The greatest threat to our future and the future of our children is the ever-increasing financial demands placed upon us in the form of taxes. We live at a time when increasing property taxes are forcing those living on fixed incomes out of their homes. The rest of us have seen property taxes take a larger and larger share of our income with an end that is not in sight. The career politicians will tell you that property taxes are a local matter, that there is nothing they can do -- you can’t expect help from Smith Hill.

“Everywhere you look at Rhode Island’s tax system, you come to the conclusion that it’s out of balance, because it’s overly weighted on the property tax,” according to Gary Sasse, president of the Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council.

Property taxes, coupled with state income taxes, state sales taxes, special meals taxes and variety of fees are sapping the financial strength of our citizens at an alarming rate. Our cities are in crisis, and while this may seem remote, the taxpayers of district 71 will be asked, again, to pay the bill.

According to the Providence Journal the number of public employees in Rhode Island increased 11.7% from 1990 to 2000, despite small population growth. Only two states increased public-sector employment at a faster clip.

The Democrats, have created a Rhode Island where public sector pay is 32% higher than pay in the private sector and yet these same employees are not required to make any contributions to health insurance.

Nationally, private-sector employees, including you and me, pay an average 26% of the cost of their health insurance.

These same career politicians on Smith Hill will tell you that they need more of your money to pay for essential government services. While some of the spending on government serves necessary public needs, too much is wasted satisfying the demands of special interests and unions.

My promise to you is to work to reign in waste, make your government accountable and disregard the endless demands of the special interests on Smith Hill. In Rhode Island we have a democrat leadership that has grown over the last 53 years of single party dominance into a monster. They are ravenous for power, masters at patronage and hidden deals, unconcerned with wasteful spending—leaders with no political soul.

We must have accountable government working to not just halt the growth in local property tax but to drive these taxes down. If you believe that we need to make our government accountable, ensure that every dollar spent benefits every Rhode Islander and see to it that the special interests and the labor unions don’t eat us out of house and home, then we need to elect leaders to vote with you and not the majority on the hill.