Who to believe in Connecticut?

 Who to believe in Connecticut? This is a question without an answer. Take the Connecticut Health System. We found out this past Thursday night that Dr. Deidre Gifford retired from her leadership role at Connecticut’s Office of Health Strategy. Mind us all this is not some quiet fade into the sunset, but rather it is a blaring siren of scandal, drenched in fraud allegations tied to a canceled Medicaid audit. That audit, abruptly shelved, is linked to a bribery case involving Konstantinos Diamantis, a former state official now infamous for questions on his dealings. Emails uncovered in the investigation show Gifford was in on discussions about contracts and payments that reeked of kickbacks. And if that is not enough, her legacy and professionalism reaches all the way back to the debacle of her Covid-19 management and her incessant push for vaccines harming many innocent citizens and children. And her career reaches back even farther to her leadership of the Department of Social Services (DSS), and it was a masterclass in screwing things up. Under her watch, administrative costs ballooned—state audits pegged DSS spending at $50 million over budget in 2018 alone, with no explanation beyond “operational needs.” Access to care cratered too: rural clinics closed at triple the national rate, leaving swaths of eastern Connecticut without Medicaid providers. Deidre is an exemplar for a leader in King Governor Ned Lamont the Unaccountable’s Connecticut; screw up, get involved in multiple failures and swindles, become unaccountable, hide, and when the wolf starts for your door, quit, skip out, and cash in on taxpayer money. It is the Connecticut Gold Standard.

Who to believe in Connecticut? That is easy! Believe Ned Lamont! The Unaccountable was crowing on Thursday about U.S. News and World Report ranking Connecticut #8 in its 2025 economy category, which sounds great until you dig into how they got there. For the economy part, the report focuses on business environment, employment, and growth. Connecticut scores decently here because of the statistical and income distortion of Fairfield County millionaires and Yale graduates. But here is the catch: it tanked at #48 for fiscal stability and #43 for opportunity. So, we see that U.S. News is cherry-picking features to a privileged few and downplaying the ugly characteristics we are all too familiar with. There is no mention of the 2025 "Rich States, Poor States" report ranking Connecticut 44th for economic outlook and 48th for performance. There is no mention of the state’s crushing pension debt, high taxes, serial and blatant corruption, and business-hostile regulations. So, in the final analysis, you can’t believe The Unaccountable either, (but you already knew that).

Who to believe when it comes to the Connecticut Legislature? This is another unanswerable question. We do not know, especially when it comes to state budgets that normally are voted on at all times of the day and night with no transparency. There are no negotiations on state budget with the minority Republican party, even though this year Republicans presented a tepid alternative budget that somewhat lowers taxes and cuts spending.  “This budget is a step toward what residents deserve—affordability, accountability, and flexibility in the face of federal funding uncertainty,” stated Finance Committee ranking member Rep. Joe Polletta (R-Watertown). But the Democrats immediately condemned the Republican plan as “House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford) said the plan is “not the most serious document I’ve ever seen, so we’ll probably have to write this one off.” (https://www.cbia.com/news/issues-policies/house-gop-state-budget-plan). Certainty the last ten years of Democrat fiscal horse-manure rammed down Connecticut Taxpayers throats are not the most serious documents I have ever seen and should have been written off for their excessive taxation, spending and loss of personal freedoms slammed into them. But again, Connecticut's Democrat party does not believe in either opposing voices, co-operation with elected officials from the opposition party nor any type of compromise or citizen input. They rule with an iron hand.

Trying to understand this new Democrat budget that again raises spending and taxes offers nothing different than in past budgets. Spending will go up over $1 billion dollars, since the first year of the budget increases spending over $395 million dollars, and the second year follows suit with over $770 million dollars according to initial estimates. Estimates of new and higher taxes for the first year of the budget are over $935 million dollars and over $1.2 billion dollars for the second year, although these figures are both secret and uncertain at the time of this writing. But who cares? As a reminder, Connecticut has $100 to $150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. Connecticut is unattractive to new citizens and businesses with its excessively high taxes along with a non-transparent and corrupted government. Why move to Connecticut? Why move your business to Connecticut? Given this economic situation of high taxes and high state debt it really would be an economically incoherent move.

Who to believe in Connecticut regarding solutions to the messes? Solutions are nonexistent to Connecticut's fiscal problems in the realm of the political class. I have written about this for many years now and all is getting worse. Connecticut badly needs a citizen driven "DOGE" type commission as has been recommended by my good friend Tony De Angelo on his weekly segment on the Lee Elci show 94.9 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBxTuCSLdCw) A no holds barred approach of dismantling the current bureaucracy is critically necessary and would be truly helpful to Connecticut Taxpayers to see where their hard earned tax monies actually go to.  Is Connecticut efficiently run? Is there waste and fraud occurring in the state budget? Are all monies accounted for going to the correct accounts and programs? Does state government have excessive management positions and or excessive "do nothing" types of jobs? Why are public hearings on state spending issues limited in nature? What is the plan to pay off the state's massive debt? Could you really trust anyone connected to a state paycheck or income stream to give you an answer on any of those questions? (And it is almost a certainty that the next Republican candidate for Governor will turn against such a necessary analysis and will state his or her belief that the state can fix itself fiscally with a little help and guidance).

But citizens now know that their government is untrustworthy. The list is endless on what a Connecticut type DOGE could investigate and find. Just think at how much money could be save for Connecticut Taxpayers? Just think of the economic boom the state could have with more money freely being used by private citizens and private businesses rather than Connecticut's Democrat Party and its associated bureaucracy deciding who gets what. Connecticut would be much better served with a fully transparent government along with a true system of checks and balances.

In closing, Connecticut Taxpayers are no longer being represented or heard in Connecticut's failing, politically inept and stale one party ruled government. A bizzarro-type government where increasing incompetency and fraud is rewarded while you pay more each year to see things get worse and worse. But who can you believe who tell you the truth? The sad fact is that there is seemingly no one whatsoever connected to government that you can believe in Connecticut for any reason, anymore.