THE EFFORTS to spur job creation and economic growth by cutting taxes for the wealthiest Rhode Islanders hasn’t worked. Expensive corporate tax subsidies and tax credits haven’t worked either. Instead, middle-class families feel an even tighter squeeze as property taxes go up, wages stagnate, and health care, college tuition, gas and utility costs skyrocket.

The state has been driven into a multimillion-dollar deficit. Layoffs of state, local and private-sector workers add to our unemployment rolls and erode the quality of life and morale in our neighborhoods. And public programs that help our elderly, educate our children and keep moderate- and low-income working families secure are being slashed.

It’s time for a new strategy.

We must restore balance to Rhode Island’s tax system, support everyday middle-income Rhode Islanders, and re-commit ourselves to providing genuine opportunity for every Rhode Islander to succeed. The Economic Growth and Fairness Act would help us do just that while also reducing what 90 percent of Rhode Islanders pay in taxes by as much as $400 per household.

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy is a respected tax-analysis organization, cited frequently by the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council. ITEP data demonstrates that the poorest Rhode Islanders pay 13 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the richest pay just 6 percent. Middle-income families that earn about $57,900 pay 9.5 percent of their income in state and local taxes, 3.5 percentage points more than those with incomes averaging $757,000.

These disparities show that Rhode Island’s tax system is skewed against the majority in favor of a few. Our proposed Economic Growth & Fairness Act in the legislature restores some fairness and brings truth to the saying that we’re all in this together. How?

The act provides a property-tax rebate to every Rhode Islander. Over the years as we’ve cut income taxes we’ve built an over-reliance on the property tax to fund education and other services our cities and towns supply: trash collection, police and fire protection, water and sewer services, and more. The property-tax rebate would help reduce this over-reliance while also putting cash back in the pockets of middle-, moderate- and low-income families to spend in our local economy.

The property-tax rebate and a modest increase in the state’s refundable earned-income-tax credit would be paid for by reducing corporate-tax exemptions, special tax treatments and by rolling back income- and capital-gains tax cuts passed over the last several years.

The act would also bring our sales tax into the 21st Century by expanding it to include certain services. Just think about a mom who buys diapers at the local market. On a $10 bag of diapers, she’ll pay 70 cents in sales tax. But a mother who can afford the luxury of a service that picks up her dirty diapers, launders them, and delivers them back to her door pays no tax at all.

Combined, the provisions in the Economic Growth & Fairness Act would raise enough revenue to pay for the property tax rebate, re-invest in state aid to education, and leave an estimated $141 million to help pay down the structural deficit and to maintain a basic social safety net for our most vulnerable residents.

Think about this. America is at war — and we are moving into a recession tied to our national upside-down spending priorities — but only some people are being asked to sacrifice.

And now we have choices here in Rhode Island — between cutting health care for low- and middle-income families or a tax plan that lowers taxes for the majority of Rhode Islanders already feeling significant economic stress.

Will this comprehensive restructuring drive business and the wealthy away? Significant research says it won’t. In fact, a report by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, a national leader in economic development, describes low-tax strategies as a “get poor” strategy. It shows that the better approach to local competitiveness must instead “focus on meeting the workforce and infrastructure requirements of the New Economy.”

Our experience here in Rhode Island certainly supports this finding. The CFED report emphasizes that states can best pay for investments in public services by creating effective tax systems where the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share.

It’s time to share the sacrifice, and ask everyone to come to the table to participate. If the wealthy pay just a little more — and in so doing, help create a community that takes care of everyone — people will want to stay and do their part in our state. In this way, we help Rhode Island build for the “New Economy.”

The Economic Growth and Fairness Act would generate critically needed revenue for us to invest in genuine opportunity for our state; and does it by reducing the taxes paid by almost 90 percent of Rhode Islanders. It’s time for a new strategy.

Take the time to learn more about the Economic Growth and Fairness Act. Visit www.prioritiesri.org.

Arthur Handy is a Rhode Island Democratic state representative from Cranston. He is also director of communications and advocacy at the Rhode Island chapter of the American Lung Association.