To create beneficial transformation, sometimes you ‘break things’

Gina Raimondo asserts that to improve situations, alterations are necessary — and occasionally this necessitates that you “break things.”

For instance, the previous U.S. Commerce secretary and governor of Rhode Island mentioned that during her leadership in the Ocean State, she decreased taxes annually, elevated the state’s minimum wage, and provided free tuition for community colleges. Additionally, she eliminated 30 percent of state regulations.

“I don’t believe we should merely accept the status quo because that’s how things have traditionally been done,” Raimondo ’93 remarked last week at an Institute of Politics forum on “The Future of U.S. Competitiveness.”

This openness to implement changes, she recognized, might resemble the strategies of Elon Musk’s DOGE. What sets it apart? “Execution is crucial,” she stated. “You cannot harm individuals in the process.”

This emphasis on promoting equity and chances for everyday Americans emerged early and has persisted throughout her political journey.

The granddaughter of immigrants who emphasized diligence, Raimondo, who played a significant role in formulating the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, credited her extensive Italian family for influencing her political path. Recalling Ronald Reagan’s election as president, she noted, “My dad continually asked, ‘What about the average person who wakes up each day and goes to work? Who advocates for us?’

“As I matured and observed the American Dream slipping away,” she continued. “It inspired me to engage in politics.”

The IOP engaging discussion with Jeff Liebman, head of the Taubman Center for State and Local Government and Robert W. Scrivner Professor of Social Policy, shifted focus to Raimondo’s service as Commerce secretary. They initially discussed the early stages when supply chains became sluggish amidst the COVID crisis. “Our priority was to comprehend the intricate nature of supply chains,” she explained.

In response to countless inquiries regarding essential goods that were suddenly unavailable, “We developed spreadsheets for vital supply chains, such as pharmaceuticals — and then, under President Biden’s guidance, we worked on building alliances with other countries,” she elaborated.

Citing Biden’s viewpoint, she relayed, “America cannot and should not operate in isolation. The nation thrives when we cultivate friendships; he directed us to Southeast Asia to foster connections with Indonesia, the Philippines,” and beyond.

Alongside forging or enhancing these relationships, the Biden administration reacted with the CHIPs and Science Act, aimed at boosting domestic production of essential scientific materials. Liebman inquired about the outcomes of that initiative.

“The majority of semiconductors are commodities, a lot of which are produced overseas — especially in China,” Raimondo replied. “While it wouldn’t be a national security catastrophe if there was a backlog of iPhones, artificial intelligence — all AI — relies on advanced chips. A substantial part of our intelligence-gathering capability hinges on these advanced chips. Currently, we produce none of the chips in question.”

 “By 2030, we’ll be manufacturing a quarter of those chips. That’s an accomplishment,” she stated.

She also defended the legislation’s fiscal prudence. “We demanded that for each dollar we invested, $10 of private-sector investment would be secured,” she remarked. “When we departed, approximately 13 private-sector dollars were generated for every dollar we allocated.”

Such self-sufficiency is crucial, she asserted. Referencing China’s BYD electric vehicles, heavily subsidized by their government and sold at low prices globally, she stated, “Free trade is beneficial if everyone abides by the regulations. China does not comply with those rules. I believe advocating for greater reciprocity is reasonable.”

Reflecting on her tenure within the Biden administration, she acknowledged errors, including — potentially — excessive compromises.

“Politics is not flawless,” she admitted. “However, we accomplished a great deal. Individuals making such criticisms may not fully grasp the challenges of achieving results in a 50-50 Senate and in a narrowly divided House.”

Raimondo also defended Biden’s stimulus program, which some have blamed for inflation concerns. “I was the governor of Rhode Island amid COVID,” she noted. “In the months following the outbreak, in a state with about a million inhabitants, I had 110,000 individuals apply for unemployment insurance.”

Recalling the “knot in my stomach,” she worried, “How am I supposed to get these individuals back to work?”

“It was genuinely frightening,” she expressed. “It’s easy to claim that the stimulus should not have been so substantial that it caused inflation. But nobody mentions that if it had been smaller, unemployment could have persisted.”

She also argued in favor of integrating so-called social initiatives into economic plans. “Firms seeking our funds needed to recruit employees,” she stated. “They won’t have enough employees without women, and they won’t attract women without a childcare strategy.

“These weren’t social initiatives. They were labor market strategies intended to be responsible stewards of taxpayer funds.”