An editorial in today’s Providence Journal argues strongly for better developing our ports to “boost the state’s dismal economy.”

Rhode Island must make the most of its potential for economic growth by fully developing its ports — including T.F. Green Airport and the seaports at Quonset Point and Providence. The Ocean State has long wasted much of this great potential geographic comparative advantage. It is, after all, in the Northeast Corridor and very close to the main trans-atlantic shipping lanes. Indeed, international shipping is where the original great fortunes in Rhode Island were made, and then invested in manufacturing and other once highly profitable sectors in the region.