So what do you think of this NY Times article on Little Rhody?
Full article in the other pages section- This is the first part only 
Smallest State Grapples With Oversize Problems 
Jodi Hilton for The New York Times
Laid-off workers rallying for pay and benefits.
By ABBY GOODNOUGH and KATIE ZEZIMA Published: February 28, 2009
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Graphic Small State, Big Problems
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Jodi Hilton for The New York Times
A onetime office building in Providence represents Rhode Island's past - it was built in 1740 - and present: it is vacant.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Rhode Island is in the midst of an especially grim economic meltdown, and no one can pinpoint exactly why.
The smallest state, it is saddled with some of the nation's biggest problems: the second highest unemployment rate, at 10 percent, according to the latest federal figures; and among the highest foreclosure rates, widest budget gaps and most-vulnerable pension systems.
Rhode Island is arguably the most economically hobbled state after Michigan, whose troubles and 10.6 percent unemployment rate are far easier to explain as the auto industry collapses. Now, as Rhode Island contends with a foundering economy and a stagnant, aging population, its leaders are scrambling to determine how to make the state more resilient and put it on a par, finally, with its more prosperous neighbors.
In several dozen recent interviews, Rhode Islanders agreed on this much: Their state's smallness has contributed to its problems, but could be its best asset if properly exploited. Saul Kaplan, who until December was executive director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, called the state's size a "secret sauce" that could help businesses develop products or services quickly.
But many of those interviewed said that, instead, the smallness has trapped the state in parochialism, insecurity and outdated traditions that block change at every turn.
"The whole political system is based on back scratching and getting things for your friends," said Robert Whitcomb, editorial page editor of The Providence Journal. "That's true for every place, but more so here because of the intimacy - you keep bumping into people you know."
As the lyrics of University of Rhode Island's fight song suggest - "We're Rhode Island born and we're Rhode Island bred, and when we die we'll be Rhode Island dead" - natives of the state, including lawmakers, rarely cast a curious eye outside it, Mr. Whitcomb and others said.
"They focus primarily, if not exclusively, on us and on the here and now," said Leonard Lardaro, an economics professor at the university. "We need to be looking at a lot of other states - what they do and how we compare."
One striking difference is that Rhode Islanders are less educated than much of the country. The state has the lowest high school graduation rate in the Northeast and ranks 38th nationally. Its average private-sector salary in 2007 was $39,827, compared with $55,819 in Massachusetts and $59,174 in Connecticut.
Unlike its neighbors, Rhode Island continues to rely heavily on blue-collar and service-industry jobs. Its largest employment sectors are health care, manufacturing and retail, which pay $27,000 to $46,000 a year on average.
"In that way, we look more like a rust belt state than Connecticut or Massachusetts," said Laura Hart, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Labor and Training.
Rhode Islanders also tend to cling to old stereotypes about the state, like its mob culture and corrupt politicians, others said.
"A lot of Rhode Islanders overestimate how uniquely bad we are," said Scott Wolf, executive director of Grow Smart Rhode Island, a nonprofit group, "and underestimate how uniquely good we are."
Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican, and the overwhelmingly Democratic General Assembly have often found themselves at loggerheads, with the legislature more focused on supporting social programs and Mr. Carcieri on shrinking government since he took office in 2003. Organized labor remains a powerful force, and the state's unfunded pension liability, $7 billion, is among the worst in the country.
Mr. Carcieri has proposed a minimum retirement age of 59 for government workers and eliminating 3 percent annual increases in their pensions. The proposals are part of his plan to close a $357 million gap in this year's budget, one of the largest in the country as a percentage of state spending.
But several people said Mr. Carcieri should be more focused on the private sector, particularly on creating more high-paying jobs. More than a quarter of Rhode Islanders who earned more than $100,000 in 2006 claimed an out-of-state tax credit, indicating that they might work for companies based elsewhere.
Mr. Carcieri does want to change the tax structure, which is generally considered uncompetitive with those of neighboring states. State leaders cringed last fall when Jack Welch, the former chairman of General Electric, said on Fox News that Rhode Island's tax structure made it "the 48th-most-acceptable state for business."
In fact, a study last fall by the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan group in Washington, ranked Rhode Island's business climate the fifth-worst in the nation.
