Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain! The Eight-Year Fantasy Reign of Governor Ned Lamont

 The eight years of the fantasy reign of King Ned Lamont the Unaccountable as Governor of the State of Connecticut can best be summed up by this dialogue from the 1939 classic film “The Wizard Of Oz”

The Wizard (booming voice, as the giant head):

“Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz! I said come back tomorrow!”

 

Dorothy:

“If you were really great and powerful, you’d keep your promises!”

The Wizard (still booming):

“Do you presume to criticize the great Oz? You ungrateful creatures! Think yourselves lucky that I’m giving you audience tomorrow instead of 20 years from now!”

(Toto pulls back the green curtain, revealing the ordinary man working the levers and speaking into a microphone.)

The Wizard (startled, still trying to maintain the booming voice):

“Oh! … The great Oz has spoken!”

(He tries to close the curtain.)

“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain! The great Oz has spoken!”

(Dorothy pulls the curtain fully open.)

Dorothy:

“Who are you?”

The Wizard (first booming, then dropping to his normal voice):

“I am the great and powerful… Wizard of Oz.”

Dorothy:

“You are? I don’t believe you!”

The Wizard:

“I’m afraid it’s true. There’s no other Wizard except me.”

Scarecrow:

“You humbug!”

Cowardly Lion:

“Yeah!”

The Wizard:
“Yes, that’s exactly so. I’m a humbug.”

Dorothy:

“Oh, you’re a very bad man!”

The Wizard:

“Oh, no, my dear. I’m a very good man. I’m just a very bad wizard.”

 

 This 90-year old classic snippet of dialogue from "The Wizard Of Oz" describes the reign of King Governor Ned Lamont The Unaccountable perfectly, but for one item: While “Most Popular” Governor Ned Lamont may get an A+ in the categories of wonder and achievement courtesy of his state-run hack media stable, he differs from The Wizard in that in actuality, he is both a bad man and a bad governor.

Pick any sycophantic state-run media outlet or print publication in Connecticut, and you will get the same tale concerning Ned Lamont. There is economic magic in Connecticut! It is due to an amazing run of all sorts of the Democrat Party pulling economic rabbits out of their hats by the one and only, King Ned Lamont, the Unaccountable! In a recent news article that read like a campaign press release written by the Connecticut Democrat Party, somehow there is no longer any unfunded liabilities to the Connecticut State Pension System.  This is due to the magic of King Ned and his over taxation of Connecticut Taxpayers to create fiscal balloon surpluses.

From the article: https://www.courant.com/2026/08/03/a-look-at-cts-recent-fiscal-matters-pensions-debt-revenue-surpluses-taxing-the-wealthy/?lctg=64C6443F951205741532846538&utm_email=64C6443F951205741532846538&active=yesP&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.courant.com%2f2026%2f08%2f03%2fa-look-at-cts-recent-fiscal-matters-pensions-debt-revenue-surpluses-taxing-the-wealthy%2f&utm_campaign=trib-hartford_courant-five_things_you_need_to_know-nl&utm_content=hybrid “Central to Gov. Ned Lamont’s political brand and his run for a rare third term is a fiscal discipline that has contributed to Connecticut’s extraordinary run of budget surpluses. He’s wrapped seven consecutive years in the black, using $11 billion of those unspent funds to wipe out pension debt. No other governor in modern history has made one such payment. And Lamont, a Democrat who has served with strong Democratic legislative majorities, cut state income tax rates in 2023, something done only once before in the 35-year history of the levy, while still building a record-setting budget reserve that tops $4.4 billion.”

This particular version of sycophantic blather was never parroted until the Lamont versus Socialist/Communist Josh Elliott primary. As someone who has studied the and written about the Connecticut State Debt for decades, I am truly amazed by these farcical statements.  When one tries to understand Connecticut State's Debt, one may be overwhelmed by the spider web of deceptions and untruths that have been force fed to Connecticut Taxpayers over the years. For to even get at what the real state debt is truly a challenge.

One thing the sycophants and lackeys will never tell you is that there are many aspects to Connecticut's debt that include long term and short-term bonding of different debts along with billions in unfunded liabilities that state taxpayers are liable for. This chorus of magpies would never tell you that Connecticut has one of the highest ratios of debt functions in the country along with one of the highest local and state tax burdens simultaneously. Few even understand this is happening. Connecticut State workers have one of the highest wage, benefit, and pension structures in the country accounting for over $11 billion dollars this past year out of state budget or roughly $27 billion dollars.  This is roughly 41% of Connecticut's state budget. Other examples include a 17.15% Debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio. This is a ratio calculated by dividing total debt by annual economic output, reflecting Connecticut's ability to pay back what it owes. And business development and economic opportunity? Connecticut has a population of roughly 3.6 million people of which over 380,000 are on Food Stamps which is over 10% of the state's population (https://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-clocks/state-of-connecticut-debt-clock.html). Of course if you can make your own way, you do not need government food subsidies. But! (but) isn't the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development leading the charge into the Mojo-driven Lamont universe? Roughly two billion dollars has been siphoned from state coffers into varying socialistic scam spending during the Reign of Lamont. But one wonders for what purpose have these funds been allocated for reasons other than serial waste, fraud, nepotism, cronyism, and abuse? https://wp.cga.ct.gov/apa/wp-content/cgacustom/reports/FullReports/Economic%20and%20Community%20Development,%20Department%20of%20FULL_20260729_FY2023,2024.pdf .

Continuing from the above news article/press release: “I think people are taking a second look at Connecticut” because of this fiscal dedication, Lamont said this week. “They say, ‘They’ve got their act together.’” 

How did Connecticut ever get its act together with crushingly high state debt and 41% of the budget just going to salaries, benefits, and pensions, coupled with Wizard of Oz-like budget surpluses caused by Democrat Party over taxation?

However, no state-produced lie is ever complete without a benchmark reference to the failed leaders of the past. Here, the reference is to good old Former Governor Dan Malloy, who ran on a platform of “no new taxes. When elected that lie was forgotten about. Again, from the “above news article/press release: “(Malloy) took an issue that was [behind] closed doors … and really put it out there for people to understand the level of the problem,” said Joe Aresimowicz, the House speaker during the last two years of Malloy’s tenure and first two of Lamont’s. “It takes a different kind of human being to stand up in front of hundreds of people night after night, knowing that they disagree with you, knowing that they’re angry, knowing that they’re going to yell at you, and you keep doing it anyway,” said Roy Occhiogrosso, a senior adviser and campaign strategist for Malloy. “And it was because he believed deeply that you cannot fix the massive problems that he inherited unless you educate people about them first.” “In Dan Malloy’s defense, he was the first guy to at least make the current [pension] payments,” the governor said, “and I respect him for that.” Malloy’s tax hikes forced high earners to pay more..."Lamont ultimately closed his deficit by raising some business taxes and by canceling some sales tax exemptions and previously approved tax cuts that hadn’t taken effect yet. He was spared from increasing the state income tax, which carried the biggest political risk."

