This is no ordinary economic downturn.  What makes it worse is a level of inequality that we haven't seen since the last Great Depression 80 years ago.  Here in Rhode Island, income inequality has grown for some time, making the current crisis even more dire for many.

Between 1990 and 2006, Rhode Island had the country’s fifth-highest increase in wage inequality. Between 2000 and 2006, we were the only state in New England where the median family wage declined while income for those earning above $200,000 soared far in excess of the national average.

Rhode Island’s inequality gap is perpetuated by policy choices made on Smith Hill.