Fifth worst in the state
CCA response: let's pretend everybody is a rich retiree
CCA response: let's pretend everybody is a rich retiree
RI-CAN, the Jonnycake Center or WARM could have told you this already,
just based on the surge in demand at their food pantries, but Charlestown’s unemployment
rate is alarmingly high at 11.8%, according to RI
Department of Labor and Training August statistics.
That’s the worst record among rural RI towns and fifth worst in the
state.
Only Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket have higher
unemployment rates, and Charlestown is close behind them. There is only a
difference of 1.4% between Charlestown’s 11.8% unemployment rate and #1 ranked
Central Falls’ 13.2% unemployment.
Over the past two years, the Charlestown Citizens Alliance (CCA) has
denied the existence of economic trouble in Charlestown, turning down a Democratic
plea for tax relief for middle-class families. CCA Councilor Dan
Slattery said that without detailed investigation into families’
personal financial circumstances, the town might end up aiding some family “who
earns $80,000 a year but just maxed out on their credit cards.”
But CCA's Dan Slattery thinks they just maxed out their credit cards |
Charlestown’s neighbors are doing much better. Westerly’s unemployment
rate is 8.3%. South Kingstown is at 9.2%. Richmond is among the state’s lowest
at 7.8%.
You can make your own guesses as to why Charlestown’s unemployment rate
is so high compared to the rest of the state and especially compared to its
neighbors. We have a rapidly aging population, and older workers were hit
especially hard in the recession as employers shed high-wage workers. But older
workers are also more likely to be retired and not necessarily collecting
unemployment benefits, which is what the 11.8% figure represents.
CCA Town Council candidate George Tremblay doesn't see any problem either |
The top of the CCA's 2012 ticket, Town Council boss Tom Gentz, wants to solve Charlestown's affordable housing problem by redefining each home whose value has dropped to "affordable" levels without doing a damned thing for the people who live in them, who could sure use that tax break that Gentz, Slattery and Councilor Lisa DiBello voted down last December.
But even without more data, I doubt that the CCA’s antibusiness, antifamily
policies and economic
denialism over the past four years have helped.
The Jonnycake Center, based in Westerly, but providing help to Charlestown families and others in the region, has two upcoming fundraisers. Click here for more details. Click here to learn how you can support Charlestown-based RI-CAN and click here for the WARM Center.
Dedicated to George Tremblay and Dan Slattery. Enjoy: