Connecticut: The Debt Creating Capital of the World

What is Connecticut best known for? Some may say pizza. Some may say the Elm Tree. Others may say the Charter Oak. But in more recent times, Connecticut has a strong history of debt, debt spending, borrowing and massive unfunded liabilities ever since the implementation of Lowell Weicker's "cure-all" state income tax in 1991. At that time, the state was running a large budget deficit and according to Weicker the only way out was to increase taxes in the middle of a recession through the implementation of a progressive state income tax. At  the time of that deadly decision, the population in Connecticut was approximately 3.29 million and the state budget was roughly $7.9 billion dollars. In 2026, the population in Connecticut is approximately 3.6 million. The state budget is going to be roughly $28 billion dollars. Therefore, in a 35-year period, Connecticut has increased state spending by over 300 percentage points with roughly the same amount of population. As time has marched on, the state income tax has increased over the years and is the mainline Heroin that elected officials use to continue to fuel their addiction to socialism type spending and never-ending debt and unfunded liabilities.

What does Connecticut have to show for this spending? Trees? Pizza? Basketball? Crime? Illegal migrants? Nothing, other than poor results, Connecticut ranks continually last and or in the bottom five of many business and economic categories. Connecticut ranks as one of the highest taxed states in the country along with having one of the highest electric rates in the country. Contrary to the spin that has been placed, Connecticut still has between $100 and $150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with massive unfunded liabilities. These same unfunded liabilities are difficult to trace and account for but that is the norm for how Connecticut's state government works since the 1990s with tons and tons of obfuscation and no transparency. But who cares? As politicians decry fiscal mismanagement and the mortal sin of straying from the “fiscal guardrails” we see a new $10 billion dollar "bipartisan" bonding package (H.B. No. 7288) that just passed in the current legislative session in the spirit of unity, cooperation, and general welfare. (https://ctmirror.org/2025/06/04/ct-bond-package-local-aid-housing/) .

In attempting to understand what was passed and what it will  cost in future interest costs is exceptionally difficult to ascertain. However, from what I was able to gather from this document the result should make Connecticut taxpayers blood run cold. https://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa/Documents/year/UAB/2026UAB20260202_Bond%20Authorizations%20Available%20for%20Allocation.pdf

Here are just some of the items that are further heaping you and your loved ones into perpetual indentured servitude to the Pizza Capital of The World:

Alterations, renovations, and improvements to parking garages in Hartford (where no one wants to go)- $10 million dollars.

Grant in aid to the municipality of East Hartford for the purposes of “general economic development” activities-$30 million dollars.

Grant in aid to the municipality of East Hartford for the purposes of general economic development activities, including the development of the infrastructure and improvements to the riverfront the creation of housing units, through rehabilitation and new construction the demolition or redevelopment of vacant buildings and redevelopment (whatever that all may mean)- $20 million dollars.

Recapitalize CII programs Grant in aid to recapitalize the programs of Connecticut Innovations Inc described in chapter 581 of the general statutes- $20 million dollars.  (Translation: Connecticut Innovations, the "Venture Capital Arm" of Connecticut, and one-time investor in "Sema4, is losing its collective shirt and needs more of your taxpayer money to keep the boiler room fires burning).             

Alterations, renovations, and improvements to existing state-owned buildings for inmate housing programming and staff training space and additional inmate capacity and for support facilities and offsite improvements- $125 million dollars.

Manufacturing Assistance Act (“MAA”) Economic Development and Manufacturing Assistance Act of 1990 and the CT job training finance demonstration program- $450 million dollars.

Cannabis Establishment Loans (for us to see your tax dollars vanish in a smoky, green haze)- $50 million dollars.

Nonprofit Security, (so you can trust the State of Connecticut to protect your house of worship like it protects everything else)- $30 million dollars.

Grants in aid to provide matching funds necessary for municipalities school districts and school bus operators to submit federal grant applications in order to maximize federal funding for the purchase or lease of zero emission school buses (that cannot start in the cold and that just might stop dead on a winter’s day with your child on one) and electric vehicle charging or fueling infrastructure- $40 million dollars

Multi Family Retrofitting Projects in Environmental Justice Communities- $125 million dollars.

The list that I have quoted from is 20 pages long, with each recipient of funding being more quizzical and ridiculous than the next. Absolutely nothing is held back as Connecticut's march to economic oblivion using these bonded projects, continues. Any sane person would wonder as to why Connecticut is now spending over $28 billion dollars and is also forced to bond almost $10 billion more this fiscal year . In addition, it is a sure bet that Connecticut will show little to no economic improvement by the end of year, even with this massive amount of money being spent. But again, who cares? Just look serious, crow about “the necessity of the fiscal guardrails,” and hock out citizens blind with largely irrelevant and fatuous self-aggrandizing projects, over half of which will show nothing tangible. Yet the spending just continues unabated. There is never a mention of cutting spending and or a plan of action to start paying down an unrealistic state debt for a state as small as Connecticut. Meanwhile, additional debt is just loaded on the back on Connecticut taxpayers as the chasm between the state-connected haves, and the ordinary “have not” citizen, grows even deeper.

Connecticut Democrats have done an incredible job of burying citizens in needless debt  for close to four decades. Meanwhile, Republicans, who frankly could and should know better, have compounded the felony by confirming the error of Democrats in such a horrible bill as H.B. No. 7288 in an act of purported "bipartisanship". Nothing here is to be celebrated, and all should hang their heads in shame while the fewer and fewer remaining legitimate taxpayers of the state struggle to make the “have’s”  have more, once again.