Eastbayri.com

Those of you who read last week’s column know that I don’t want to bail out the City of Providence. Its financial problems will go on ad infinitum with statewide taxpayers expected to underwrite its excesses.

Since I last wrote a couple of events have provided a small glimpse into the moral decay of the city.

Councilman Sam Zurier tried to shake down a quadriplegic for a campaign contribution after his sidewalk was fixed so his wheelchair wouldn’t tip over as left home for doctors’ appointments. As the story developed, it was even questionable as to whether the councilman did anything since the homeowner credits the intervention of a former mayor, Joseph Paolino, as the source for the repair.

Then, there’s the saga of Gary Sepe, a city worker and brother of acting public works director, Alan Sepe, who took 16 sheet metal signs and sold them to a scrap yard for $15 in pocket money. He was charged with a misdemeanor only, so he’ll keep his job and pension. No real investigation went into the value of the purloined signs. Say a thief stole $1,000 of your jewelry and sold it to a pawnbroker for $100. The crime is based on the value (a felony in this instance), not on the poor deal the robber made. So, now residents outside of the capital city have to pay for these miscreants’ salaries and benefits.

Gov. Linc Chafee is cheerleading the effort to bail Providence out. Then again, this is expected from a man who wants to charge a 10 percent sales tax on meals. Already Rhode Island is tied for second place for the highest state sales taxes, according to a recent news story in Providence Business News. I suppose the governor wants to be first in something so, if this sales tax passes, we will surpass the “leader” state who’s at 9.75 percent. Hardworking wait staff will get stiffed on full tips. There will, no doubt, be an exodus into neighboring states by those without expense accounts for special occasions.

GoLocalProv reported last week that the state missed a deadline for paying back $243 million in loans from the federal government, but it’s local business owners who will end up paying the penalty. They will be slapped with higher federal employment taxes on top of Mr. Chafee’s new 3 percent tax on businesses that went into effect this year.

So while the poor working stiffs elsewhere in the state are trying to eke out a living, they have to contend with rewarding the profligation of the past. Some legislators, besides the Providence delegation, are blind to the rest of working folks. Rep. John Savage of East Providence, who along with his wife are in the state’s retirement system, has introduced a bill to force all teachers working for mayoral academies like Blackstone Valley Prep in Cumberland, into the pension system so his future payments won’t be jeopardized.

Rep. John Carnevale, a former vice president of his union and who is the recipient of a tax-free disability pension of $45,649, wants teacher contracts to run in perpetuity, thus frustrating any leverage in contract negotiations that don’t increase existing salaries and benefits.

Who are these people who live in their own wonderland and send the tab to you?