01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 8, 2004

HOW HOPELESS, then, is Rhode Island? Consider what passes for thought in the state Senate, where Stephen Alves (D.-West Warwick) is chairman of the powerful Finance Committee.

Last week, one citizen wrote to complain about the foolishness of forcing well-to-do people (and economic activity) to flee Rhode Island, or never come here.

Mr. Alves wrote back (and I quote with the senator's permission, on the understanding that his reply be run in its entirety):

"Thanks for the message, however it has always been my philosophy that it is all our responsibility to take care of the less fortunate in our society. I would love for you to come to the state house and hear the plight of some of those people, many of whom are hard working low wage people.

"After 14 years up at the state house I am getting tired of high wage earners complaining about taking care of others, over the last decade we have lowered our tax structure (which benefits high wage earners the most) and decreased services to our poorest and yet the complaints continue.

"I guess until we have a 2 class system of the haves and the have knots (at the rate we are going we are almost there) people will continue to complain."

If this garbled thinking (and spelling) is representative of the best on Smith Hill -- and Mr. Alves is in a very powerful position -- Rhode Island is in deep trouble. The good senator seems utterly indifferent to the economic implications of the disastrous policies that he and his colleagues have foisted on the Ocean State.

Senator Alves may be proud that he has "lowered our tax structure." But if he has done so, he has done it imperceptibly.

The Tax Foundation found that Rhode Island has the nation's fifth-highest total tax burden per capita. The magazine Bloomberg Wealth Manager rated Rhode Island the worst -- 51st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia -- in punishing wealth. It branded the state "tax-hell Rhode Island." It found that Rhode Island is among the four states that most harshly punish the wealth of retirees, thus driv-ing them away to friendlier states like Florida.

And Rhode Island ranked fourth from the bottom -- behind only New York, California and Connecticut (despite two busy casinos) -- in creating a climate where free enterprise can flourish, according to a new study by the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy, cited in the May 24 issue of Forbes magazine.

This is Rhode Island's national reputation: anti-wealth, anti-free enterprise. Don't come here if you want to earn a good living, or provide for your family, or retire.

If the politicians won't listen to average citizens, maybe they should listen to someone like Alec Dawson, president of Central Tools Inc., in Cranston. "We try very hard to be good corporate citizens," he says. "Central Tools is nearly 100 years old and has been in the same location in Cranston for all that time. It is not easy to continue and I am concerned about whether the next generation will be able to continue manufacturing in such an unfriendly atmosphere."

Senator Alves contemptuously dismisses those who even raise the issue. In his mind, critics are insufficiently grateful to the politicians for not taking even more -- as he puts it, "and yet the complaints continue."

But if Senator Alves doesn't care, his constituents -- and all Rhode Islanders -- should. Because the people who get hurt badly when job creators are sent packing are those who need the jobs, and those who need government help. Wealth creators are often the people who do charitable works, and pitch in to help with local government. And all of us are hurt when affluent retirees are forced out, taking their spending power with them.

It's simple economics -- simple enough for many politicians to comprehend. Jobs create the tax revenues that help provide for the poor and other government services. Jobs nurture the middle class. And "hard-working low-income" people benefit from greater opportunities to get good educations and well-paying jobs. The government will never have enough money to help them live well simply by raising taxes through the roof and redistributing wealth.

That is because people have options to locate businesses and live elsewhere -- which is exactly what they do. They aren't the ones "complaining," because they're not even here. The ones complaining are those who love Rhode Island enough to stick it out and fight for something better for themselves, their children and their state.

I sometimes wonder if politicians like things exactly the way they are in Rhode Island, preferring the state's feudal culture, under which those with political connections fare well (such as members of public-employee unions) and everyone else suffers. Some politicians feel powerful when their pals and campaign contributors come to them, hat in hand. But that is no substitute for a healthy economy and a government that looks after the general welfare.

At some point, Rhode Island voters will wake up and realize the feudal model is not working for them or their children. And they will demand more forward-thinking and responsible legislators than the ones who serve them so poorly now.

Edward Achorn is The Journal's deputy editorial pages editor. His e-mail address is eachorn [at] projo.com.