None of these characters of the state’s storied past will ever tell you that Malloy's legacy was one of making Connecticut's State Income Tax one of the most progressive in the country to fuel much higher state spending under the guise of paying down state debt. For such a destructive reign of fiscal irresponsibility. Malloy's payoff was getting a political nonjob in Maine via his financial glad-handing of Maine-based Jackson Labs. And when the state pays the freight, no news article is complete without painting Lamont as a discernable improvement over the failures of the past.

But wait! Here’s More! More confirmation of the Lamont economic brilliance is a recent report from Reason Foundation (https://reason.org/commentary/cts-pre-k-endowment-diverts-pension-dollars/). From this report,  Connecticut’s Early Childhood Education Endowment (ECEE) was created to further the state’s efforts to subsidize early childhood education. The goal is commendable. Childcare is expensive, and surely many families in Connecticut could benefit from additional support.

But the financing structure of this endowment is troubling. It redirects surplus dollars that would otherwise have gone toward paying down Connecticut’s severely underfunded public pension systems, setting up the state for future problems.

Connecticut already funds early childhood education through its operating budget. The state approved $418 million for fiscal year 2026 and $443 million for fiscal year 2027, separate from the endowment. These funds are part of the regular budget process, where spending is debated, appropriated, and subject to the state’s fiscal guardrails.

The endowment is different. Starting in fiscal year 2026, it is set to receive any unappropriated General Fund surpluses once the Budget Reserve Fund is at its statutory cap. Before the endowment was created, those surpluses would have continued to support additional contributions to pay the state’s massive pension system debt that is owed to public workers.

Connecticut’s State Employees Retirement System and State Teachers’ Retirement System have a combined unfunded liability of $31.5 billion. These are not optional obligations. These are pension benefits already earned by public employees that are legally binding claims on future state revenues.

Unfunded pension obligations are among the state’s most expensive fiscal risks. When pension funding falls short, the state forgoes investment earnings that would have accrued on contributed assets, increasing long-term costs, and shifting a larger burden to future taxpayers. For decades, Connecticut did exactly that, using funding practices that lowered near-term budget pressure while pushing debts and costs into the future.

But didn’t the above news article/press release tell us Lamont wiped out debt? If that is the case, how is it possible that a mere $31 billion dollars plus in unfunded pension liabilities exists in one place alone? Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? I highly doubt it is Democrat Governor Ned Lamont through his state-run media.

True money does not lie. Connecticut, depending on your periscope, still has $100,000,000,000 to $150,000,000,000 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. It has moved billions over dollars off budget over the years  and hidden that from public view and comment. Connecticut gives away your tax dollars freely and without oversight through nontransparent agencies such as the Department of Economic and Community Development, which really should be eliminated and via myriad non-profits that no one in elected government wants to stop funding. Connecticut remains a fiscal mess with high debt, high taxes, and a poor business climate.

If you do not mind being ripped off daily, by all means keep voting for incompetent Democrats who are running in November. If you do not mind living in an economic and unaffordable economic sewer where there are few places you can grow and advance, keep voting for incompetent Democrats who are running in November. If you like busting your rear-end to feed the masses, illegal aliens and the entitled, keep voting for incompetent Democrats who are running in November. If you like all the daycare opportunities in-state but have no idea as to how much grift and fraud you are supporting since no politician anywhere cares, keep voting for incompetent Democrats who are running in November. If you want a genuine growing economy that attracts winners rather than a state-supported morass that attracts only politicians, keep voting for incompetent Democrats that are running in November. If you like serial crime and mere lip-service by police agencies to stop the crime as lip-service is all that is allowed, keep voting for incompetent Democrats who are running in November.

 

Maybe, just maybe this election could finally be different if voters see the economic light of darkness that is Ned Lamont and his political hacks who rule Connecticut with an iron fist.

 

The Pharisee And The Publican- The Connecticut Democrat Version of 2026

Most people are familiar with the Biblical tale of the Pharisee and the Publican.

It goes something like this: Two men went up to the temple to pray: one a Pharisee (a member of a Jewish religious group known for strict observance of the Law) and the other a publican/tax collector (a figure often viewed as a sinner and collaborator with Roman authorities, despised).

 

• The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
•  
• The tax collector (publican) stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

In the Bible, two men came before God seeking him and one was able to approach God for mercy, being of a sincere heart. In the political theater of Connecticut, two men came before members of their party seeking primary votes. Sadly, both failed miserably as both projected no sense of sincerity whatsoever.

 

Welcome to the 2026 Democrat Version of the Pharisee and The Publican. 

 One, Josh Elliott wants to be the Governor of Connecticut so badly he can taste it. He demands your vote as any good Communist/Socialist Young Democrat demands. He confronted the Taxpayer funded Capitalist evil, enemy Governor Ned Lamont in a 45-minute debate held on July 22 on WTNH News 8 for all to see (https://www.wtnh.com/news/elections/lamont-elliott-spar-over-taxes-utility-costs-and-ice-mask-policy-in-news-8-debate/). And what a stale, scripted debate it was.  The same old, same old, tired failed Democrat policies echoed repeatedly. The agreed-to, (or network prepared?) questions were out of central casting.   No new ideas or logical thought provided.

Here are some interesting and as expected quotes from this fight between two Democrat Party brothers in corruption. (https://ctmirror.org/2026/07/22/lamont-and-elliott-clash-politely-in-only-tv-debate-before-primary/)

 Elliott:  “We’re the second-most reliant state on the property tax, which is deeply regressive,” Elliott said Wednesday. “The only way we can fix this is through a fair tax structure, asking the wealthy to pay a commensurate amount, a fair amount.”  Hey Josh! how much are you going to charge the wealthy in taxes?  100%? 200%?  At what point do you think they will move out of your state and thus pay zero in Connecticut taxes as they have done in every other state except your own?  Have you seen anyone and or any business move into state to pay Connecticut taxes in your ten years of damaging public service as a State Representative? In fact, what businesses have moved in state, excepting those receiving 2% taxpayer-funded sweetheart loans from our should-be-abolished Department of Economic and Community Development? What experience do you have with said loans? Why don’t you ask your opponent Mr. Lamont about this type of 2% forgivable economic assistance as he is well familiar with multi-million-dollar fundings advanced to his wife’s investors via Sema-4 and the Digital Currency Group?  What have you done about any of this?  

Not much as your record of accomplishments in unrecognizable.

Elliott also stated: “When I see that I’m up against somebody who takes my message and does the Temu version of it, I find it deeply frustrating,” “The fact is, I’m glad we’re rowing the same direction, but not quite the same, and not quite the same velocity. We could do so much more here in Connecticut, and the fact is, we have to fight for fairness up and down the board.”  What is this fairness he is talking about? Political nepotism for Connecticut Democrat Party operatives as in Bridgeport? More low-income jobs, multi-unit housing, and supporting dependency on the backs of the remaining legitimate taxpayers in the state? More gender-affirming care for innocent children?

