IN HIS MARCH 10 Commentary piece (“Achorn’s fierce union bashing is intellectually dishonest”), Scott Molloy, who teaches labor research at the University of Rhode Island, attempts to vilify Edward Achorn, the Journal’s deputy editorial-pages editor, for daring to write about problems with government in Rhode Island. If you understand the state, it’s obvious that Scott Molloy either doesn’t get it — or more likely, doesn’t want to get it. However, Achorn truly does get it, and regularly writes illuminating pieces about the reasons for our state’s most serious problems.

In every way, Rhode Island should be exemplary. Here we are, a tiny, manageable state, tucked between two of the country’s most prosperous states and just a few hours’ drive from the most important city in the world. We’re on the Atlantic Ocean and have the wonderful Narragansett Bay. We’re steeped in the arts, culture and history, and even though we’re small, we have superb ethnic and geographic diversity and impressive beauty.

We who live here and love Rhode Island know all the plusses. Therefore, it’s hard to believe that Rhode Island is one of the most financially desperate states.

The problem is almost entirely because of our government in Rhode Island. There are a lot of good government workers, but there are far too many abuses in the system.

Last Saturday, a sellout crowd of 240 people attended an Operation Clean Government conference on government corruption, featuring U.S. Attorney Robert Corrente, Mayor Cicilline, former Atty. Gen. Arlene Violet, Journal reporter Mike Stanton and Channel 6 reporter Jim Hummel.

Thanks in large part to moderator Dave Layman’s astute probing, issues discussed included the ongoing “Operation Dollar Bill” corruption probe, and past corruption involving Lincoln Park officials, Roger Williams Hospital, former Sen. John Celona, and the Rhode Island Supreme Court. The panel discussed public-employee unions, lobbyists, one-party dominance; political contributions from special interests; the Rhode Island Ethics Commission; why most state corruption probes are conducted by federal officials and not by state attorneys general; where corruption tips come from; legislative susceptibilities to corruption, and why Rhode Island public officials are willing to take risks for personal gain. The panel discussed whether we should have a full-time legislature, term limits and/or a state inspector general, and the lack of leadership by the Rhode Island business community in seeking better government.

(Unfortunately, The Journal’s May 6 article “Panel on corruption looks at Buddy” was devoted 100 percent to one subject — Buddy Cianci. The Journal resorted to pop sensationalism when more than 90 percent of the program dealt with other timely and important issues. That approach exemplifies what’s wrong with Rhode Island!)

It’s plain: Our government is bloated, inefficient and strongly slanted to unjustly benefit government workers and politically connected insiders, and to preserve their entitlements.

Our high state and local taxes discourage job creation at the same time that our state and local governments spend too much, constantly putting the state in a financial bind. In the last 10 years, state-government spending has grown about 80 percent. The Rhode Island Public Expenditures Council projects deficits throughout this decade and questions whether there will be enough gas in the state’s economic engine to sustain its spending habits.

It used to be that government employees were known as public servants, who were paid less than private-sector workers. Now, in Rhode Island, the average state public-sector worker’s pay exceeds the average private-sector pay by 35 percent.With our public servants’ high pay, luxurious pensions and health-care plans, numerous paid holidays, high amount of vacation and sick days, and exorbitant lifetime pensions with health care, I’d say that now we serve them!

So many Rhode Island rankings are discouraging. I’ll note just a few of them here for Molloy and his friends who may not want The Journal writing about these topics:

•In a world where education is so crucial, Rhode Island’s average public-school teacher salaries are the 9th highest and pupil-teacher ratio second lowest among states, but our 8th grade assessments in math are 39th, and reading 32nd.

•We’re 9th highest in police expenditures per capita.

•Rhode Island has America’s highest fire expenditures per capita, more than twice the national average!

•In Rhode Island, welfare has become extremely expensive. The national average for staying on welfare is about 22 months. In Rhode Island, the average is about 39 months, or 75 percent longer. (The Massachusetts average is about 10 months and Connecticut about 19 months. Our recipients stay on welfare 270 percent longer than in Massachusetts and 105 percent longer than in Connecticut.)

At the end of his piece, Molloy suggested to Achorn that he’d be glad to debate this subject. I’d say that it’s too late to debate because we have a screaming emergency in Rhode Island. It’s time to make major short-term and long-term changes in how we operate our state and local governments so we can save our wonderful state.

Our state motto is “Hope.” Let’s not change it to “Hopeless.”

Bruce Lang, of Newport, a former CBS News executive, was the founding chairman of Operation Clean Government.