No elected official wants to make decisions that could cost people their jobs, or funding needed to carry out valued community services. Such responsibility is part of the downside of public service that not everyone is cut out for.
Do Rhode Island’s state leaders have the stomach – and good judgment – to make those tough decisions in the middle of a pandemic that could leave the state with a deficit in the hundreds of millions of dollars? On Sept. 11 they announced that voters should expect to wait until after the November election to find out.
House Speaker Nicholas A. Mattiello, Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio and Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, all Democrats, said the General Assembly will hold a special session in November to vote on this fiscal year’s budget.
As they have said for several months now, they’re waiting to see whether Congress will provide more COVID-19-related aid to states.
The tiny House Republican caucus was quick to pounce, calling the decision by Democratic leaders “an abdication … of their basic responsibilities” to citizens. While such accusations during budget season are typically little more than political theater, in this case they’re right.
There’s no reason Gov. Raimondo and the General Assembly can’t hammer out a broad budget plan, as most other states have done, before getting the final word on a federal bailout. And they will know the answer on the latter long before November.
The only clear message state lawmakers are sending is that they aren’t willing to stand up and lead when voters are positioned to hold them accountable.