Lamont:  “He (Elliott) doesn’t have much of a track record to talk about,” Lamont said. “I could talk about minimum wage. I could talk about economic growth. I could talk about the money we got for education and what we’re doing for health care. So, it gave me a lot of material to work with.”  Corrupted Capitalist Lamont could answer questions on how much did his family's hedge fund profit from Infosys Limited, Digital Currency Group and its affiliates, "ADVANCECT", Boston Consulting Group, UNITE US (CT), Mt. Sinai Genomics, "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Informatics", "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", "4-CT", and "VillageMD ““The Horsebarn Hill Investment Fund”, McKinsey, “CT Next”, and the Tidal River Fund, 'Baby Bonds portfolio, the UCONN Foundation, to name a few?  I wonder why the moderators of the debate nor Elliott did not bring these areas up. Also, why does the Boiler Room of Connecticut ("Connecticut Innovations") steadfastly refuse to release any information whatsoever on their portfolio holding “Yuma Asset Management?” Is it because it is directly related to that same Digital Currency Group, and neither you nor your wife ever really “got out” of that deal and you lied to the citizens as you are wont to do?

Or how about both candidates disclosing their Income tax returns? (Hey Josh! Be sure to ask for Annie’s separate return, especially the part of Schedule “B” that asks for locations of foreign investments such as the tax-free and secret Cayman Islands, an integral part of the Sema-4 debacle).

Lamont also added: “We’re getting our fiscal house in order, and we had some surpluses to allow us to pay down some of the pension debt,” Lamont said. “Now we have the resources we need to make some of the big investments to really make a difference in people’s lives.” But what are exactly these investments? More 2% loans? More throwing money in exchange for votes and gimmees? More picking of winners and losers? But who cares about Connecticut and its  $100 and $150 billion dollars in short and term debt along with unfunded liabilities? What is the plan to pay that off? Why are so many legal and illegal citizens on state taxpayer funded social aid? Why do you never seem to care about any of that?

 You could have predicted the rest of debate. More rhetoric, more theatrics, and more spins on one of the worst performing states economically in the country.  Are you excited about either Democrat Party candidate? I would venture to say no as both will end up increasing state spending, increasing taxes, do less to try to combat crime and take away more of your personal freedoms. It’s the same garbage force fed to you by the Connecticut Democrat Party and its state-run media since time immemorial. It is the same rhetoric and the same lies over and over again. And most insultingly, they believe that no one sees (or cares).

Yes, both candidates are "insincere" about representing Connecticut. Both candidates represent the powerful economic and social self-interests that have made them career politicians with zero accomplishments. One candidate desperately wants to be important and be a good socialist helping to tear apart our country and its very fabric of being. The current Governor is desperately trying to keep his family's Connecticut Taxpayer funded increase in wealth, through the biggest bunch of shell companies with zero transparency and the stock deer-in-the-headlights look whenever he is confronted with a question of self-dealing or leveraging the state for personal gain. Both are inept and both are unfit to serve the Connecticut Taxpayer. 

It is the 2026 Connecticut Democrat Version of the Pharisee and The Publican. The difference, is, neither Elliott or Lamont promises to repent, straighten up, and fly right.

 

Is An “Election” A Mythological Term In Connecticut?

 Since we had such a fun time in last week’s Chris Murphy article using definitions of terms, I decided to start in like manner this week.

1)  ELECTION: An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population or group freely votes to choose an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office or other position of responsibility.

 

2)  CANDIDATE: A candidate is a person who petitions to run for public office.

 

3)  POLITICAL PARTY: A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in elections and participate in governance. It is common for the members of a party to coalesce around similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or policy goals.

 

4)  REPRESENTATIVE: A representative is a person chosen to speak or act on behalf of others, especially in government.

 

5)  DISENFRANCHISEMENT: Disenfranchisement means taking away someone’s right to vote or making it very hard for them to vote. This can happen in many ways including voter discouragement, where people are not directly blocked from voting but are pushed not to vote by removing their input and opinion from the process.

 

6)  43% OF CONNECTICUT VOTERS THAT VOTED FOR TRUMP IN 2024:  Cannot relate to any number above, (but for 5)

In review of just several of the horrors of this past month concerning elections and the conduct of those in political high places this week, I am forced to wonder: Does voting and elections matter anymore in Connecticut? Many wonder if their votes even count any more in Connecticut in any type of election given the mass amount of deception, fraud and lies that Connecticut Taxpayers are force fed daily. This upcoming state election is yet another case in point as over 43% of the voting public wonder if anyone will ever represent them and not even caring what their feelings and sentiments may be. Unbelievably, not everyone in Connecticut agrees with Omnipotent One-Party Socialist Democrat Party diatribes and jeremiads that are blabbered on a daily basis over the should-be starved out state run and paid for media channels. Many people turn off such drivel and are searching for vision, boldness, and aggressiveness heretofore unseen in the land of the established Connecticut political system.

And in the words of the late ABC Sportscaster Howard Cosell, this, is a sick scene, that speaks for itself.

We were once told that Connecticut Governor King Ned Lamont The Unaccountable was both beloved and un-defeatable. However, reality has this nasty habit of being (well), real, and this reality is finally catching up to The Unaccountable. We now see storm clouds brewing over what was once the Lamont Sea of tranquility as The Unaccountable is doing everything he can to appease the radical left that the Connecticut Democrat Party has transformed into in addition to protecting his wife's cash flow into their Oak HC/FT hedge fund place in state-connected business and pension assets. Crossing over, the Republican Party front runner against Lamont, Mayor Erin Stewart is imploding with new revelations of her Administration and questionable dealing with both back dated taxes and her boorish ad entitled request for a partial pension for 14 years of service to the city of New Britain (https://ctmirror.org/2026/04/30/ct-erin-stewart-mayor-pension-benefit/). Many workers in Connecticut in that 43% block have worked for many years with NO PENSIONS after any number of years and have to deal with it.  Many workers in Connecticut in that 43% block continue to question why Connecticut state workers and elected officials are so deserving of massive pensions for their work? Meanwhile, many workers in Connecticut in that 43% bloc are fast concluding that elected officials view them only as a means to fatten their wallets and to bankroll their farcical conduct while masquerading in something called “representative government”.

But perhaps there is hope after all! Providing a breath of fresh air to the Republican race is former New York Lieutenant Governor Betsy McCaughey and her no-nonsense approach to resolving Connecticut's never-ending problems. In true Connecticut politics fashion, McCaughey, a conservative, is being unapologetically shut out by the party's hierarchy https://x.com/ct_unite/status/2049316754514411701?s=20. Moreover, the Connecticut GOP is so inexplicably impotent that it refuses to capitalize on the national dismembering of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro by EPA Secretary Lee Zeldin this past week https://x.com/epaleezeldin/status/2048895480151593427?s=20. But due to this ostensible lack of enthusiasm for the party, the outlying problem in the upcoming election is once again a lack of Republican candidates to run against the entrenched Democrat candidates in the State House and State Senate. Several non-Republican Party individuals have geared up to get candidates to run in these open seats. To many this should have been the first priority of the party right after their crushing state losses in 2024. The weakness and cowardice resonates as the call for a full investigation into Ned Lamont's financial streams and for a full disclosure of his income tax statements has never been made by Connecticut Republicans. We still have no answers to dealings with  "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Infomatics", “Centrellis”. "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", and "VillageMD",  the Lamont-related Cayman Island partnerships, large Cayman Islands deals such as the "Horsebarn Hill Investment Fund" hiding in the UCONN Foundation,  and other deals working through “quasi-public” organizations such as Lamont-connected (and covert) “Connecticut Innovations”. No Republican candidate for his office ever raises these issues, which have all been documented since Tony De Angelo broke the stories of Sema4 and Digital Currency Group several years back. Why is this continuing to be hidden? And why are the Republicans so silent about it? Can these inroads be more entrenched than what we may have imagined previously?

