In The News
All documents are in downloadable PDF format
Five Questions With: Linda Katz (Providence Business News, 12.26.11)
As policy director at The Poverty Institute, Linda Katz often plays an important, behind-the-scenes role in evaluating the impacts and outcomes of health care policy decisions on the most vulnerable Rhode Islanders. Providence Business News asked Katz to share her views about the changing landscape of health care in Rhode Island in 2012.
Critics Question State’s $144 Million Tax Credit Program (GoLocalProv, 12.21.11)
Brewster said proven outcomes are what her organization is looking for. She said the yearly reporting that should have been happening all along will add transparency to the process.
R.I. subsidies’ standards rank 8th (Providence Business News 12.15.11)
Locally, in 2008, The Poverty Institute and other accountability groups won “significant transparency reforms which require reporting on job creation, wage rates and fringe benefits as well as disclosure of economic impact statements on subsidies and the creation of a Unified Economic Development Budget. The recipient reporting was put into effect but the other provisions remain unfulfilled,” Good Jobs First said.
Report on R.I.'s Global Medicaid Waiver Finds $22M in Savings (Providence Business News 12.14.11)
Linda Katz, the policy director at The Poverty Institute, said the Lewin Group report supported what advocates had been saying about the Global Waiver from the beginning. “Most everything that the waiver purported to bring about could have been done without the Global Waiver,” Katz said. “The trend moving seniors and people with disabilities to provide more options in the community instead of nursing facilities was something that was underway before the Global Waiver was announced.”
Expert: COLA freeze won’t strain RI budget’s social safety net (Ted Nesi, WPRI, 10.26.11)
One argument made by state Sen. Frank Ciccone and other opponents of the Raimondo-Chafee bill’s extended freeze on cost-of-living adjustments is that lawmakers may rob Peter to pay Paul, as impoverished retirees wind up on the rolls of state welfare programs. But that concern is a red herring, according to Linda Katz.
PowerPlayer: The Poverty Institute’s Kate Brewster (GoLocalProv, 10.24.11)
This week’s PowerPlayer is the Poverty Institute’s Kate Brewster. Ms. Brewster was kind enough to chat will GoLocalProv about the state’s most pressing issues and the work she is doing to address them.
Is Rhode Island Failing its Children?(Golocalprov.com, 10.14.11)
“Research shows that childhood poverty has a profound impact on a child’s physical, emotional, and educational outcomes leading into adulthood,” commented Kate Brewster, Executive Director of The Poverty Institute.
Business Talk with Frank Colletta (WJAR/NBC, 10.5.11)
Kate Brewster of The Poverty Institute says Census figures understate the number of Rhode Islanders living below the poverty line.
Five Questions With: Kate Brewster (Providence Business News, 10.1.11)
HousingWorksRI last week released a report showing that affordable housing remains out of reach for Rhode Islanders in 30 of the state’s 39 communities. Kate Brewster discusses the impact of housing costs on residents.
More Rhode Islanders Fall Below Poverty Level (Providence Journal, 9.23.11)
Struggling with a lingering recession and high unemployment, more Rhode Islanders fell below the poverty line last year, according to new census figures released Thursday.
Linda Katz, Poverty Institute co-founder and policy director, named to Governor-appointed Health Benefits Exchange Board
Governor Chafee has issued an Executive Order establishing the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange, one of the state’s first steps toward providing health insurance for all Rhode Islanders. The Governor has also established a board to oversee the project, and we are proud to have our Policy Director Linda Katz, and one of our board members, Peter Lee, named as members of this board.
Click here to read articles from The Providence Journal and GoLocalProv.com.
Executive Order: Chafee Establishes Health Exchange (GoLocalProv, 9.18.11)
Governor Chafee has issued an Executive Order establishing the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange. In addition to establishing the Exchange, the Governor appointed a board that will oversee the project, including Poverty Institute's Policy Director Linda Katz, and Poverty Institute board member Peter Lee, President & CEO of John Hope Settlement House.
One in Eight Rhode Islanders Lack Health Insurance (GoLocal Prov 9.15.11)
"We know that uninsured individuals have a harder time accessing care, have poorer health outcomes and a harder time paying for basic necessities because of medical bills. The high numbers of uninsured in Rhode Island and across the nation can only be remedied if policy makers at the state and federal levels maintain a strong and comprehensive Medicaid program and keep the promise of the Affordable Care Act,” said Linda Katz, Policy Director of The Poverty Institute.
