The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity is a center-right think tank based in Cranston, Rhode Island. The organization is a member of the center-right State Policy Network, a network of state-based think tanks that collaborate to promote policies.

Overview

The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity is a center-right think tank that advocates for free markets, pro-family policies, and expanding individual freedom. Among the issues that the organization advocates for is expanded school choice, market-based policies to reduce welfare expenditure and increase the standard of living in Rhode Island, criminal justice reform, and opposition to corporate welfare. ¹

The center also has established an online news website, the Ocean State Current. ²

Programs

Right To Earn

Rhode Island Center promotes opposition to civil asset forfeiture to reopening in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdowns ordered by the state and local governments ostensibly in response to it. The center also promotes occupational licensing reforms under the heading. ³

The center opposes an increase in the minimum wage, believing that it decreases employment and reduces the number of hours worked by employees and reduces their take-home pay. ⁴

Health Care

The center opposes more government regulations on private health care and opposes a government-run healthcare plan. It supports more deregulation and private health care options to increase coverage and decrease prices. ⁵

Energy and Environment

The center opposes more government regulations on energy and higher taxes on energy consumption and uses. ⁶ The center is an opponent of environmental regulations on farmland that it sees as a violation of property rights. ⁷

Taxation

The center opposes increasing the state’s sales tax and has proposed the repeal of the state’s sales tax. ⁸

Education

The center supports school choice programs such as school vouchers for private schools and expanding the use of charter schools. The center is also a supporter of measures to score school academic performance and is a critic of teachers unions. ⁹

Transparency

The center is a supporter of transparency in government, especially surrounding voter registration data and election administration. The center used to keep scorecards on voting in the Rhode Island legislature based on how legislators voted on certain issues and how often they voted with their party’s leadership. ¹⁰

Other Issues

In 2016, the Michael Cerullo from the center appeared on a podcast to debate in opposition of marijuana legalization in the state. ¹¹

In April 2020, the center called for the Rhode Island General Assembly to play a larger role in reopening the state. It also called on Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) to be more transparent with the data she was using to decide whether or not to reopen. It also released a series of policy changes for officials to adopt when reopening. ¹²

Also in April 2020, it criticized the state for commissioning coronavirus-related artwork. In a press release, the center called the state’s commissioned image “a bastardization of the Statue of Liberty wearing a communist China-type cap and tunic, in a layout reminiscent of posters supporting fascist dictatorships of the past.” The center also called the artwork “an overtly anti-American symbol of repression.” The art was painted by Shepard Fairey, notable for creating the Obama “Hope” poster in support of his 2008 presidential campaign. ¹³

Affiliations

The center is a member of the center-right State Policy Network. ¹⁴

Leadership

Mike Stenhouse founded the center in 2011 and currently serves as its CEO. Before he entered the public policy field, he was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University. ¹⁵

Justin Katz is the research director and editor of the Ocean State Current. ¹⁶

Financials

According to its 2018 tax return, the center raised $307,951 and spent $260,429. ¹⁷

The center does not disclose its donors, citing threats from left-wing extremists, but it claims to raise most of its donors from in-state. In addition, the center claims there is no regular source of funding from an out-of-state group. ¹⁸

1. “About Us”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/about-us/.
2.             “About Us”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/about-us/.
3. “Right To Earn Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/right-to-earn/.
4. “Minimum Wage Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/regulatory-environment/minimum-wage/.
5.   “Health Care Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/issues/health-care/.
6. “Energy Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/energy/.
7. “Property Rights Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/regulatory-environment/property-rights-regulatory-environment/.
8. “Sales Tax Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/issues/taxes/sales-tax-taxes/.
9. “Education Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/issues/education/.
10. “Transparency Archives”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/category/transparency/.
11. “The Debate! Jared Moffat Regulate RI Vs. Michael Cerullo RI Center For Freedom & Prosperity”. 2016. THE COALITION. http://www.coalitionradio.us/the-debate-jared-moffat-regulate-ri-vs-michael-cerullo-ri-center-for-freedom–prosperity.html.
12. “RI General Assembly Should Have Role In Reopening Economy, Says Center For Freedom And Prosperity”. 2020. Golocalprov. https://www.golocalprov.com/news/ri-general-assembly-should-have-role-in-reopening-economy-says-center-for-f.
13. Britschgi, Christian. 2020. “The Outrage Over Rhode Island’s State-Funded Coronavirus Art Is Overblown”. Reason. https://reason.com/2020/04/30/the-outrage-over-rhode-islands-state-funded-coronavirus-art-is-overblown/.
14. “About Us”. 2021. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/about-us/.
15. Stenhouse, Mike. 2021. “Mike Stenhouse”. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. Accessed February 1. https://rifreedom.org/author/mstenhouse/.
16. 2021. Justin Katz. Accessed February 1. http://justinkatz.com/.
17. Form 990. 2018. Ebook. Guidestar. https://pdf.guidestar.org/PDF_Images/2018/452/805/2018-452805369-17148526-9.pdf?_gl=1*1dkpguy*_ga*MTcyOTQwMTk5OC4xNTczNDQ5NDky*_ga_0H865XH5JK*MTYxMjE2MDIxMC4xMC4xLjE2MTIxNjAyMjguMA..*_ga_5W8PXYYGBX*MTYxMjE2MDIxMC4xMC4xLjE2MTIxNjAyMjguMA.
18. Stenhouse, Mike. 2018. “Private Donations And Enemies Of Debate”. RI Center For Freedom And Prosperity. https://rifreedom.org/2018/08/private-donations/.