Through  it all, Connecticut's problems have not cleared up in any way, shape, or form. Connecticut still has massive short- and long-term debt between 100 and 150 Billion dollars, an illegal immigrant problem, a massive crime problem, a huge corruption problem, a horrific illegal drug problem, an infrastructure problem, a gross incompetency problem in the Great Connecticut Administrative State,  and a critical crisis in the ethics, honesty, information sharing, and transparency of its state government, all of which are funded by Connecticut taxpayers.  Connecticut has one of the highest tax rates in the country, one of the highest electric rates in the country and one of the most toxic business climates in the country. These are all Republican campaign platforms that this state party should be about on a minute-by-minute basis.

Connecticut therefore needs a leader in the mold of a President Trump. Someone who is willing to make real decisions to improve the state in a variety of ways; economically, ethically, and socially. A leader who will reverse the down arrow. A leader who must confront the evil empire that the Connecticut's political system on both sides of the aisle has developed into. The Connecticut Republican Party and the remaining RINO's therein also need to be held accountable. Why do we not see filibusters and walking out on votes of 1000 page bills delivered 30 minutes prior to vote? This would be a start. Good old 1960’s tactics like sit-ins and pickets work wonders. How about bringing lawsuits against these putrid bills? This should be the norm. Tying up illegal and unconstitutional laws in courts for years to come is also essential. Given the horrific state of Connecticut's corrupted state government, this election should be an overwhelming victory for the Connecticut Republican Party and not the confusing morass we are witnessing.

Can anyone step up to this challenge and actually take back Connecticut to the once great state that it was? Or is it doomed to be a cesspool of socialist bombast and grandiloquence, turning the state into a permanent sewer of economic and social failure? Meanwhile, 43% of the state is crying for their voice. I respectfully ask the Republican Party not to blow this opportunity to connect with these folks, just like they have blown every opportunity hand-delivered to them previously. The future of Connecticut and all citizens born and unborn, depends on it.

Connecticut: Its The Debt, Stupid

Over the past twenty years, I have been writing to tell readers again and again about the wretched state of Connecticut finances, and the incredible amount of debt heaped upon poor and innocent taxpayers by arrogant, ignorant, and uncaring politicians. I have also written time and time again about the stranglehold of the omnipotent and incompetent Connecticut Democrat Party, in addition to some of the weak-minded Connecticut Republicans that have made that party's job that much easier. Many times, I felt discouraged that I was not getting through. But when I finished and published last week’s article on the sickening and redundant $9,700,000,000 bipartisan approved bonding for largely special-interest and vanity projects, something happened. Multiple thousands pf people read the article over several platforms. My good friend and colleague made this a point of his February 17 Lee Elci Show segment. TONY DE ANGELO LEE ELCI- LEE ELCI SHOW 2 17 2026

 And all of this led to one point of critical mass. The Connecticut taxpayer is mad as hell at politicians and pontificators that have created a fiscal mess that will take years to shovel out of. State taxpayers, livid at the increasing amount of costs they face every day, are finally (and fully) lambasting politicians for the morass they have created for decades.

However, the only group of people not reading that memorandum and acting upon it are those very same arrogant and stiff-necked politicians that created the mess in the first place. Unfortunately the elementary concepts of (what is) the present value of a dollar, the time value of money and the opportunity cost of deficit spending are lost on almost the entire state government, who see fiscal management as throwing a sack of cash at their district and begging reelection. Nothing else matters to them, nor do they really care about the generational burdens they are heaping upon citizens. For reelection is Job No. 1. In turn, you, do not matter in the least.

As this selective arrogance and ignorance grow from elected officials, Connecticut's state government debt grows year in and year out. It has been like this since 1991. A recent Reason Foundation analysis of October 23, 2025, studied and reported on Connecticut's massive debt problem. Their report confirms what I have been stating for several years that the state has $100 to $150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. The following figures are taken from this report: (https://reason.org/transparency-project/gov-finance-2025/state/)

Total State Debt: Connecticut #7    $94.43 billion "On a per capita basis, Connecticut had the highest state debt, with $26,187 of debt per state resident at the end of 2023."  

State Government debt per capita Connecticut #1 $26,187

State Government long term debt Connecticut #7 $86.3 billion

 State Government long term debt per capita Connecticut #1 $23,934

 State Government net pension debt Connecticut #6 $40.36 billion "On a per capita basis, Illinois again had the most pension debt, with $11,355 per resident. Connecticut was (2) close behind with $11,192 per capita pension debt."

 State government other-post employment benefit debt Connecticut #7 $16.9 billion "The rest of the states with the most OPEB debt per capita at the end of 2023 were Connecticut ($4,687) ..."

State government other-post employment benefit debt per capita Connecticut #3 $4,687

Total of every state government's outstanding bonds, loans, and notes Connecticut #6 $29.17 billion "In per capita terms, the state governments of Hawaii and Connecticut rank first and second, respectively, with outstanding bonds of over $8,000 per resident."

Per capita amount of every state government's outstanding bonds, loans, and notes Connecticut #2, $8,090

If one examines the limited data one can find for Fiscal years 2024 and 2025, one will see the same excessive debt and borrowing for Connecticut. Connecticut continues to lead the nation in debt. This newer information is difficult to find as the Democrat Administration of Governor Ned Lamont does not believe in transparency whatsoever and would much rather hide these figures from the diligent Connecticut Taxpayers who are enslaved to Connecticut's drug infused spending and debt addictions.  How a state as small as Connecticut has this much debt and spends this amount yearly is incomprehensible, especially in this election year. Realistically, Connecticut politicians could give a damn about how much money they spend and how much debt the state has since it will not be their problem. The protected political elite of Connecticut, along with its cronies, sycophants, toadies, and lackeys will make sure they become vested in a perpetual state Taxpayer funded pension with unlimited lifetime benefits, in addition to lifetime health care, all paid at your expense. Why should these elitists and state-connected people settle for Medicare as the rest of working population must, when their damaging, fiscally inept policies that have driven the state to the brink of bankruptcy, entitles them to a superior lifetime health care plan for themselves and their families? “To the victors go the spoils!"  is the essence of the ruling Connecticut political elite. Connecticut is in essence broke and has been broke for years. And about every person wearing a political uniform does not give a damn about that, if they even understand the damage they are creating.

