city council and ask
how can I help you in your neighborhoods? They write back, I then submit those requests to the subcommittee. That goes to the Senate full committee, then to the House. It gets signed by the President. Then it becomes law. So it's a long process.
Source: 2006 R.I. Republican Senate Primary debate (x-ref Laffey)
Aug 24, 2006
Luis-Daniel Munoz:
Invest in micro-businesses with path towards livable wage
Economic Opportunity! - Stand up to institutions that take more from municipalities, more than they contribute to those municipalities
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Invest in micro-businesses in unique ways that align with retraining programs and a path towards a livable wage
Source: 2021 R.I. Governor campaign website LuisDanielMunoz.com
Jun 7, 2021
Mark Zaccaria:
Do the right thing and cut pork, then cut all expenditures
The fastest acting and best long term policy action the federal government could take would be to lower its expenditures. This would lower the amount of money diverted from the productive economy to less efficient uses.
Doing that, however, is a lot more difficult than it sounds. Since government is a political institution there's always the temptation to cut spending right after the pork is brought home this time.
It's a problem that has plagued legislators of all parties.It's time to start some buzz around the idea of 'Doing the Right Thing' for the economy.
We fought a 50 Year Cold War to determine what the dominant political philosophy would be here on Earth, and Capitalism won. So it is incumbent on the world's largest economy to apply that political philosophy effectively.
Source: 2008 R.I. House campaign website, markz4ri.org, "Q&A"
Nov 6, 2008
Sheldon Whitehouse:
Grow the economy from the middle class out
Whitehouse said it was vital to grow the economy from the middle class out. He said he'd continue to focus on innovation, manufacturing and infrastructure to help revive the economy; pointing to federal funding for construction projects and a new crane
and pier at Quonset. "[The recovery's] been painfully slow," Whitehouse said. "That's why we need to do something that will create jobs. The easy thing is infrastructure. Rhode Island is one of the worst states in infrastructure."
Source: WPRI Eyewitness News on 2012 R.I. Senate debate
Oct 23, 2012
Stephen Laffey:
Pork barrel spending does not benefit Rhode Island
LAFFEY: I think of the $27 billion of pork barrel spending that goes on in this country every year and I think of how we could buy textbooks with it, how we could use the money for other more important purposes. Rhode Island does not benefit it because
while $150 million of pork barrel projects coming back to Rhode Island in the next four for five years, we had to spend $223 million to get the bridge to nowhere up in Alaska for 50 people. It's a wrong policy.CHAFEE: $27 billion in a $2.5 trillion
budget, that's 1% of the budget. If you're saying I'm going down to reform all our financial problems, it's in 1% of the budget. Every year I send a letter to every city and town, the town manager, the mayor, the president of the city council and ask
how can I help you in your neighborhoods? They write back, I then submit those requests to the subcommittee. That goes to the Senate full committee, then to the House. It gets signed by the President. Then it becomes law. So it's a long process.
Source: 2006 R.I. Republican Senate Primary debate on WPRI
Aug 24, 2006
Stephen Laffey:
Pay for entitlement programs by keeping taxes low
Wouldn't it be better 30 years from now to have $100 trillion in national assets in a $29 trillion economy by keeping the taxes low and allowing capitol to flow freely? That's how we'll pay ultimately for any of these entitlement programs.
Source: 2006 R.I. Republican Senate Primary debate on WPRI
Aug 24, 2006
Stephen Laffey:
Cut corporate welfare and sink the 600 page tax code
We need to cut the $27 billion of pork barrel projects that's wasteful to our country, and cut the 125 to $150 billion of corporate welfare. Sink the large sugar producers in our country getting $2.5 billion of corporate welfare every year. Sink the
60,000 page tax code. We need to eliminate & cut the nonmilitary discretionary spending by not increasing it. That is about $63 billion so there's $250 billion of cuts that can happen that don't touch our military that we can use to help our economy grow
Source: 2006 R.I. Republican Senate Primary debate on WPRI
Aug 24, 2006
Helena Foulkes:
A strong supporter of the line-item veto, accountability
Helena is a strong supporter of good government measures, particularly the line-item veto. Rhode Island is currently one of only six states without a line-item veto, preventing full accountability in our government.
Helena has also called for a public audit of all state spending of federal relief dollars. From her career in business, she knows that accountability is critical, and she is committed to bringing more transparency to state government.
Source: 2022 R.I. Gubernatorial campaign website HelenaFoulkes.com
Oct 3, 2022
Dan McKee:
Quarter billion dollar investment in creating more housing
Housing is one of the most critical issues facing Rhode Island today and over the next decade. That's why our Administration proposed a once-in-a-generation, quarter-billion dollar investment in creating and supporting more housing at all income levels.
We have over $90 million in funding from the historic $250 million available for developers. And 39 projects have already been funded that are anticipated to create or preserve over 1,000 units of affordable housing.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the R.I. legislature
Jan 17, 2023
Dan McKee:
$2B for 137 state infrastructure projects moving forward
The budget surplus and economic stimulus funding from the federal government has put us in a position to make a record-setting investment in Rhode Island and in the people of Rhode Island. In addition to economic development projects happening
across the state through public and private partnerships over the next several years, we will also have 137 state infrastructure projects totaling nearly $2 billion moving forward.
Source: 2023 State of the State Address to the R.I. legislature
Jan 17, 2023
Dan McKee:
$100M housing production bond, largest in state history
In addition to the new housing tools passed last year, the budget I'll propose will call for a $100 million housing production bond on the ballot. This would be the largest housing production bond in our state's history. And we're going to ensure that--
if approved by the voters--these dollars will create more inventory and help put young people on a path to homeownership in our state. We know that homeownership is one of the top ways to build generational wealth. Let's get it done.
Source: 2024 State of the State Address to the R.I. legislature
Jan 17, 2024
Dan McKee:
Won't sign budget objecting to new taxes and fees
Criticizing the "unnecessary" taxes and fees in lawmakers' 2026 budget, McKee announced that he will not sign the
$14.3 billion tax-and-spend plan. "This is not a time to be putting fees and additional taxes on the working families in the state of Rhode Island," McKee said. "I am drawing a line in the sand. We need to have a great deal more fiscal responsibility."
Source: R.I.Current, "FY26," on 2026 Rhode Island Gubernatorial race
Jun 25, 2025
Helena Foulkes:
State budget added new fees, raised taxes, failed to plan
Blasting the state's leadership broadly for "incompetence" and bureaucracy," she took aim at its bloated spending, including the $14.3 billion fiscal 2026 budget. "Last session, our leaders did what Rhode Island has done for years,"
Foulkes said. "Tape together a budget, add some new fees and raise taxes, throw in an accounting gimmick or two, make some insiders and lobbyists happy. Fail to be accountable. Fail to plan."
Source: R.I. Current, "Lizzo," on 2026 Rhode Island Governor race
Sep 9, 2025
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026