RI poverty rate highest in New England (WRNI, 9.14.11)
"Rhode Island especially needs to make some bold investments in workforce development training so we can improve the skills of our workers and and our state's ability to attract and retain well paying jobs," [Kate Brewster] says.
Despite Recession, RI Kids Maintained Health Insurance Coverage (Providence Business News 9.14.11)
The number of Rhode Islanders under the age of 65 lacking health insurance increased by 8,000 in 2009-2010, according to The Poverty Institute's analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures. Roughly 119,000 – one out of eight Rhode Islanders – had no health coverage in 2009-2010, according to Jennifer Leigh, the Poverty Institute's communications director. Yet, the state’s RIte Care and RIte Share programs for children and parents may have prevented the number of uninsured from growing even larger.
Hikes in RIte Care, RIte Share premiums criticized (Providence Journal 8.26.11)
At a public hearing at the DaVinci Center, Linda Katz, policy director at the Poverty Institute, argued that state lawmakers violated the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — President Obama’s controversial national health-care reform legislation — when they included an increase in the monthly premiums for certain RIte Care and RIte Share families as part of the state budget.
Proposed fee hikes for RIte Care may violate federal rules, advocates say (Providence Business News, 8.26.11)
Also testifying at the hearing against the proposed changes were Linda Katz, director of the Poverty Institute, and Susan Feeley, a middle school teacher in the Providence public schools, who said that these health benefits were a significant factor in the ability of children to succeed in school.
Welfare change lets parents get training before job hunting (Providence Journal 7.25.11)
“We basically set up a system that was designed to fail,” says Linda Katz, policy director at the Poverty Institute, which advocates for poor Rhode Islanders. “We set up a ‘work first’ system [as] the economy tanked. It was an ideologically driven program that was not evidence-based, in terms of achieving good outcomes for families or meeting the federal program requirements."
Cuts outweigh sales tax expansion in R.I. House committee’s $7.7-billion budget proposal (Providence Journal 6.21.11)
“Given that we left million of dollars of potential revenue on the table by not closing corporate-tax loopholes and eliminating costly tax credits, this budget is asking too much of people with disabilities and low-income families,” said Kate Brewster, executive director of the Poverty Institute.
New twist on sales tax (Providence Journal 6.18.11)
“It is certainly better than cutting off parents totally, but, on the other hand, it is a shame that we had to touch RIte Care at all,” said Linda Katz, policy director for The Poverty Institute.
Proposed cuts to RIte Care may endanger $20 million in federal funds (Providence Business News, 6.16.11)
“I would call it penny wise and pound foolish,” Katz said of the proposed cut and the risk of losing federal funds. “Any roll-back in parent eligibility will result in people needing more intensive health care services down the line.”
If Assembly wants cuts, everything is on table — Chafee (Providence Journal, 6.15.11)
Linda Katz, of The Poverty Institute, which advocates for policies affecting low-income people, was critical that some potential budget cuts affecting Medicaid programs, such as RIte Care, the state’s subsidized health insurance program for families, never had a public hearing.
Poverty Institute in last-ditch fight to prevent RIte Care cuts (WPRI Blog, Ted Nesi, 6.14.11)
If there’s one fact The Poverty Institute’s Linda Katz would like lawmakers to keep in mind as they finish the budget, it’s this: RIte Care accounts for 67% of the Rhode Islanders who use Medicaid services, but only 24% of total Medicaid spending.
Cuts, changes in RIte care under examination (Providence Journal 6.7.11)
Linda Katz of the Poverty Institute says there are two factors hindering lawmakers' ability to make significant changes to the RIte Care program.
R.I. lawmakers propose revival of historic-preservation tax credit (Providence Journal 5.31.11)
But critics wonder whether a new tax credit program could avoid the pitfalls of the past, chiefly its high cost. “The question is: Is this the best use of our limited economic development dollars?” said Kate Brewster...“Could additional monies to jump-start our economy be better used educating our work force and fixing our crumbling infrastructure?”