But again, who cares? 

The new Connecticut state budget, spending over $28 billion dollars for the year, follows the same yearly script. As we have been told for decades, more spending will solve all the state's problems such as food insecurity (as in the yearly salary of non-profit Connecticut Foodshare's President and CEO's Jason Jakubowski at near $400,000), homeless issues, illegal drug deaths and addictions, a crumbling transportation infrastructure,  widespread worker’s compensation fraud, excessively high taxes, a failing public education system where students cannot read nor write, voting fraud in Bridgeport and other locations, fraud and lost funds in the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development as more millions are heaped upon it,  and two incoherent, screaming United States Senators who are an insult to the voters of Connecticut.  And as the debt keeps growing, the same rhetoric is spewed with the same failed debt results. That is the reality of Connecticut's poor economy and horrific economic policies and programs.

The Republican candidates for Governor could easily win the upcoming election and all state offices by campaigning on the debt issue, expense reduction, and full transparency. If only they would challenge the failed economic policies of the Lamont Administration every step of the way and the financial enrichment that the Lamont family has nurtured through their hedge fund and their deceptive investments, victory and permanent change would be assured. Again after many years, we still do not have any answers to Ned Lamont's family hedge fund (Oak HC/FT Partners), investments in Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-service provider, and Unqork, both having documented common-investment ties to "Infosys", that same Infosys that received Connecticut taxpayers monies. We have no disclosures as to what happened in the Lamont-Infosys trip to India in February of 2025 completed under that secret cloak of that same-secret ADVANCE CT. Nor are any answers forthcoming from associated companies relating to the Covid-19 crisis that include "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Infomatics", “Centrellis”. "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", and "VillageMD" to name several. Nor are there ever any answers to the questions concerning the Lamont-related Cayman Island partnerships, large Cayman Islands deals such as the "Horsebarn Hill Investment Fund" hiding in the UCONN Foundation,  and other funny-money deals working through “quasi-public” organizations such as the now-clearly Lamont-connected (and covert) “Connecticut Innovations”.  Again, your standard-issue Connecticut legislator never asks those questions, as getting re-elected, throwing cash, smiling in pictures, and signing on to inane and sometimes perverted causes take on a much higher priority.

Connecticut's debt and deception by the Lamont Administration continues to choke the state's economy. But again, who really cares except for Connecticut's Taxpayers who will never be heard and several non-paid citizen journalists who are condemned and vilified by the socialists who desperately glorify their own failures in society by pushing their perversions as policy parameters. 

Dear Candidates: The game, is over here: The lights need to come on. For once. For you. You need to grasp these concepts and actually, think. Connecticut and its debt are the real and true campaign issues in 2026. 

Too bad no one is listening. 

The Affordability of Courage

What makes something affordable? How is that defined? And does affordability mean different things to different economic groups in our economy? And why has Connecticut become so unaffordable to those remaining legal, working, middle-class, law-abiding citizens who remain? These are all legitimate questions for the upcoming Connecticut Governor’s race, which is fast approaching.

The election is starting off as scripted. Several candidates have emerged from the minority Republican Party, each with very different ideas and political ideologies, while the Democrat Party begins its familiar, fanatical condemnation of all things President Trump. Meanwhile, Ned Lamont, the ruling/ unaccountable King/Governor has humbly announced that he is running yet again for another term. Left-wing, socialist, communist-leaning young Democrats may also enter the race, declaring that Lamont is unfit to serve any longer because he is too old and not liberal enough to govern. They will threaten him with a primary if he does not give them what they demand. This amounts to free universal health care, free rent, free public transportation, free public education from birth through graduate school, free cell phones, free food, and anything else that comes to mind over the next few months. If you are one of those humble working taxpaying citizens of Connecticut, you will be paying for this as the Federal government is on to the continual waste, fraud and abuse that is the Gold Standard of the omnipotent Connecticut Democrat Party. The spigot for all of that foolishness is about to be cut off by the Trump administration. Trump administration orders review of federal funding in more than a dozen Democratic states | CNN Politics.  

The line is being drawn in the sand for November 2026.

So how does this apply to affordability? Or does affordability have something to do with courage?

If a candidate for Governor, especially a Republican, would boldly state out loud that Connecticut is no longer affordable and present a coherent and genuine citizen-centric economic plan to reduce the economic stress and pain of living in this state, they might actually be heard and could win the election by an overwhelming margin. And if Republicans also ran a candidate for every State House and Senate district rather than leaving many uncontested and unrepresented, this would represent a radical shift in campaign strategy and indicate a seriousness heretofore not present in what has been a weak and disjointed Republican Party. With a gubernatorial candidate advancing such a genuine, citizen-centric plan, they could realistically win General Assembly seats along with statewide offices such as Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Comptroller, and more. It really can be done if someone has the courage to address it, and clearly commit to ending the irritating deference to the state workforce and the Connecticut Administrative State.

Affordability in a one-party-ruled Democrat Connecticut, can easily become the ticket to real change in state government. Contrary to the daily deranged rhetoric of Connecticut Democrats and their paid followers, toadies, and lackeys, the reality is that they have made the state totally unaffordable. Excessive local and state taxes on nearly everything especially income taxes, high and excessive business taxes, user fees, vocational taxes, license taxes, gas taxes, electric taxes, natural gas taxes, and high sales taxes have all contributed greatly to the economic destruction of this once-prosperous state. It cannot be denied that the progressive, unyielding, anti-economic- tax rates and  administrative burdens and oppression of Connecticut have damaged the state to the point of becoming a bottom-five state in the country for business and economic performance.

Excessive and unchecked state spending driven by political nepotism with no transparency and sparse resistance at best, have helped nurture these high taxes that have vandalized the economy. This entire wretched mess could be stopped with a rational citizen-centric  Republican plan to cut the bloat of an ever-expanding state government that shows negative meaningful economic results year after year, especially when Connecticut has yet to recover from the Great Recession of 1989 thirty-six years later. Think about how poor that economic record is to run on in every election. But somehow, the omnipotent and incompetent Democrats remain in power, year after year (after year). How is that even possible?

2026 is really Custer’s Last Stand for the once-great state of Connecticut. If Connecticut is to survive both socially and economically, the Republican Party must reject its RINOs and all fealty to the administrative state and its agencies, and claim policies and programs that jump-start the state through lower state spending, lower state taxes, a real adult energy policy, and true transparency in how the state operates. Freedom of Information laws and requests should not be secrets from Connecticut taxpayers. The cries for a citizen DOGE must be heeded and propounded forthwith. The $100 to $150 billion in short- and long-term debt and unfunded liabilities should be discussed and debated daily, along with these real citizen-centric solutions presented.

This election, like the elections of the past 36 years, represents a true social and economic turning point for the state. This year, the Connecticut Democrat Party is out of deceptions, lies, and smokescreens to cover up its inability and lack of desire to represent the legal voters and taxpayers of the state. The Republican Party has a perfect opportunity to flush out the corruption, crime, deception, and fraud that the Democrat Party has utilized for personal and financial gain for years.The change is there for the taking. Does anyone have the vision and the courage to get Connecticut back on track? 

