Gubernatorial candidates Foulkes, Gregerson, Guckian, and McKee speak out at EPI Tax Policy Summit

“The people in this room want our leaders to be moved, to dream, and to make things possible," said EPI executive director Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies.

“What I’m hearing is visionary leadership,” said Weayonnoh Nelson-Davies, executive director of the Economic Progress Institute (EPI), to the audience gathered in the Hotel Providence. “The people in this room want our leaders to be moved, to dream, and to make things possible. We want leaders who can confront affordability and energy costs, but what does that mean when we’re making policy?

“I’m really inspired by the message that we don’t want a Rhode Island where we are surviving, we want a Rhode Island where we can thrive. That is my dream. I’m so competitive. Rhode Island has been my home state since I immigrated to the United States at 16. I want us to win so bad. I want that fire in our guts. We can make everyone jealous because they don’t live in Rhode Island.

“I’m also very grateful to the candidates running for governor who showed up to not just share with us what they think,” concluded Nelson-Davies, “but to listen to what the people they might be leading tomorrow think as well.”

The Economic Progress Institute held the People’s Tax Policy Summit and Gubernatorial Candidates Reception on Wednesday. The event brought together residents, advocates, and state leaders to discuss rising living costs, tax equity, and the state’s financial future. Here’s the video:

Four candidates for governor, including Helena Foulkes, Will Gregerson, Aaron Guckian, and incumbent Daniel McKee, were provided three minutes to address those in attendance. The candidates were introduced by Chelsea Speaks, from the RICJ (Rhode Island for Community and Justice), and Joseph Ortiz, a “Tax Justice Ambassador” with ARISE (Alliance of Rhode Island Southeast Asians).

The following has been edited for clarity.

Helena Foulkes

“It’s been so fascinating to listen to all of this, and I especially love Weayonnah’s call to all of us to be bold. It’s important. It’s easy to think about the barriers, but her challenge to dream big puts us on the map.

“Four years ago, I walked into a room of about 75 carpenters, and I’ll be honest with you, I thought I knew what that conversation was going to be about: wages, job sites, material costs, etc. Then the first man stood up and started talking about childcare. He talked about what it was doing to his family. I looked around the room and watched them nod, one after another, like he was saying out loud what all of them had been experiencing for years. That moment has never left me because that man wasn’t asking for anything special. He was asking for a Rhode Island that works for families like his, and we have not given it to him.

“The cost of infant care in this state is now higher than in-state college tuition and the average rent. The people who have been running this state will tell you we have universal pre-K, but they are not the parents on the waitlist, the ones who, year after year, get a letter that says there’s no more space.

“It’s not universal if it doesn’t apply to everyone. Less than a third of low-income children are enrolled in Head Start or pre-K. That is not a gap. That is a choice the people in charge of our state government have made year after year, with a $15 billion budget at their disposal. That ends with me.

“Earlier today, I announced the Rhode Island Employer Match Childcare Fund, a $20 million pilot that brings the state and Rhode Island employers together to share the cost of childcare. Employers who invest in childcare retain their workers, grow their teams, and build stronger companies. When families win, Rhode Island wins. I’ll expand tax credits for childcare assistance, and by the end of my second term, every Rhode Island family will have access to universal pre-kindergarten, not universal in name, universal in practice. Childcare is only the beginning because the truth is the squeeze does not stop there: Rhode Island is ranked dead last in the country in new housing starts last year. There’s not a single community in this state where a family making $100,000 a year can afford to buy a home.

“I hear it everywhere I go. People who grew up here, want to stay here, and love this state are being told by the cost of living that there’s no room for them anymore. That’s wrong, and it has to stop. My Rhode Island housing program will build 20,000 new homes and apartments that Rhode Islanders can actually afford, and the wealthiest Rhode Islanders will pay for it.

“And we’re done cutting RIPTA one year and then funding it again in an election year. If people can’t afford to live here and can’t afford to get to work, it doesn’t matter how many good jobs we attract or grow. I will invest $15 million in job access transit routes connecting workers to Quonset, hospitals, and other work sites. No one should have to leave a place they love because they can’t afford to stay.

“So here’s what I’m asking of you: Do not let them tell you this is the best we can do. Do not accept taglines that say ‘affordability for all’ when our state is not affordable. Talk to your neighbors, coworkers, and the parents on the wait list. Tell them things can be different.

“Sixteen years ago, I lost my mother to cancer. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through, but before she died, she gathered my siblings and me together, and she said something I’ve always carried with me: ‘Take care of each other.’ That’s why I’m running for governor, because that is what Rhode Island has always been at its best: Neighbors looking out for neighbors and people who show up for each other even when it’s hard. That’s the Rhode Island I believe in, and that is the Rhode Island we’re going to build together.”

