No state taxpayer money for PawSox stadium

On behalf of the taxpayers of Rhode Island may I remind our elected officials of some costly reasons for no financing of the PawSox stadium or any private entity.

The state is already in more than a $60 million deficit for 2018, with no hope to stop spending. The UHIP computer mess, with a projected cost of $150 million, is already north of $400 million in cost to fix, with no fix in site. The governor has announced going to the taxpayers next November to approve a $500 million loan to start fixing our schools. Let’s not forget we have a $4.2 billion pension liability, corrup- tion and runaway spending in the $10s of millions. Need I say more? The stadium is a bad deal for the state to invest and one we cannot afford. We the taxpayers do not want another 38 Studios debacle – which we are still paying for. Our elected officials need to speak up, protect the interest of taxpayers/constituency and do their job which they were elected to do. At this time they should let the PawSox know that we appreciate their coming to us and begging for Rhode Island to help finance their billionaire investors in achieving more capital gains at our expense.

The fact remains that there are too many unresolved issues in the deal which could be damaging. If the PawSox organization wants this stadium so badly, forget any partnership with Rhode Island. They would be the owners. They settle their own issues with the land. They get the necessary permits, site surveys, construction, etc. All we want is half of the naming rights, and the rest will be profit from all the taxes, to be split between the state and the city of Pawtucket. Chip Lichty West Warwick