Let's #CutTheCarTax

Watch the video here.

We can all agree that the car tax stinks, and it needs to be cut. I said that when I first ran for Governor, and I’m determined to make it happen.

It’s time to get together and finally cut the car tax. But let’s be responsible about it. Let’s make sure the cut is sustainable and affordable. My budget cuts everyone’s car tax by at least 30 percent. It’s responsible. It’s sustainable. It’s fair to every city and town. And it provides relief to every Rhode Islander.

There are other proposals out there, and we should look at the details of all of them. But, if we do this the wrong way, we can put our progress at risk.

Together we’ve come so far. Our unemployment rate is below the national average for the first time in a long time. Private sector employment is at an all-time high. And many of our cities and towns, which were crushed by the housing crisis and recession, are finally getting back on their feet.

That’s progress. And we can’t go backwards. We can’t afford to put the record investments we’ve made in K-12 education at risk. We can’t afford to roll back funding for things like senior centers. Middle class Rhode Islanders who are struggling in this economy, they can’t afford cuts to workforce development and skills training.

Because of the tough choices we’ve made together over the last two and a half years, we can afford to cut every Rhode Islander’s car tax by 30 percent and invest in the Rhode Island Promise scholarship to ensure that Rhode Islanders get the jobs Rhode Island businesses are creating. Middle class families need relief. They need a car tax cut, and they need college to be more affordable for their kids to have a shot in our knowledge- and skills-based economy.

If anyone has a better idea of how to cut the car tax while also protecting the investments we’ve made to grow our economy, then I want to hear it. There’s plenty of room for compromise, and I’ll work with anybody.

You want a car tax cut, so let’s work together to make it happen.