Will Gregerson

“Taxation is a powerful tool. Over the past 50 years, U.S. federal and state tax policies have redistributed $79 trillion from workers to the richest 1%. That’s $79 trillion of our money being taken from us and given to people who have more than enough. Rhode Island’s regressive tax system is an example of how such a system works. In our state, the lowest 20% of earners paid 13% of their income in property, sales, and income tax, and the top 1% only pay 9%, which means that the people making the least can never get ahead, and the people making the most have more money they can invest and use to grow their wealth. During the last half-century, tax cuts have depleted federal and state budgets, diverting money from public services and infrastructure, cutting services, and allowing our roads, bridges, sewers, and electrical systems to decay and crumble.

“At this point, so much harm has been done that there’s no easy fix, and the only true remedy is to start fresh with a new tax policy that has a singular focus: reversing and repairing the damage. Tax policy that brings everyone up to a minimum level of wealth comfortably above the poverty line, restores lost wealth, and revitalizes public services and infrastructure by reclaiming what’s been stolen from workers since 1975. And when we rebuild, we can build better and invest in a statewide publicly owned clean energy utility to lower energy prices, a single-payer healthcare system to lower costs and ensure all Rhode Islanders have access to 25,000 units of affordable housing, and a public transportation system that’s effective and reliable. Creating such a policy will require expertise, and as governor, I will hire experts to design one that works.

“I also want to suggest that we do this without the participation of free-market capitalists or the rich. They are the people who put us here. They are responsible for this mess. They tell us they’re important because they’re the job creators, but the truth is that economic activity creates jobs, and while the rich hold onto money, workers spend it, and that spending is what makes our economy dynamic and strong. Workers are the job creators, and the only important people we need are experts and us. We can create opportunity by investing in ourselves, and with the right tax policy, we can build a state where everyone succeeds and prospers.”

Aaron Guckian

“My father and mother grew up in Providence. My father grew up in Washington Park. They went to Hope High School, and they were high school sweethearts. My mom is a retired respiratory therapist, and my father’s a union plumber. I grew up in East Greenwich. I have three beautiful daughters. My wife went to La Salle and was a professor at Johnson & Wales. So we’re very local, and we have deep roots. Right now, I’m running for governor, putting my life on pause.

“In my last job, I was the executive director of the Rhode Island Dental Association. What I always said was, “If you can’t chew, you can’t eat.” Over 500 kids in Providence alone need emergency dental care that requires anesthesia. When we discovered that, I was able to get an intern from my school, Connecticut College, and we worked together. It was a small group. We were very nimble, and we began advocating to Attorney General Peter Neronha. I said to him, early on, ‘If you have any fine money, maybe you could make a difference.’ And boy did we make a difference. A few months back, the announcement was made of over $10 million. I think it was $12 million total, but $10 million has been spent by federally qualified health centers to help these children. In addition, I am very proud to have worked with Juanita Sanchez High School in the Providence Career Technical Academy and to have created an oral health career pathway. We don’t have enough hygienists. And so I connected CCRI, the hygiene school in Lincoln, to Juanita Sanchez.

“We’re building a pipeline. Now, my platform is very simple. I think we’re in the state of ‘toos,’ too many taxes, too many fees, too many speed cameras, and not enough opportunity. I have a very simple platform: Work directly with the union and frontline workers. When they find savings and fixed systems, they get a revenue share. The rest of the money goes toward lowering taxes and fees. [Our state budget has] grown $5 billion in five years. We have $600 million worth of consultants who are outside the state. Let’s work directly with Rhode Island talent. If you have an incentivized workforce, and this is the key component: a twenty-four-seven, 365-day-a-year, anonymous idea portal. If you have ideas, you could be cooking a sandwich at home, yelling at your kids, and saying, ‘Hey, I think I can put some savings in.’ You can put it directly in, and with the power of modern technology, we can fix this up.

Together, I’m very proud to say, we can change the tide. My slogan is ‘Think big.’ I’m a big guy, big ideas, and we’re going to fix the state one big idea at a time.

Daniel McKee

“It’s great to be here and, certainly, to find some of the things we’ve already gotten done during my administration and those we’re going to continue getting done. It’s been a busy day here. We’re working to ensure that the Providence schools go back to local control, for those who haven’t heard that.

“I’ll rattle off some of the things that I think you should know. One is working with KIDS COUNT on the first-ever child tax credit. We put that in our budget, and then, with the additional revenue, we’re expanding that to $650 per child. We’re asking the General Assembly to approve the child tax credit, which is about $90 million and will be distributed annually to families.

“That’s one of the top priorities. We have probably the most progressive tax policy. I think I’m the first governor to put a millionaire’s tax in the budget to help backfill the cuts that came from Trump, and the budget allocates funds to Planned Parenthood and the Food Bank. These are all things we do regularly. $20 million going into backfilling the Trump cuts to the health exchange, which would help 20,000 people if, in fact, the General Assembly approves it.

“We have an executive order that lowered premiums for another 20,000 in the exchange and created the community behavioral health clinics. We signed legislation raising the minimum wage and capping the cost of insulin at $40 per month. There is a long list of things we have accomplished, including Cover All Kids, which was another request that came in and that we’re actually doing now. I think we have about $19 million in the budget to cover all kids’ insurance, regardless of their immigration status.