OP-ED: R.I. social services have been slashed (Kate Brewster, 5.31.11 Providence Journal)
"Critics of Rhode Island Governor Chafee's budget proposal have suggested further cutting human services as an alternative to sales taxes for closing the budget gap. Chances are you know someone whose life would take a sharp turn for the worse if these cuts were to happen."
Rhode Island's Medicaid Experiment Draws Raves, Suspicion (McClatchy 5.23.11)
Advocates for the poor and elderly applaud the state's push for at-home care. But they say that the savings from the effort have been wildly exaggerated.
Repeal of Time Limit on Welfare Budget Considered (ProJo 5.17.11)
Linda Katz, of the Poverty Institute at Rhode Isladn College that advocates for the poor, says the prrposed changes would overturn parts of the reforms that failed to provide an adequate safety net for families during the recent economic downturn and the reforms have not helped parents return quickly to the workforce.
Poverty Institute: Track the state's tax spending better (WPRO AM, 5.12.11)
The Institute says Rhode Island gave up $1.6 billion in potential revenue in 2008 through tax credits, exemptions, deductions and other preferential tax rates, but little is known about whether these tax expenditures are benefitting Rhode Islanders or the state's economy.
Assembly looks at bills to track tax credits (Providence Business News 5.12.11)
“Over the years, we have made deep cuts to higher education, health care and other public services that Rhode Islanders depend on,” said Kate Brewster, executive director of the institute. “Yet we’re losing money to tax giveaways without any evaluation of whether they benefit Rhode Islanders in any way.”
Bills Would Increase Accountability for Tax Credits (GoLocalProv.com 5.12.11)
Unlike direct spending, which is reviewed and renewed annually, tax expenditures become permanent provisions in the tax code and can continue indefinitely without evaluation as to whether they are achieving their intended purpose. The current biennial report on these expenditures "doesn't accurately measure their costs or evaluate effectiveness," according to the institute.
Chafee and Cuomo Amid the Tide (Providence Journal 5.1.11)
The Poverty Institute's director has called Chafee's budget proposal "balanced" and "thoughtful", noting it does not reduce eligibility for "core safety-net programs" in tough times.
RI Should Cut Social Services in Lieu of Expanding Sales Tax, Business Community Says (The Providence Journal 4.22.11)
Leaders at The Poverty Institute, which analyzes the impact of budget and tax policies on low-income people, argue that the state has already raised the eligibility thresholds for programs that provide child-care, cash assistance nad health insurance for low-income families.
Local Heroes of 2011: Simon Moore and Linda Katz (The Providence Phoenix 4.21.11)
In the 14th annual edition of the Providence Phoenix's Best issue, we highlight people and organizations who are doing exceptionally good work — local heroes who often labor behind the scenes, but are changing their communities for the better.
R.I. House Republicans Suggest Cuts to Human Service Agencies (The Providence Journal 4.16.11)
Sales Tax Modernization - Good Idea Gone Awry? (South County Patch 4.15.11)
From Smith Hill to Tower Hill, everyone had an opinion this week about Governor Lincoln Chafee's proposal to broaden the sales tax.
House Speaker Fox: Chafee's tax is unacceptable (Providence Journal 4.14.11)
Bill to Reshuffle Court Jurisdiction Gets Panel's OK (Providence Journal 4.13.11)
The committee also heard support for a bill that would lower the interest rate charged on unpaid child support from the current 12 percent to 6 percent. The bill had unexpected support from poverty advocates who said the high rate of interest, rather than getting deserving mothers the support they need, was instead creating a greater incentive for men not to pay it.
REPORT: Budget Cuts to Early Childhood Intervention Programs are Taking Toll on RI's Poor Children (The Providence Journal 4.4.11)
"The Rhode Island Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College says the Federal guidelins are woefully outdated and need to be adjusted. For a family of four to cover basic needs in the Ocean State, the institute claims, they need to earn at least $54,000 a year".
Plan to curtail welfare benefit draws opponents (Providence Journal, 3.30.11)
Guindon says her $449-a-month welfare benefit is her family’s only significant source of income while she finishes the Community Kitchen, a culinary job-training program run by the Rhode Island Community Food Bank that she hopes will provide her with new opportunities for stable employment.
Sales Tax Changes (WJAR 10 News Conference 3.27.11)
"Rhode Island should modify its sales tax to reflect the 21st century economy, an economy where we are buying just as many services as we are goods, yet our sales tax focuses only on goods...today, you pay a tax when you buy a lawnmower, but not when you pay for landscaping service."
