Governor
Ned Lamont with great fanfare and adulations has presented the new
Connecticut Fiscal Year 2022-23 budget this past week. The budget for
the two years is roughly $46 billion dollars in spending for a state
that has roughly 3.5 million people. The budget increases state
spending by 3.5 to 4%. The budget includes new taxes including a
mileage tax on trucks that will in all likelihood be passed onto
consumers in the form of higher prices for goods and services and a roll
back in some previously stated tax cuts. The budget relies upon a
great deal of Federal Covid-19 aid to help balance its budget along with
increases in state income taxes due to the stock market increasing in
value and thus more capital gains taxes being paid. The budget is 268
pages in length and I wonder how many member of our state legislature
will have read each page before they will vote on it? Maybe five or
ten. When reading through the budget and its analysis I wonder if I am
living in the same state that they are describing. On page 2 of the budget this paragraph should shock anyone who lives or works in this state“The
$17 billion in financial resources from the federal government to
Connecticut was significant and critically necessary to manage the
public health pandemic and resulting impacts on the Connecticut economy
and lives of our residents. Without the combined fiscal and monetary
policy actions of our federal government, the nation and the state’s
economy would have entered a depression. This is evidenced by the more
than 30% decline in the gross domestic product on an annualized basis in
the second quarter of 2020.”
Therefore Connecticut received
$17 billion dollars in Federal aid last year due to the Covid-19
crisis. If Connecticut spends roughly $23 billion dollars a year then
this aid accounted for almost 74% of the state budget. Or did the $17
billion dollars in Federal aid go to many no bid state contracts for
those who had political connections in the state? Did it go to
consulting groups who apparently are experts in creating policies to
perpetuate stale one party rule in the state?
Stating it in
other terms how can Connecticut survive without a massive inflow of
Federal money in the future? Since spending does not get cut in this
state budget nor is any state agency downsized in state government how
can state officials make these economic predictions of $46 billion in
spending with the state economy being on limited/restricted/reduced
hours and thousands of businesses shut down along with massive
unemployment? And again is there any plan to fully reopen the state’s
economy? Again there is no mention of it. But instead we hear the
familiar cries of not enough money is being spent to address poverty,
new and higher taxes on the working middle class are essential for the
state’s fiscal health, more cuts to the police are critical to combat
crime, legalization of marijuana will bring in an incredible some of
taxes, online gambling being taxed will be great, etc.
The
budget in my opinion does little to address the massive debt the state
continues to accrue. Connecticut has $150 billion dollars in short and
long term debt along with unfunded liabilities or roughly a debt of
$42860 for every person who lives in the state. What is the next step a
new debt tax for every person who lives in the state?
Thus I
am to assume as a Connecticut Taxpayer that unless Connecticut continues
to get unlimited Federal aid an economic depression will occur in the
foreseeable future. I am also to assume that new taxes and the
legalization of drugs and gambling online are the new panacea that will
solve all of Connecticut’s economic problems just like the state income
tax did in 1991.
I suggest all of the Connecticut State
Representatives and State Senators read the state budget in its
entirety. See if any of you can find even one dollar that could be cut
from it and let your constituents know about it. And explain to your
constituents how Connecticut survives without a Federal handout for the
future. Cutting spending always falls on deaf ears in Hartford. Why
bother with it anyways since there are no longer any checks and balances
in our state government nor any economic logic found either. The new
budget in my opinion is again another sham for Connecticut Taxpayers. A
sham that sadly is too familiar to an unresponsive and totalitarian
state called Connecticut.
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