Saturday, April 02, 2016

Connecticut's Imploding State Government

Layoffs.
Every state union and non union job is at stake.  Every gold lined pension and benefit job is at stake. Unions are at stake.  Everything that Connecticut's political patronage system and state employee unions have worked for over the years that have been extracted out of Connecticut Taxpayers is at stake.
Do the remaining Connecticut Taxpayer's care?  For haven't we been down this road numerous times before at the beginnings of the utopian state income tax in 1991?  The same state income tax that was supposed to give the state financial security forever?  And didn't?
Depending upon your interpretation there are 45,000 full time state employees.  There are as of 2014 46,766 state pension retirees that costs the state in both short term and long term liabilities about $1.6 billion dollars  http://ctsunlight.org/pensions/ 
I do not have an accurate figure of how many part time state employees there are (my guess is at least 10,000 due to part time jobs in education). According to the Legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis 1,941 job cuts saves $132.8 million, 2,913 job cuts saves $198.8 million, and 3,879 jobs cuts saves $267.8 million.  However Connecticut has a $1 billion dollar deficit for fiscal 2016-17.  So what else can be cut without raising taxes? The more shocking figure is the actual costs of state pensions and benefits for 46,766 former employees.
Thus how can taxes not be raised?  Will the remaining Connecticut Taxpayers sympathize with the state employee unions who claim high-income taxpayers do not pay enough?  Or will actually notice how many have moved to lower taxed states like Florida, South Carolina and that evil bathroom segregated state of North Carolina?
Layoffs.
Connecticut's state government continues to implode.  The band-aid approach has failed.  Wasted economic resources and tax dollars continue to be seen on a daily basis in our state economy.
Rome did burn many years ago.  Connecticut burns daily to the point of no economic return.  And Dan Malloy is worried about North Carolina?  Dan Malloy should worry about Connecticut maybe once in his never-ending do nothing administration.

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