RI House panel hears arguments for and against film tax credit (Providence Journal, 3.25.11)
Kate Brewster, executive director of The Poverty Institute, spoke in support of Chafee’s plan to abolish the tax. She…quoted economist Robert Tannenwald, who served on former Gov. Donald L. Carcieri’s Tax Policy Strategy Workgroup, as saying state film subsidies “are a wasteful, ineffective and unfair instrument of economic development” that help some people, but leave most people “paying for them in the form of fewer services,” such as education, health care, and police and fire protection.
R.I. film tax credit on chopping block (WPRI, 3.24.11)
'Hot button issues' discussed at budget hearing include doing away with the $15 million film and television tax credit, as well as Governor Chafee’s proposed changes to the sales tax.
Tighter Limitations on Welfare Extensions Proposed (Pro Jo 3.24.11)
"It doesn't see, to make much sense imiting families' access to these safety-net benefits, when there has not been any change in the circumstance that gave rise to [it] in the first place, " says Linda Katz, cofounder and policy director at The Poverty Institute.
Experts slate high unemployment for RI until end of decade (Providence Business News, 3.22.11)
70 people were in attendance for “Jobs for Rhode Island,” sponsored by the state Senate and held Monday evening at the Community College of Rhode Island's Knight Campus.
Chafee Budget Mixes Pains and Gains (Edward Fitzpatrick, Providence Journal 3.12.11)
Kate Brewster, Executive Director of the Poverty Institute, called the budget "balanced" and "thoughtful," noting it does not reduce eligibility for "core safety net programs' in a bad economy.
Providence Poverty Institute Hosts 'Budget Rhode Map' (Naragansett Times 3.11.11)
"We've heard a lot about how you can't 'spend your way to prosperity'. Well, you can't cut your way to prosperity either. (Jon Shure, Deputy Director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Budget Rhode Map Looks At Ways To Bounce Back From Recession ( Warwick Beacon 3.10.11)
Rhodes on the Pawtuxet was filled last Friday with state legislators and inquisitive Rhode Island taxpayers who attended the Poverty Institute's Fourth Annual Budget Rhode Map Conference. The event highlights the fiscal challenges facing the state and examines options for balancing the state budget and building a strong economy.
Grading Chafee’s Budget—State Leaders, Experts Weigh In (GoLocal, 3.9.11)
Poverty Institute: ‘A balanced approach to balancing the budget’ Kate Brewster, the executive director of the Poverty Institute mostly had praise for Chafee’s budget. “We are pleased that our Governor has taken a balanced approach to balancing the budget that includes revenue raising proposals rather than relying on a cuts-only strategy.”
Chafee’s budget is big and bold. But who’ll back it? (WPRI Blog, Ted Nesi, 3.9.11)
The business community’s reaction to the budget will be interesting to see. Chafee is proposing a number of major changes to how companies get taxed in Rhode Island – cutting the corporate tax rate from 9% to 7.5%; lowering the $500 minimum tax in the manner suggested by The Poverty Institute’s Russ Dannecker; and implementing combined reporting for multistate businesses. How will businesses respond? Will there be a split between larger and smaller firms?
Some tax exemptions in other states border on ludicrous (3.7.11 ProJo Politics Blog)
Among her findings: In Louisiana, binoculars are tax free during the "Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday," but only if purchased for hunting, not bird watching. In Hawaii, residents can deduct up to $3,000 on their state income tax returns to care for a tree deemed exceptional by the local county arborist advisory committee. In Oklahoma, the first $600 won in a competitive livestock show is tax deductible. And in Arkansas, blind veterans can buy an automobile tax-free every two years.
R.I. Poverty Institute holds annual conference (Providence Journal, 3.5.11)
The speakers at the Poverty Institute’s annual conference on the state budget offered no quick and easy solutions to an audience concerned about helping Rhode Island’s needy.
But four days before Governor Chafee is due to release his first budget proposal, the Friday gathering at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet did provide insight into how social service advocates plan to approach the upcoming “budget debate.”
