I have spent the past year reading everything I can find on this issue, including the vitriol over at ripolicyanalysis.org, national studies on taxation, and the research produced by the Poverty Institute. I also attended a conference on economic development in the state where they had someone from the Governor’s office making the case that we need to give tax breaks to the rich. The bottom line: this is a sad case of Democrats allowing Republicans to dictate the terms of public policy.

If some rich people get bent out of shape over their taxes and don’t give as much to charity, that’s unfortunate, but most non-profits get a much larger share of their funding from state and federal reimbursement. If some of them get so bent out of shape that they move to Florida, that’s also unfortunate, but it’s not going to make or break us. If we don’t have that $75-100 million in tax dollars available for the state to disburse, non-profits are going to lose much more, and the state as a whole is going to suffer.

Furthermore, this “massage the rich” legislation goes against the fundamental ideals of the Democratic party — the ideals of spreading wealth and prosperity among the greatest number, not further concentrating it among those who are already wealthy. If Democrats in Rhode Island can’t stand up and defeat this legislation, then we need to question what Democrats in Rhode Island actually stand for anymore.

Please use the links below to contact your state Representative and Senator and tell them to vote against this legislation:

To find who your Legislators are, use this page.

List of Rhode Island Representatives Emails

List of Rhode Island Senators Emails

The House is apparently preparing to vote today, so don’t tarry! Here is my email to my State Representative Robert Jacquard. Feel free to copy it and use it for your own.

Dear Representative Jacquard,

I am writing to express my concern with the Rhode Island legislature’s proposal regarding a tax break for the richest residents of our state. I believe this plan will harm our state by reducing the amount of funds available in the state budget.

There is misinformation being floated about how wealthy Rhode Islanders pay more taxes than in neighboring states. In fact, after other tax breaks in the Rhode Island tax code, wealthy Rhode Islanders pay about the same rate of tax as wealthy residents in CT and Mass.

I urge you to stand up and defeat this legislation for the common good of the majority of Rhode Islanders.

Sincerely,

Rhode Island Future has a good post on this issue as well. Perhaps we on the blogs need to form a coalition on this issue. We need to let legislators know that if this giveaway-for-the-rich passes, we will be doing everything we can on the blogs to see that we get some better Democrats in the legislature during the upcoming election.