“We’ve put in historic investments in housing, healthcare, and our new schools. More schools are being built in Rhode Island than ever before. Billions of dollars worth of schools are being constructed right now. Historic investments in our education funding with the additional revenue, and we are asking to put even more dollars in this year to help our communities, especially young families who have financial needs. Millions more dollars are going there and also establishing a path to higher education for everyone in the state, not only the College Promise that I made permanent, but also I’m the one who introduced the Hope Scholarship. I’m asking the General Assembly to approve the Hope Scholarship this year, which will provide a pathway to a very affordable four-year degree for those who choose that path.

“So the work continues. I can tell you, I do need help. I’m working on four things in our budget right now. One of them is to eliminate this Social Security tax so we can help our older adults in our state stay here and pay their bills. We’re one of eight in the country. I put in a strategy that can do it over a three-year timeframe. I’ve asked the General Assembly to accelerate that along with the child tax credit.

“The one I need help with is this issue of energy. People who are paying their energy bills are struggling, and I have a proposal that brings us down to the reality of the new landscape the Trump administration has imposed on us for a billion dollars’ worth of savings. I’m asking the General Assembly to provide us with immediate relief by eliminating the sales tax on our electric bills. We’re talking about well over a billion dollars in savings, and we’re still on track in a realistic way relative to energy costs.

“So that’s what we’re working on. I think I got a lot in three minutes. I’ll certainly be happy to stick around a little bit if anybody has any questions about the particulars.”

Before the event, I was able to talk to Helena Foulkes for a one-on-one interview:

Helena Foulkes: RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transit Authority) is a key part of making sure people can get good-paying jobs, because if they can’t access transportation, they can’t get the job. I met with a lot of people in the manufacturing community who were trying to figure out how to partner with RIPTA to get buses, let’s say, from Central Falls to Quonset. RIPTA has become much more flexible, but you can’t play politics with its funding. We cut $10 million last year. We’re adding $10 million this year. We need a steady, consistent stream.

I saw you at a lot of those RIPTA meetings and rallies. It’s very moving to hear people talk about the impact of a bus line going down. I propose to spend $15 million.

Steve Ahlquist: Is that $15 million to plug the hole in funding, or is it to establish new lines for business commutes?

Helena Foulkes: I think we’ll have to see where this session ends up, and what RIPTA’s funding is this year, so I don’t know. We’ve got to figure out what holes need to be plugged, and we’ll work with the business community to ask, “What are some great-paying jobs people can’t get access to?” Quonset is a great example. Then we could consider partnering with schools to prepare kids for those jobs in Quonset, as Central Falls is doing with its new high school. But I’d like to be practical and start with two or three of them.

Steve Ahlquist: There are big employers in Rhode Island, like the hospitals, universities, and other anchor institutions. Buses do run to these, but sometimes the issue is scheduling.

If you’re a nurse and you get out at 4 am, no buses are running.

Helena Foulkes: That could be an example of how we create innovation. If there are enough shift workers at a certain time, to, for instance, go to the East Bay from Rhode Island Hospital, why not?

Steve Ahlquist: There are very smart people at RIPTA. They could put together that plan. Also, RIPTA is one of the most fiscally responsible state entities in Rhode Island.

Helena Foulkes: Think about all the audits and oversight RIPTA has had, and meanwhile, nothing for RIDOT.

Steve Ahlquist: I think we should put RIDOT under RIPTA, not the other way around. RIPTA doesn’t waste money and creates good union jobs. Properly funded, RIPTA will get people to where they need to go.

Have you heard about the issues we’re having with the paratransit program?

Helena Foulkes: No.

Steve Ahlquist: Paratransit is a special program for low-income people with disabilities to get rides where they need to, outside regular bus lines. When the governor and legislature cut RIPTA funding and bus lines, paratransit applications went way up.

Helena Foulkes: Interesting.

Steve Ahlquist: People who were previously making do with regular bus routes needed to apply for paratransit, adding a bunch more rides to a much more expensive program.

Helena Foulkes: So shortsighted...

Steve Ahlquist: Apparently, paratransit is an unfunded mandate, meaning RIPTA has to provide this service. So an increasing amount of RIPTA funding goes to Uber or a taxi service to get paratransit riders where they need to go. It’s penny-wise, pound-foolish. These unexpected things happen when you arbitrarily cut programs.

Helena Foulkes: This is going to happen with Medicaid. Look what Trump’s doing.

Steve Ahlquist: I know.

Helena Foulkes: If we kick all these people off of Medicaid, they’re going to end up in the emergency rooms.

Steve Ahlquist: Everybody is going to feel that. It doesn’t matter how rich you are. If you can’t get into the hospital because it’s overburdened, you can’t get to the hospital.

Helena Foulkes: Exactly right.

Steve Ahlquist: Thank you for your time.