Sowing ideas for revising the corporate tax (Providence Journal, 3.5.11)
Under the bill, similar to a plan developed by the Poverty Institute, of Providence, 92 percent of filers would no longer pay the tax; 8 percent — those with comparatively high gross receipts — would pay more than they do now, said Russell Dannecker, Poverty Institute fiscal policy analyst.
The First 60 Days: Taveras vs. Chafee (GoLocal, 3.4.11)
“I think that knowing what I know about him, he’s trying to be thoughtful,” said Kate Brewster, executive director of the Poverty Institute at Rhode Island College. “You can’t just come into office and close a $300 million deficit overnight.”
Poverty Institute hosts budget conference (WJAR, 3.4.11)
The Poverty Institute on Friday presented its fourth annual conference about the state budget, called "Budget Rhode Map." Balancing the state budget and building a strong economy were the main topics at the conference. Participants learned about the state's tax and spending priorities. They discussed the direct spending at local and state levels and what's being given away in tax credits exemptions.
Expert: Chafee should raise income, not sales, tax (WPRI Blog, Ted Nesi, 3.4.11)
“In a perfect world, you’d raise the state income tax,” John Shure, deputy director of the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ State Fiscal Project, told me this morning at The Poverty Institute’s annual state budget conference.
Expert: Prov pension crisis ‘about as bad as I’ve heard’ (WPRI Blog, Ted Nesi, 3.4.11)
City of Providence Retirement System reported $1.3 billion ($1,256 million) in liabilities but only $428 million in assets. “That’s about as bad as I’ve heard,” William “Flick” Fornia, founder and president of Pension Trustee Advisors Inc., told me this morning at The Poverty Institute’s annual state budget conference, though Fornia also cautioned that he was unfamiliar with the specifics of Providence’s situation.
RI pension chief warns $10B liability ‘a possibility’ (WPRI Blog, Ted Nesi, 3.4.11)
Raimondo’s $10 billion estimate is “possible” since so many economic and actuarial factors play into what produces the figure, Frank Karpinski, executive director of the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, told me this morning at The Poverty Institute’s annual state budget conference.
Anti-poverty groups await budget (WPRO-AM, 3.4.11)
As Gov. Lincoln Chafee prepares to unveil his FY 2012 state budget next week, anti-poverty activists and professionals in the field meet in Cranston Friday to learn about various aspects of the state budget. Billed as a "Budget Rhode Map", the session looked at the state budget priorities, taxes, pensions and other aspects that make up state spending and revenues.
The Great Debate: Are the Wealthy Really Leaving RI (GoLocal 1.24.11)
The reason most Rhode Islanders probably drift down to the Sunshine State is obvious, according to Brewster: “Warm winters and a robust retirement community are more plausible explanations for moves to Florida and other sunny states like North Carolina and Virginia,” she said. (The Wall Street Journal has weighed in and agreed with Brewster.)
Estate Tax Driving Rich out of Rhode Island (Hassenfeld) (Providence Journal 1.20.11)
Kate Brewster, executive director of the Poverty Institute, of Providence, a social policy think tank, disputed the report’s findings. “This report tries, but fails, to validate the undying myth that people are fleeing the state because of taxes — in this case the estate tax,” she said. The most recent census found that Rhode Island’s population grew over the past decade, and federal income-tax returns show that the number of wealthy taxpayers in the state has also grown, she said.
Study: Rhode Island Taxes are Driving Wealthy Residents Away (Providence Business News 1.20.11)
The OSPRI study “marks yet another attempt to lay the groundwork for more tax cuts for wealthy Rhode Islanders – based on the unproven but undying myth that these taxpayers are ‘fleeing’ for low tax states – in particular, states with no estate tax,” the Poverty Institute said in a statement.
RI Tip Sheet: Heading South Edition (WRNI 1.20.11)
Kate Brewster from the Poverty Institute was among those on hand to argue from the other side. They disputed OSPRI’s findings and pointed to a Wall Street Journal indictment of ”little evidence in the [OSPRI] report that Rhode Island’s estate tax is to blame for a larger out-migration of rich people.”
To Save RI Money: SSI Recipients Now Receive Payment in 2 Checks Instead of 1 (Providence Journal 1.10.11)
“The concern is whether the person will know to apply at DHS and, also, whether they will do so,” Katz said. “Simply put, what was once ‘one-stop shopping’ now requires ‘two stops’ for some folks.”
See Archived News 2010
what's this?