The Connecticut Citizens Assembly Has Spoken. More Taxes Will Solve Everything! (and the band played on)

 

One hundred and forty years ago, the following words were spoken:

 

 “When more of the people’s sustenance is exacted through the form of taxation than is necessary to meet the just obligations of government and expenses of its economical administration, such exaction becomes ruthless extortion and a violation of the fundamental principles of free government.” 

President Grover Cleveland Second Annual Message to Congress on December 6, 1886

Discounting the wisdom of the ages (and of minds far better than their own), we need more taxes, according to the Connecticut Citizens Assembly ("Assembly") that represents anything but Connecticut citizens. If one examines the  Assembly, one wonders if they live in the same state as Connecticut Taxpayers. Moreover, one wonders what state of mind that the members of the Connecticut Citizens Assembly inhabit, if they have any mindfulness at all?

 According to the website, "Why Does Connecticut Need a Citizens' Assembly? Connecticut's property tax system creates deep structural inequities across its 169 towns — and decades of political gridlock have prevented reform. A Citizens' Assembly is uniquely positioned to break the deadlock."   https://ct-citizens-assembly.org/about. Who decided upon this assembly-any Connecticut Taxpayers? Or in point of fact, the Assembly was likely created by liberal Connecticut Democrats that have controlled state government for years to ruin to propose solving high property taxes by raising other taxes and tolls to fix a problem that Democrats have engineered for decades.

 

 This assembly was created supposedly by lottery. As discussed on 94.9’s Lee Elci Show Power Hour on 10/26/2026 the purported lottery left out individuals like Tony De Angelo, who contacted Comptroller Sean Scanlon volunteering his service and was roundly rejected due to the Scanlon’s statement that the Assembly was a “random” group https://x.com/TonyDeAngelo7/status/2115151995606904903?a=LxJOhi9iXmZx6Cz82W4&s=20 ) . It is known by all in state that Tony has brought to light numerous fraudulent and covert actions by Governor Ned Lamont over the past six years. Could this have been a reason for his exclusion from their “complex, scientific, and random” lottery they had? Moreover, it would be impossible in the probability sense for such a “random” group to have a massive liberal skew, as such intentional bias violates about every law of statistics and probability with the objective of reaching a true outcome.

 

And the closer one gets, the worse it looks. For example, “Interim Expert Governance Committee” member, Audrey Tang is the Cyber Ambassador of Taiwan, who; "is a civic hacker and technologist who rewires systems for the public good...As digital minister, she declared broadband a human right, launched the pandemic-era “Mask Map,” and mobilized hackathons to counter disinformation and deepfakes."  https://ct-citizens-assembly.org/team. How all of this makes Ms. Tang an expert in taxation is beyond my mental reach. However "public lists containing the full names and personal identities of the 100 private citizen members have not been publicly released by the organizers', according to the CCM Initiative Hub” One would think such devoted public servants would be open and willing to engender thoughts and discussions regarding such a critical matter in their communities rather than hide in anonymity. However since the Lamont Administration has no transparency whatsoever why should this group be any different? However some of the chosen one hundred did publish their names in the final report recommending the charging of tolls and a surtax on those who earn $1,000,000 or more in the state.

In addition, the reports offer these economically damaging and poisonous recommendations.

Implement Interstate Tolls and use revenue for property tax relief, including potentially eliminating the car tax.
Q1. What problem or issue related to the property tax is this proposal seeking to address?
Connecticut municipalities rely heavily on property taxes, including the motor vehicle tax, to fund local services. This proposal seeks to reduce that burden by creating a new, dedicated revenue source that could offset property taxes and provide relief from—or potentially eliminate—the car tax.
A 2023 state analysis estimated that interstate tolls could generate approximately $950 million annually, with roughly 40% of that revenue coming from out-of-state drivers. The total projected toll revenue is comparable to the amount Connecticut municipalities collect annually through the motor vehicle property tax, demonstrating the potential scale of the revenue source. https://ct-citizens-assembly.org/report

 Thus, in a state as small as Connecticut with the amount of interstate roads it has, it can raise almost $1 billion in annual revenue from electronic tolls, with roughly $400 million of that coming from out-of-state drivers. That means Connecticut taxpayers would still have to pay the remaining $600 million. And the claim is that this will somehow lower property taxes for homeowners, even while residents are spending more than $600 million on the tolls to make it happen. Higher shipping costs would certainly be passed on to consumers as well. I have never seen more irrational and unbalanced economic logic in my life in consideration of these skewed figures.

 

What was missing in this report by the chosen one hundred of Connecticut's finest was a real dialogue about excessive spending, waste, bureaucracy, redundancy, and fraud that is seen in Connecticut's state government and in many of the municipalities of the state. What could be done about that? What can be done to clean up the horrific nonprofit fraud, redundancy, and abuse situation? Just look at the never-ending economic and social problems of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. These are the true Connecticut Taxpayers economic wastelands receiving massive state funding and showing no improvements in the enormous economic, educational, and social issues that they have year in and year out. Or, what did this group of one hundred anointed citizens propose about a plan to pay down and/or off the state's $100-150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities? You can bet your last dollar this subject  was never even raised.

The secrecy kicker to this debacle comes from Democratic Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who apparently did not want the new taxes disclosed before Election Day so as not to hurt the one-party Democratic rule in the election. “The planned release from the Connecticut Citizens Assembly on Property Taxes runs counter to a recommendation from state Comptroller Sean Scanlon that the group withhold its proposals until after the election… But Scanlon said there is a downside, as well, to rolling out bold reform ideas now. ‘I just am not sure it’ll get a fair hearing’ in the final two weeks before an election, he said, adding that the home stretch of many campaigns generates heavy rhetoric, distortions, and exaggerations.” (https://ctmirror.org/2026/10/21/tax-reform-group-to-offer-plan-despite-request-to-delay-release/). What a ridiculous statement that was from Scanlon—it is apparent that this assembly’s purpose from the start was to bring tolls back with no real questions or discussion, and ram them down Connecticut taxpayers’ throats, Connecticut Democratic Party style.

What an insult this Assembly and tax increase is. to the Connecticut taxpayer.

 

Perhaps an equivalent fiscal disaster to the instant one is the dearth of ideas and boldness across the entire legislature and both gubernatorial candidates regarding proposals of a simple, flat, fair (and declining) state income tax and spending reductions that would attract new businesses and make Connecticut a competitive state, as opposed to a sinkhole state.

But, attracting capital is not Connecticut’s strong suit. Begging and scheming to get into citizens’ pockets. is more its speed.

 

President Ronald Reagan summarized government perfectly in his famous quote: “The government’s view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”  

 

For Connecticut Taxpayers this quote could be altered to fit the poorly conceived and rigged liberal think tank, pro tax, Non-Connecticut Citizens Assembly that was formed for political purposes only and about everyone wearing a government uniform.

What a sad situation this is.

Connecticut Taxpayers are damned forever by their nontransparent and non-representative assembly and state government.