Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) passed away last week. His funeral was earlier today. There weren’t many issues that TPA agreed with Elijah Cummings on, but we did agree on whistleblower protection and criminal justice reform. Whistleblowers are a critical part of making government better…and saving money. Rep. Cummings also worked on criminal justice reform and reached across the aisle to get the First Step Act passed and signed by President Trump. The First Step Act will ultimately save taxpayer dollars, but more importantly, it will help people convicted of low-level drug offenses, as well as elderly and terminally-ill patients. Rest in Peace Rep. Cummings, and let’s hope more members of Congress reach across the aisle to solve problems.
Rhode Island Lottery Contract – Big Trouble in Little Rhode Island
I really hope you get the movie reference from Big Trouble in Little China starring Kurt Russell. It’s a great movie. What’s not great is what’s happening in Rhode Island. TPA released a report criticizing Rhode Island for a costly no-bid crony contracting process that will determine the future management of the Rhode Island Lottery. The current technology and video-slot producer International Game Technology PLC (IGT) is requesting a twenty-year contract extension without competing proposals by rival companies. TPA’s report finds that a more competitive bidding approach would save the state more than $1 billion over 12 years.
Oh, and there’s political intrigue. Gov. Gina Raimondo’s repeated advocacy on behalf of IGT, which currently manages the Rhode Island Lottery, is curious…to say the least. Well, until you connect the dots. Former IGT executive Donald Sweitzer has been given free reign as a lobbyist around the State House to broker deals with Gov. Raimondo on behalf of his former employer. Sweitzer, who earns $7,500 per month trying to nab a favorable deal for IGT, works closely with the Democratic Governors Association. And, guess who is the DGA’s chairwoman? Yes, Gov. Raimondo. Does this all make sense now? The cronyism makes sense, but the deal is still a mess. Listening to Gov. Raimondo, blindly accepting IGT’s proposed twenty-year contract extension is the only way to keep 1,100 jobs in state and manage services in a cost-effective way. But, according to our research, the state would stand to lose more than $1 billion over the next 12 years by eschewing alternative, more competitive proposals. One key issue identified by the report is the lack of productivity with IGT gaming machines due to the complacency fostered by the current no-bid contracting regime. Analyzing state documents, TPA found that IGT machines generated on average over $20,000 less in tax revenue for the state than the company’s competitors.
TPA’s report doesn’t pick winners or losers in this contract. What we are saying is that over the next twelve years, hard-working Rhode Island residents would see more than $1 billion in increased revenues if policymakers reject a lopsided, 20-year stint with IGT. We want competition. Is that too much to ask for?
Cincinnati Blues
Former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer (yes, that Jerry Springer) tried to pay for an escort with a check and the Cincinnati Streetcar is an absolute boondoggle, so the city has had its fair share of disappointment. What do you do when things are bad? Well, of course, make them worse. County commissioners want to build a musical venue on Cincinnati’s waterfront, and they’ll even spend $30 million in hard-earned taxpayer money to help make that project a reality. There’s just one problem: there’s already another musical venue under construction right across the river in Newport, Kentucky. Evidently, it didn’t occur to officials that having two practically neighboring buildings serving virtually the same purpose may be a tad wasteful. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and the Cincinnati City Council are trying their best to take a stand against this disastrous project, but for now the county holds all the cards. Taxpayers and music-goers across the region deserve a less costly approach that will keep musicians coming to the Queen City.
This is more of a warning for other cities because most Cincinnatians are probably aware of the ugly political fighting over musical venues in and around their city. The hoopla was born out of an-already skewed deal with the National Football League’s Cincinnati Bengals, which entitles the organization to a certain level of tailgate parking even if it comes out of the taxpayers’ wallet. But it’s hard to know just how bad the 2018 stadium lease agreement really was, because Hamilton County has been intent on keeping it a secret from residents. Six months after The Cincinnati Enquirer requested to see emails and documents related to the deal, the county government obliged…by releasing completely redacted documents.
But Cincinnati residents do know this much: if Hamilton County and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra get their way and build a new musical venue next to Paul Brown Stadium, county taxpayers would have to spend $30 million to purchase land currently owned by Hilltop Concrete. The land currently owned by Hilltop would then be used by the Bengals for additional parking, and in exchange, the Bengals would allow for the music venue to be built right next to their stadium. As Mayor Cranley has pointed out, this would likely cause Hilltop to move to the West Side of the city, which would pose significant environmental issues for the areas working-class residents and lead to long-run healthcare issues that taxpayers would need to address.
Stay tuned because, since TPA’s op-ed on the issue was published in the Enquirer, we have been hearing about even more intrigue in Cincinnati and stories of other taxpayer-financed music venues competing with privately-funded ones.
Blogs:
Monday: Watchdog Releases Report Slamming Rhode Island No-Bid Contract Proposal
Tuesday: Watchdog Praises Plan for Chief Pharmaceutical Negotiator
Thursday: Study Committee Delivers on Bold New Healthcare Plan
Friday: New York City’s Proposed Menthol Ban is a Bust
Media:
October 20, 2019: FEE ran TPA’s op-ed, “Gas Prices Expected to Rise in 2020—Thanks to an Obscure UN Regulator.”
October 21, 2019: AdvancedTelevision quoted (actually misquoted) TPA in their article, “CBA: “FCC auction could take 13 years.”
October 21, 2019: The Financial Times mentioned TPA in their story, “Creditors and politicians spar over Venezuela’s oil industry jewel Citgo.”
October 22, 2019: I appeared on WBOB Radio (600 AM and 101 FM; Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about gas taxes and a minimum wage increase.
October 22, 2019: Values4Europe ran TPA’s op-ed, “Poland Must Dig Their Way Out of Mining Cronyism.”
October 22, 2019: Townhall ran TPA’s op-ed, “Smarter, Fairer Tax Policies Can Drive U.S.-Poland Friendship Forward.”
October 23, 2019: The Center Square ran TPAF investigative journalist Johnny Kampis’ op-ed, “NBA’s Warriors open play in the rare privately funded arena.”
October 23, 2019: Townhall ran TPAF investigative reporter Johnny Kampis’ op-ed, “FCC Works to Create Better Broadband Coverage Maps as Analysts Debate Adoption Rates.”
October 23, 2019: Puls Biznesu (Warsaw, Poland) mentioned TPA in their article, “Marchand: Polska powinna odrzucić błędną politykę podatkową.”
October 23, 2019: PCh24.pl mentioned TPA in their article, “Amerykanie chcą dostępu do polskiej miedzi. Wszystko w imię ‘przyjaźni.’”
October 23, 2019: Bibula (Poland) mentioned TPA in their article, “Amerykanie chcą dostępu do polskiej miedzi. Wszystko w imię ‘przyjaźni.’”
October 24, 2019: Catalyst ran TPA’s op-ed, “Study Committee Delivers on Bold New Healthcare Plan.”
October 24, 2019: Providence Journal (Providence, RI) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Reject the Crooked Gaming Contract.”
October 24, 2019: WBFF (Fox, Baltimore) interviewed me about Rep. Elijah Cummings’ work on bipartisan issues.
October 24, 2019: Salon24 (Poland) mentioned TPA in their article, “Amerykański ekspert: Polski podatek miedziowy blokuje rozwój.”
Have a great weekend, and as always, thanks for your continued support.
Best,
David Williams
President
Taxpayers Protection Alliance
1401 K Street, NW
Suite 502
Washington, D.C. xxxxxx
www.protectingtaxpayers.org
