Editorials

Sales tax
At least two bills have been introduced in the General Assembly to lower the state sales tax from 7 to 5 percent. We’re concerned, because by all accounts our state sales tax – when you take into consideration the items that are exempt – is among our most competitive taxes.

We do understand the perception is that with a 7 percent sales tax we are among the highest in the nation. But with the exemptions, and with the absence of any city sales tax on top of the state tax, our sales tax becomes competitive.

Before we consider cutting any revenue stream, we need to be sure that we are staying the course on the tax cutting measures passed last year – the phase-out of the inventory and automobile property taxes.

If perception is important, maybe a compromise is to eliminate some of the exemptions so the sales tax rate might be lowered, but the income would be constant.

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We just think that before considering a reduction in sales tax revenue we consider the impact it will have on the programs that were initiated by the legislature last year.

Job Corps
It has been a long time coming, but news that the U.S. Department of Labor has decided to fund a Job Corps program in Rhode Island – a $15 million endeavor – is welcome on several fronts.

Not only will the program serve as a second chance for some of Rhode Island’s most troubled young people, it will breathe life into the defunct Ladd Center in Exeter, where it will be located.

Nationwide, the federal Job Corps program has served some two million young people aged 16 to 24 over the last 35 years. Rhode Island is one of only four states – along with New Hampshire, Delaware and Wyoming – that does not have such a program in place.

The center is expected to serve 250 to 300 youths annually. It should be built within the next two years. The labor department will fund its $4 million to $5 million yearly budget.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said he is pleased that the stigma of being one of only four states without such a program will be removed – and that the state’s troubled young people will have access to the federal program.

Such programs are in demand.

The federal program serves about 68,000 young people annually. And according to Reed’s office, some 16,000 youths in Rhode Island are poor, while Providence’s high school dropout rate is 10th highest in the nation.

The participants selected to join the program must pledge to stay sober and apply themselves. Those who fail to do these things are removed. Students typically stay for seven months. They learn work skills – and often earn a high school equivalency.

We hope they emerge from the program as skilled workers, with a new lease on life and determination to contribute in a positive way to society.

Why 2K?
We think there should be a sense of concern whether your company, organization, state or local government is properly addressing Y2K computer issues. We think there should be concern, but not panic.

There seems to be a growing sense of alarm among some, such as Deutsche Bank Securities Chief Economist Dr. Ed Yardeni, that there is a real chance the world as we know it will come to an end at midnight on Dec. 31. Maybe not that dramatic, but Yardeni predicts a 70 percent chance of a global recession, while others envision blackouts, brownouts and no-fly zones.

There is also a growing chorus that suggests the result will be more inconvenience than disaster.

If you do what must be done – an assessment of your system, communication with vendors and customers, resolving your particular computer issues, and developing a contingency plan- then at worst what you’ll likely face is merely inconvenience.

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