That is what Connecticut voters are voting for in November. And as of the time of this writing, this type of vision and courage is what we are still waiting for.

 

 

Connecticut: The Economy Stinks. So, Let's Make Things Up.

 

“Small businesses are the heart of our communities and economy. Yesterday in Southington, I toured F&F Concrete Manufacturing, spoke with local business owners, and visited Southington High School to hear from students about their goals.”

“Showing up and listening matters.”

(Ned Lamont, Governor of Connecticut- “X” Post- January 15, 2026)

As more and more businesses leave the state or close up in the face of that irrepressible “Ned Mojo,” https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/new-haven/macys-closing-cheshire-south-windsor-distribution-centers-cutting-over-1000-positions/, as small business farmers are being driven off of their farms due to tax policies that are abysmal even by Connecticut standards, https://www.wfsb.com/2026/01/13/state-leaders-push-moratorium-some-farms-see-300-increases-under-new-assessment-rates/ and as irrational energy policy is not replaced by simple and effective fixes, (Study: Nuclear, natural gas would save New England hundreds of billions over renewable mandates)  any sane person can only wonder if Governor Lamont is the least bit sane as none of his nattering represents the sad reality of the crumbling of Connecticut. 

(https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/study-nuclear-natural-gas-would-save-new-england-hundreds-of-billions-over-renewable-mandates/)

Several prominent historical figures (most recently, Presidential candidate H. Ross Perot) reminded us that if we do the same task repeatedly with the hope of achieving different results, we are insane. Mr. Perot should have moved to Connecticut, where insanity has been the Gold Standard of the ruling Connecticut Democrat Party and the Connecticut administrative state for many years. The “moderate businessman” Governor Ned Lamont in professing his continual love for Connecticut, is the equivalent of Mark David Chapman who expressed his love for The Beatles by assassinating John Lennon in 1980. There simply is no rationality or reason for the economic dealings of Connecticut where destruction and business closure is now an almost daily event. And for solutions, that is easy. There has never been a problem that the Democrat-run state government cannot “solve” by simply throwing more Connecticut taxpayers’ money at it.

The true reality is that Connecticut still suffers from many of the same problems it has faced since 1989. The economy in particular is consistently ignored and overlooked, as it has been for more than 35 years. Connecticut has never economically recovered since that recession of 1988–89. According to the September jobs report published in December, Connecticut is losing jobs. The state ranks 50th in payroll growth from 1989 to 2025 and is one of only three states that have failed to fully recover from the Great Recession.
(https://hartfordbusiness.com/article/carstensen-federal-budget-cuts-structural-gaps-put-ct-jobs-at-risk/utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Equipment%20supplier%20buys%20Southington%20building%20for%20%241%204M%20%7C%20Developer%20buys%20CT%20office%20tower&utm_campaign=HBJ%20Today%20011326)

Since 2020, the state has continued to lose jobs while state spending has grown dramatically since 1989. During this same period, Connecticut’s population depending on the year, has either declined or remained stagnant. Businesses come and go, with fewer new business formations occurring unless subsidized by taxpayer-funded incentives and goodies from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (“DECD”). But in Connecticut, facts do not matter. According to a recent U.S. News & World Report ranking on fiscal stability, Connecticut ranks 48th out of 50 states.
(https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rankings/fiscal-stability).

Given these facts, why isn’t Connecticut’s economy the central theme of the 2026 election? Why aren’t Republicans screaming about this, daily? Why are they silent on these most critical matters? There is ample data showing that Democrat control has coincided with long-term economic decline since 1989 . Year after year, we hear the same rhetoric: more spending here, more spending there, more “SomethingCT”- type organizations need to be set up, more funding is needed for nonprofits, more cash for state employees, more cash for education, and more spending ad infinitum. And this increased spending has produced dismal results. Businesses continue to close, residents move out of state, crime persists, illegal drug abuse remains widespread, and infrastructure continues to decay.

None of Connecticut’s political class questions why the state spends roughly $27 billion annually with little to no measurable economic growth or meaningful resolution of these chronic problems. At the same time, the state ignores between $100 and $150 billion in short- and long-term debt and unfunded liabilities. How is this a successful economic policy? And how does it benefit Connecticut businesses or taxpayers?

But Connecticut is extremely good at one thing. Faking. Faking of grandiose faux economic programs. Faking of grandiose economic programs such as “QuantumCT”    https://www.quantumct.org/, where the state has committed $121 Million dollars to fund a dream concept of quantum computing that will save the state of all of its ills. A review of the website indicates no commitment in this regard of any economic worth. The resident economist of the University of Connecticut has clearly stated that this project will take years to bear any fruit, if it ever does. The usual state GOP silence on matters such as this has become deafening. (My friend and colleague Tony De Angelo did an excellent job of covering these economic farces on the January 15 THIRTY WITH TONY) THE CONFIDENCE GAME THIRTY WITH TONY JAN 15 2026 

Regardless of the continued taxpayer-supported efforts at prevarication and fakery, the reality is that Connecticut has massive economic problems. Connecticut has massive debt problems. Connecticut has massive illegal immigration problems. Connecticut has many serious challenges not aided a historically docile Republican party yet Democrat Party leaders are more concerned with exempting themselves from the laws they impose on others, while engaging in daily incoherent and irrelevant attacks on President Trump and common sense.

Pick almost any topic. Can anyone clearly explain why criminals appear to have more rights than victims in Connecticut? Or why illegal immigrants should be supported without question by Connecticut taxpayers? Or why Connecticut forbids police to arrest and detain illegal aliens? Or why Connecticut’s state government stripped citizens of their right to earn a living during the pandemic while Governor Ned Lamont’s hedge fund was able to profit?

Connecticut desperately needs change from top to bottom in its stale, entrenched Democrat-controlled state government. That government has driven the state into an economic quagmire with no clear path forward.

Perhaps Republican candidates for state office can finally have the courage to make this the central issue of the election: You are not better off under the Democrat Party regime that has governed and failed Connecticut for decades.

With lower taxes, less spending, a renewed commitment to law and order, real accountability, and transparency at all levels of government and new leadership, Connecticut can once again become a vibrant state. 

The time for that change has finally come.

 

 

Truth, Fiction, and The Democrat Media-Industrial Complex

 Even through the darkest moments since the brutal assassination of “Turning Point, USA” founder Charlie Kirk, the Good People of Connecticut should thank God every single day that the state-run Media Mob of the state of Connecticut is not the sole source of news. For in this Bermuda Triangle of Misinformation,  down is up, lies are truth, and we are to all worship at the feet of the one party-driven Democrat Connecticut.

This past week, three issues further cement Connecticut as a state unconcerned with its legal Taxpaying citizens and its massive debt issues, or in dealing with the truth in any way whatsoever.

