The World Is a Volatile Place. (But Connecticut Is Always The Place With The Steadiest Of Habits)

 It was the week that it was. The Middle East. Russia vs. Ukraine. Musk and Trump. Tariffs. Harvard. The revocation of student visas. President Joe Biden was non compos mentis while in office. Volatility. Unpredictability. Danger! It is all a reminder that the only constant in the 21st Century world, is change, and tomorrow is always another day.

 However, year after year things never seem to show any positive change in Connecticut. You know, Connecticut! The Land of Steady Habits. And ask any decent law-abiding taxpaying citizen in Connecticut as to what these steady habits are and they will pick from the following list. Fraud. Concealment. Incompetence. Crime. Redundancy. Reading pornographic texts for children into the General Assembly record while Democrat elected officials make videos dancing and gagging like fools. Elitists using a “budget emergency” to launder investment cash to the UCONN Foundation via a specious tax credit. (June 5, 2025 THIRTY WITH TONY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8wCu_v35EQ (THE SHOW! DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE A HEART? THIRTY WITH TONY 6 5 2025) Drag Queens in Libraries. Drunken lawmaking. Drunk driving legislators applying for “accelerated rehabilitation.”  Followed by their perfunctory “repentance” and “turning the page”. Assaults on the home via corrupted zoning or gross mismanagement of rampant crime. National embarrassment.

THE SHOW! DOES ANYONE HERE HAVE A HEART? THIRTY WITH TONY 6 5 2025

Like we said: Steady habits. So steady that you can time a metronome to all of it.

But nothing characterizes “steady” in Connecticut like the formulation of the state budget. When the budget is assembled (calling it “crafted” would be an insult to the term) these same legitimate citizens can bank on higher taxes, more unfunded mandates, more non-budgetary bills being codified into disastrous laws therein, more reckless spending in the crumbling cities with no accountability, bogus “utility price cuts” and other impending disasters on the way to manifestation.

Per terms of the concept, this budgetary disaster is the steadiest habit of all.

Perhaps you like to talk about the budget in greater detail? Not much new to report other than once again we will await as to how the socialist-driven state Democrat party will now save us from ourselves again as they have every year for the past three decades. This year’s whopper of a budget increases state spending to $55.8 billion dollars for the next two years. As is par for the course, the state budget increases yearly while there never is a mention from any politician of any party of the $100 to $150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities that the state has on its corrupted books. Who will pay this debt? When collapse comes, will property taxes triple as state aid crumbles? Is that the idea so that more trash new dimension slums of the future could be built in place of houses? Will your child’s school close? Will there be no police and fire services even if you hate police and firefighters and you need them at a point in your life? This is the cold hard reality of the world we now live in, a reality that no legislator has even given lip service to for many years running.

But these issues are not important. Other things are much more critical. With no eye towards consolidation or efficiencies and tax savings, this new budget magically increases redundant spending for the usual social services, domestic violence issues, drug addiction, education, municipal aid, and as usual pork barrel grants, gimmies, and freebies that the Connecticut Democrat Party loves in their never-ending quest to continually be re-elected and buy out the vote.  Also, Connecticut Taxpayers see no tax reductions. The idea is that you will pay more and more taxes . If you question this continuing path to disaster, you will be labeled a right-wing fanatic or a racist along with several other things. (For after all, Connecticut habits must remain steady).

Of course, the budget itself is not written for the common person. For who are you to demand fiscal accountability, anyway? For those sad souls that have read either the entire 279-page version of this monstrosity of fiscal gibberish or parts of it, you are to be commended. For those who do not have time since you are working many hours to pay your Connecticut state and municipal taxes here are some highlights for you to assist you in going insane, as not one dollar of spending was cut:

(https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/opm/budget/2026_2027_biennial_budget/governors_budget_2627_final_webversion.pdf )

Page 54: General Fund Debt outstanding is $1,682,162,437 and Interest on that is $853,058,397 for a total of $2,535,220,834. Looking at that in real terms, almost 8% of the budget is just General Fund Debt and interest alone. 

Page 68: Department of Economic and Community Development (“DECD”) budget for two years is over $560 million dollars in order to continue its inept and malfeasant “economic development” legacy of the “First Five”, Sema4, ADVANCE CT, Digital Currency Group and the (happily derailed) “Artificial Intelligence Bill” embraced 30-4 by the state senate this past May. Due to intentionally garbled records and disclosure, it is entirely unascertainable as to how much this department has wasted in your taxpayer dollars in no interest loans/bad loans/non repayable loans, “Ned Deals,” “Ned Deals We Have Not Found Out About Yet” and other crony-driven disasters.  Even with all this spending, Connecticut is last and or near last in most economic categories. Why does this sieve and debacle of an economic development agency continue year after year? To suffice political nepotism? Now move to Page 85: Same failed agency has a budgeted estimated cost of fringe benefits is over $7.7 million dollars. Why? It is inarguable that over a half billion dollars of taxpayers’ monies is wasted here, as Connecticut would still be dead last in all economic categories had not one dollar been spent by the DECD. Also keep in mind that the state would have had all of the funds not so wasted in the treasury in this case.

But wait! There’s More!! Help is supposedly now on the way for you, Mr. and Mrs Vassal, with "cuts in your electric bill" as somehow SB-4 "AN ACT CONCERNING ENERGY AFFORDABILITY, ACCESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY. To improve service and reduce costs for electricity ratepayers in the state.", does this trick. In reading and rereading this bill from an economic point of view, I really cannot see how it will save more than a few dollars of one's electric bill nor do I understand why the Republican minority voted in favor of it. The gist of this bill is to use state bonds to pay down some of the public benefits portion of your electric bill. Could any elected official tell me from where does state bond money come from other than the Connecticut Taxpayer or any foolish investor purchasing a Connecticut bond that is in danger of default? Thus, the burden of these "public benefits" changes paid by the Connecticut Taxpayer and ratepayer is the continuing due tribute for the massive amount of bonding the state embarks upon year in and year out. How does address the shortages of electricity in the state due to the incredible amount of "green" energy mandates that the state requires from its remaining two electric companies? The bill vaguely addresses bringing more natural gas into the state to produce electricity and allowing the evil nuclear energy segment of energy to have some new and limited capabilities. That said, who will be the great minds, leaders, and fiscal engineers who will marshal these bold new sources right to your wall switch in your home? Hint: You will not see these players sitting on the state bench, even if you look all of the way down (and even into the stands).

The new overspending by this $55.8 billion dollars budget is an incredible power grab by the Connecticut Democrat Party with little opposition by the Republicans. Since the outcome was a foregone conclusion, a great stand for principle and sanity for the woe-begotten taxpayer could have been made if every Republican had walked out of the chamber refusing to consent to this budgetary and faux legislative farce in the least way.  But principles, courage, clarity, and boldness in Connecticut always take a back seat every year to “collegiality and bipartisanship.” And as the steadiest habit of all, the collegial and bipartisan results are always worse than those of the last budget.

Once again, the Connecticut Taxpayer is damned by elitist power brokers and state-serving bureaucrats who care not one iota for those who actually work for a living in the state. And these days, they no longer even bother to hide this grievous fact.