I was watching the movie “Jaws” last week (for the 50^th time) and thought of the situation here in the Ocean State.

In the movie, Larry, the mayor, and some of the people pretend there is no problem and ignore the great white eating up swimmers around Amity Island. Misleading the public and lying is done with the intention of “saving the summer” for the money the tourists will bring.

All goes wrong on the 4^th of July as the shark makes it clear this was “no boating accident” and the problem is not going away.

I thought of many parallels as we see firsthand in Rhode Island the danger and fallout of ignoring ominous warning signs.

The failed leadership of past speakers Harwood and Murphy are long gone, like a deadbeat leaving the table in a restaurant as the check arrives. The state is broke, falling apart, and everyone is complaining and grouchy. There are no jobs and little leadership from Smith Hill (except for Gina).

How much longer will the pension hearings continue?

How many more sob stories of retired state workers must we listen to?

“I am a 55-year-old retired teacher and I only get a pension of 80 grand a year. How can I survive without a COLA?”… “I put $90,000 into the system but demand 1.4 million out of it.”

Do you want some more cheese with that whine? Save the sad stories.

The unions have been ripping off the state for years with the politically connected, but this time there is no more gas in the tank.  

The unions stop at nothing now, attacking Gina Raimondo for doing what is in the best interest of saving our little state. General Treasurer Gina Raimondo continues to be patient and guide the General Assembly through a process which should have been done years ago, but was ignored by selfish cowards who only cared about serving themselves.

Near the end of “Jaws”, the sheriff finally gets Larry, the mayor, to sign off and hire Quint to kill the shark. The sheriff has to get out his pen and show the mayor where to sign to “save the island” and kill “jaws”… Sound familiar?

Let’s hope the General Assembly will take the pen and sign before we are all under water.