Let us first look at an incredible "agreement" that Governor Ned Lamont made with Connecticut Chief Justice Raheem L. Mullins. Ever since we were grade-school children, we have been taught that the United States  system of jurisprudence is a crowning jewel of a free society where citizens of a free country can have their grievances heard in an impartial and fair manner. But all that changes in the warped wonderworld of Connecticut. We are now told that the court system is to be supported of everyone, including (but not limited to) those who reside illegally within Connecticut borders. 

Connecticut policy now dictates that we now must somehow understand that courthouses "remain safe and accessible to everyone, regardless of immigration status."  Thus, Lamont and Mullins have now decided to create their own "rules" that intend to supersede federal law by "prohibiting federal immigration agents from conducting warrantless arrests in state courthouses and from wearing masks while inside them."  Lamont further stated; "There have been not a lot of incidents, but there have been some instances, of ICE going into our courthouses, wearing masks, taking people out," Lamont told reporters in Hartford. "[It's] very important that people, immigrants, and even undocumented immigrants, feel safe going into our courthouses. In many cases, they're going into our courthouse as a witness to a crime, doing everything for public safety; more broadly, maybe they've been a victim of abuse. Maybe it's something regarding landlord, whatever it is, people should feel safe going into the courthouse." (https://patch.com/connecticut/across-ct/connecticut-bans-warrantless-ice-arrests-masked-agents-state-courthouses)

Therefore, to illegally slow down and/or attempt to eliminate the arrests of illegal immigrants who are in Connecticut, the woe-begotten policy  "requires federal agents such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to obtain a judicial warrant before making an arrest inside a courthouse. It also bars law enforcement from wearing masks while conducting enforcement actions there, unless medically necessary." (Ibid). But of course, this is hypocritically ironic. For now, we are supposed to forget that Ned Lamont and his Democrat Party slammed anyone and everyone if they did not wear their masks for the past five years in their Covid-19 shakedown of the state. Therefore, anyone who lost their job and or business or had their lives ruined during the hostile and draconian Covid-19 shutdowns should be suing the state in these same "safe" and "mask free" courthouses to get their jobs and businesses back. 

The reality is that you are to expect no fairness, clarity, or integrity from anyone in the Democrat-driven Connecticut government, and you are to understand that policies and procedures will be driven entirely by their whims and desires at a given moment. 

Secondly, we really do have Federal Immigration Laws! It is not a myth. The Connecticut state-run Media Mob will lead you to believe that such laws do not exist, or that whatever convoluted and illegal laws (such as the “Trust Act” ) take precedence over Federal law. Or conversely, state legislators from both parties will tell us that their pal State Rep. Corey Paris did not break Federal Immigration Law when he put illegal aliens on “alert” when Federal ICE agents came into his district to arrest them. Unfortunately, 8 U.S.C. § 1324 unambiguously reads to the contrary. However to show he cannot be beat in this category, Lamont overtly conspired this week with state school superintendents (all supported by your tax dollars) to shield illegal students from ICE (https://www.wtnh.com/news/connecticut/hartford/lamont-superintendents-to-meet-on-protecting-students-from-immigration-enforcement/ ) (My friend and colleague Tony De Angelo did a wonderful job of explaining this situation in factual terms on his September 18 THIRTY WITH TONY Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUoewcLhNkc&ab_channel=THIRTYWITHTONY )  . By definition of Federal law every single one of Lamont and the superintendents should be arrested. How that comes down remains to be seen. However, it is quite clear that the political system and the state-run Media Mob of Connecticut will never follow established law if it is inconvenient to their purposes, regardless of if such purposes are legal or ethical.

In addition, Connecticut,which is proud to call itself a “sanctuary state” (while often denying that assertion in its own print  publications),  never discloses how much it costs legal Connecticut Taxpayers to house, give medical benefits, schooling, and other assorted benefits to these illegal immigrants, some who are also criminals in the state.  Why is that? (Shame on you for even asking the question).

But in the Media-Industrial Complex of Connecticut, distortion and obfuscation know no bounds. Once again, we see another embellishment piece published by the CT Mirror regarding darling Finance expert and current Comptroller Democrat Sean Scanlon 

(https://ctmirror.org/2025/09/17/ct-slashes-more-debt-state-worker-health-care/) Scanlon, who never ever fails to postpone a debt payment that he does not like, is once again exhibiting the financial acumen of teenagers by delaying due debts on state obligations, thereby accruing incalculable interest on innocent taxpayers, some not yet born. This is the same Scanlon, being the same person who "won" over Avelo Airlines to have them fly out of Tweed New Haven Airport. This is the same Scanlon who never speaks about the gargantuan long term unfunded liabilities in the state nor is he pressed by any political figures with respect to the same. But of course, Scanlon keeps smiling and of course media accountability is nonexistent. My readers are well-aware of the short- and long-term debt along with the unfunded liabilities of Connecticut. This figure, hovers more than $100,000,000,000 to $150,000,000,000 billion dollars well in excess of the treasured "fiscal guardrails". In practice, it is literally impossible to ascertain as to how much it really is. A recent report by the Connecticut Office of Fiscal Analysis should alarm all legal Connecticut Taxpayers. The report states that for 2024 that there is a shortfall of over $956 million dollars in the state's retirement health trust fund for healthcare eligible state employees. The fund is funded at 16.2% which is apparently a political victory for the Democrats since it was only 10.1% for 2021. I find the costs staggering for the 85,696 retired members, spouses and beneficiaries currently receiving these benefits, considering the overall unfunded retiree health care benefits is over $17 billion dollars. (https://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa/Documents/year/SMF/2026SMF-20250831_Other%20Post%20Employment%20Benefits%20(August%202025).pdf).  But of course, all these concepts are lost to Mr. Scanlon as he smiles for the cameras and faces no hard questions whatsoever as to what is really taking place.

The wretched state of the fisc in Connecticut does not stop there, as bad as that is. The shortfall for the unfunded part of the state pension system (non-health care)  is over $38 billion dollars and is also severely unfunded. The state in just retiree pension and health care costs is in debt for $55 billion dollars. (https://www.truthinaccounting.org/library/doclib/Financial-State-of-the-States-2024.pdf)  This is fiscal leadership by Ned Lamont and his Democrat Party? We are supposed to feel good about this. And what will the SEBAC state employee contract cost Connecticut Taxpayers and how much higher will the state debt become? 

But alas, what does truth matter? The distortion of law and finances are evident in Connecticut and are the results of poor social and fiscal policies enacted by the chronic one-party Democrat rule for many years. The Democrat-driven political system and its attendant Media Mob never offer any solutions but in lieu of that, continually produce made up economic and governance fantasies in a state that continues to spiral out-of-control in so many areas especially with crime and state finances. But reality, incompetence, malfeasance, and obfuscation cannot exist in the same universe. Crime, high taxes, and a lack of transparency are the real Democrat political messages and problems that continue to ignore daily. 

Since the Democrat Media Industrial Complex will not protect you, my very strong admonition is to continually hold these malfeasant souls to a continual reality-based litmus test. Refuse the lies and continually expose falsehoods and demand accountability. It is the only way.

