Rhode Island ranks slightly above the national average in terms of
taxing its citizens — and spending their money, according to a study by
the Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council (RIPEC).
When it comes to providing money for public welfare and public health,
Rhode Island spends significantly more than the national average, and in
the case of public health, the Ocean State leads the nation in spending.
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But when it comes to spending money on public higher education, Rhode
Island continues to exhibit a severe case of “alligator arms,” refusing
to dig deep and registering at far below the national average.
Gary S. Sasse, executive director of RIPEC, said the study reflects
public policy choices — some of them good, some of them questionable.
In terms of revenues, said Sasse, there is a “huge over-dependence on
property taxes.” And while he credited lawmakers with beginning to
address that problem during the past legislative session, it remains a
significant problem. Rhode Island’s property tax burden is about 45
percent over the national average.
“That jumps out at you when you look at the numbers,” Sasse said
As for spending on public higher education, Rhode Island registers at 15
percent below the national average — both per capita and per $1,000 of
personal income.
“The purpose of this data is to raise questions about the priorities of
the state,” said Sasse. “Such as, why aren’t we using more of our wealth
to support higher education?”
That is a question that has been asked repeatedly by University of Rhode
Island President Robert Carothers and other education leaders throughout
the Ocean State. The day after elections earlier this month, a
commitment to higher education was the message Carothers most wanted to
deliver to elected officials.
“Rhode Island’s primary resource for the future is a well educated
workforce,” said Carothers. “We are never going to make it here on
natural resources. Providing continued education is the most important
investment we can make.”
RIPEC’s 1998 edition of the annual publication, Tax and Spending Data
Book: How Rhode Island Compares, provides details on state and local
government revenues and expenditures for fiscal year 1995, the latest
year for which information is available. The Data Book compares Rhode
Island’s revenues and expenditures with those of the other 49 states.
To provide a common basis for comparison among states, RIPEC examined
revenues and expenditures on both a per capita and per $1,000 of
personal income basis. RIPEC did so in an effort to provide two types of
common denominators that account for differences due to the population
of a state (per capita measurement) and the average personal income
level of the state (per $1,000 of personal income).
A straight comparison of Rhode Island’s actual revenues and expenditures
to any other state’s — New York or Massachusetts, for example — would
provide little, if any, useful information given the vast differences in
land area, population and personal wealth. In general, according to
RIPEC, per $1,000 of personal income provides a more useful measure than
per capita for most tax and spending categories.
All general revenues for Rhode Island were $216 per $1,000 of personal
income, compared to a U.S. average of $207, placing the state 21st, 4.4
percent above the national average. In terms of “own source general
revenues” (everything but federal), however, Rhode Island was 4.8
percent below the national average, generating $159 per $1,000 of
personal income, compared to the U.S. average of $167, a ranking of
36th.
Rhode Island expenditures were above the national average, with total
expenditures of $260 per $1,000 of personal income and $5,755 per
capita, compared to the U.S. average of $239 and $5,143 respectively.
This placed Rhode Island 14th on a per $1,000 of personal income basis
and 10th on a per capita basis. Among the six New England states, Rhode
Island government expenditures were ranked first per $1,000 of income
but third per capita.
In several categories, Rhode Island’s overall expenditures hovered near
or slightly above the national average. But when broken down to
specifics — such as public higher education — the numbers display less
of a commitment.
Education expenditures of $67 per $1,000 of personal income were even
with the national average, while the per capita expenditure of $1,477
was $377 above the U.S. average. The state spent approximately $47 per
$1,000 of personal income on elementary and secondary education (ranked
29th), while higher education expenditures of $14.50 per $1,000 of
personal income were below the national average of $17.20 (41st
overall).
Highway expenditures, which include all types of road-related
projects, were $14.58 per $1,000 of personal income, compared to a U.S.
average of $13.65. In per capita terms, Rhode Island spent $322,
compared to the national average of $293. These expenditures placed
Rhode Island 28th and 24th respectively.
Rhode Island led all states in spending for fire protection, with per
$1,000 of personal income expenditures of $5.53 and per capita spending
of $122, compared to a national average of $3.01 and $65 respectively.
The state’s fire protection expenditures were over 83 percent above the
national average — per $1,000 of personal income and per capita.
Police expenditures were on par with the national average, with
spending of $7.12 per $1,000 of personal income and $157 per capita,
compared to the U.S. average of $7.27 and $156. This spending level
placed Rhode Island 16th per $1,000 of personal income and 15th per
capita.
The state ranked 9th in public welfare expenditures per $1,000 of
personal income and 7th per capita, with spending levels of $40.83 and
$902 respectively.
Rhode Island’s public health expenditures ranked 1st in the nation at
$11.17 per $1,000 of personal income compared to the U.S. average of
$6.73. In per capita terms, the state spent $247 (ranked 2nd) compared
to the national average of $145. Public health includes outpatient
health services, other than hospital care; public health administration;
research and education; treatment and immunization clinics;
environmental health activities; and school health and ambulance
services, if provided separately from fire protection services.
“Rhode Island traditionally has provided a broad range of public health
services,” Sasse said.
Dr. Patricia Nolan, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health,
said she was not necessarily surprised that Rhode Island ranked high in
its spending on public health — given the fact that Medicaid programs,
and Rite Care are included.
“Those are big ticket items,” Nolan said some of the other programs,
we’re closer to the middle range.”