The State of Connecticut Has A Much Bigger Problem Than Crime And Incompetency

 The State of Connecticut Has A Crime Problem: Auto thefts surged by 33% in 2023 alone, jumping from 7,091 reported incidents in 2022 to a staggering 9,400, marking the third-highest percentage increase nationwide and leaving countless residents vulnerable to brazen juvenile offenders who often face minimal consequences. Persistent strings of car break-ins and thefts in 2025 continue to terrorize communities from Montville to Fairfield, underscoring a systemic failure to curb property crimes that erode public trust and safety. Almost every Connecticut city is a horrific and mismanaged hellhole. 

However, the gist of this article is not crime.

 The State of Connecticut Has A Competency Problem: Unhinged Liberal Incompetent Scraggly Bearded United States Senator Chris Murphy makes a fool of himself moment by moment on “X” with his repetitive nonsensical babbling reflecting his entire lack of conceptual understanding of any issue but also reflecting a crystal-clear hatred of President Donald J. Trump. Congressional Representative Rosa DeLauro, one of the oldest in Congress at age 82, is embarrassing in appearance and a babbling shame, shunning any suggestions of improvement or developmental vision for her pitiful Congressional district. Senior United States Combat Veteran Senator Richard Blumenthal lied about serving in Vietnam and lied about “not knowing” that he was addressing a Communist convention in 2021. Attorney General William Tong in his furious defense of illegal alien rights, called for a boycott of “Avelo Airlines” in New Haven, either not knowing (or caring) that the fiscally incompetent state Comptroller Sean Scanlon engineered the Avelo arrangement for the inadequate Tweed New Haven Airport campus, residential safety and noise pollution be damned. And not to be undone, Governor Ned Lamont (affectionately known as “King Ned, The Unaccountable”)  continues to move from fraud to scam, the latest being to corrupt the entire state with a new generation of incipient slum housing that helps along one of his wife’s investments, while he is trying to convince his wealthy neighbors in Greenwich that he has everyone’s best interests at heart. 

However, the gist of this article is not political incompetency.

Connecticut has many more problems too numerous to mention. But I submit unto you that Connecticut, (aka the State That Cannot Do One Thing Right) has a far greater problem than either of the above problems. It is horrible. It is insidious. It is crippling. It can send the state into bankruptcy and erode private capital and destroy any viability in the state whatsoever.

It is the Debt Problem.

Regardless of what the state-run media and the political system tell you, The State of Connecticut has a debt problem.  There is now an awareness and understanding of the debt and how much debt Connecticut is obligated to pay. Using real numbers, let us examine how much in debt Connecticut is in, and why this should be the number one issue in the upcoming state election in 2026.

To my knowledge, I am the only writer or reporter that has mentioned Connecticut has $100,000,000,000 to $150,000,000,000 (billion) dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. Certainly, no candidate or office holder has ever mentioned anything along the line. For a state as small as Connecticut and as small of a population that it has, this is a massive fiscal red flag. But it is not, as the Connecticut Democrat Party just cannot seem to tax and spend enough to satisfy its political special interest groups such as the state employee unions, myriad and unaccountable nonprofits, and politically connected state patronage jobs over the past four decades.

Here are some real fiscal facts that the entire political establishment avoids talking about as published in "The Financial State of the States 2024" report published by Truth in Accounting (https://www.truthinaccounting.org/library/doclib/Financial-State-of-the-States-2024.pdf). Connecticut in this report was given a "F" grade, ranking the state fifty out of 50 (or last) as far as its financial state of affairs. From the report found on pages 50 and 51, "Connecticut had $21 billion available to pay $85.9 billion worth of bills". This figure will increase in 2025 as some federal funding will no longer be available to the state. 

Trying to break down the $85.9 billion dollars’ worth of bills in complex and difficult to ascertain. Connecticut in each year's budget, which increases each year, also increases its bonding and borrowing within. Bonds are issued in the state for many reasons including building projects and other related items in the state. Bonds are issued to finance "debt" in the state. Total bonds in the state for 2024 were $34,355,859,000 according to the report. Also according to the report, Unfunded Pension Benefits were $38,010,340,000 and Unfunded Retiree Health Care Benefits were $17,091,549,000. In simple terms, this means every Connecticut citizen down to the smallest infant minimally shoulders a $25,000 debt of the state for which they did not cause. These figures are astronomical for a state as small as Connecticut and unsustainable in any way. Moreover, this massive obligation is more than the supposed "fiscal guardrails" that continue to be ignored by Connecticut's Political Fiscal Barons for what little value they provide. But more clear-headed people are seeing this horrific situation for what it is. My good friend and colleague Tony De Angelo also discussed Connecticut's per person state debt is his segment on Tuesday 9/2 on the 94.9 Lee Elci show (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rJCaC5DusE)  

The state therefore has a massive debt problem. It also does not have enough assets to cover all its debt. The Connecticut Democrat Party laughs about (or fails to comprehend) the debt issue by its usual incoherent economic gibberish. This incoherent economic gibberish includes the usual babblings that the wealthy do not pay enough in taxes, businesses do not pay enough in taxes, there are not enough social programs to help people, more funding is needed in education and that state workers deserve much higher wages and benefits. Economic reality does not exist in the state as Connecticut continues to be a bottom five state in many economic categories. This fact is glossed over by the new, younger incoherent leftist and socialist Democrat candidates that have announced their intentions to run Governor, United States House seats and state legislature seats. Where the money will come from to pay for all their "giveaways" remains a mystery to most educated voters, but not to them as they simply do not understand, let alone care.

It is a simplistic question that truly needs to be addressed by anyone running for Governor, on any ticket in 2026. Republicans that have continually failed to challenge Democrats on many  issues must first learn to understand this most critical debt issue and secondly challenge Democrats and Socialists continually. What is your plan for paying off the massive debt and unfunded liabilities of Connecticut's government in both the short and long run? What does the plan entail? How long will it take? What will you do to decrease state spending? What will you do to whittle the bulbous and often inept state workforce? These questions should be asked daily until there are specific answers to the same. But I am not confident that will ever happen, as courage is in short supply in Connecticut government.

You see, Connecticut's state government is like a drug addict. To feed the drug monkey an addict often lies and steals. It keeps taking drugs at all costs, looking for its next fix. That fix is your tax money wasted on another failed social program and or non-profit who could be pilfering as there are no financial controls on either. That fix is a long-serving state politician getting a simplistic state nonjob to help boost his or her state pension. That fix is to give money to a politically connected business or individual for their work in a campaign, with no worries as to how the money is spent and if it is ever paid back. 

And so, it remains in the indentured state of fiscally insolvent Connecticut. Connecticut Taxpayers are damned while the benefaction and veneration of the State's Political and Administrative Bureaucracy is the most critical work that our state government must perform. So let the state perform that critically valuable work all the way into bankruptcy. Regrettably, bankruptcy may be the only cure to eliminate the waste, fraud, crime, incompetency, and debt of Connecticut, once and for all.