Politican vs. Citizen. The War Upon Your Wallet.

We hear of wars or rumors of wars daily. Israel. Palestine. North Korea. Taiwan. Russia. We imagine wars to always be shooting wars. However, I submit unto you there is an equivalent and much more insidious war fought daily between the Democrat-driven political class and the working and taxpaying citizen of states such as Connecticut. This war demands ever-higher taxes while delivering less and less in return, all to feed the bloated political machine. 

Year after year, the political class finds new and ingenious ways to raise the burden on the hardworking citizen, siphoning funds to fuel insider deals, elitist projects, and state-run propaganda. Meanwhile, our roads crumble, schools fail, and crime runs the gamut from uncontrolled street crime to high-level sophisticated fraud, while things deteriorate at an accelerated rate. Regardless, the political class continues to pontificate and ask for more money. 

(And as The Temptations sang in "Ball Of Confusion", the band played on).

On the subject, you may have noticed that another Tax Day has come and gone. You may have even written a check or two or more to pay taxes. More than likely, you resented writing the checks, but regardless of how you feel, the operative question then becomes, how much should we pay in taxes? Depending on what side of the aisle you are you are paying either too much or too little.

A prime example is Connecticut. Senior State Democrat Senators Bob Duff and Martin Looney have “solved” their self-created Connecticut revenue shortfall  by proposing to surtax the wealthiest Connecticut residents for whatever savings they may receive via a future Federal tax reduction to Connecticut. But why is that new? Wealthy Democrats have always loved raising taxes on the "wealthy". The  benchmark of the "wealthy" changes over time and is usually based on some sort of political talking point rather than any type of economic reality.  They do not hide this as witnessed by the off-mike statement by Democrat State Representative Anne Hughes, "we're not rich, we're not rich... but I always say to my Governor tax my people, they will not even notice"(https://x.com/RepJoeCanino/status/1912167747716342271). Or if you would like some sprinkles for your ice cream cone, consider these comments by Connecticut Democrat State Senator Martha (“Scissorhands”) Marx. At a recent constituents meeting, Marx disdainfully referred to “our rich Governor Lamont living in Greenwich surrounded by wealthy friends and neighbors". Marx stated that she did not care about rich people in the western end of the state who resist paying more taxes. Some of them, she claimed, could pay $20 million more and not miss it, whether as a group or individually, she did not say. And if Democrats pushed the taxes too high and the rich left, Marx would not care. Other people would buy the big houses. 

As we see, both economically illiterate state senators have made one thing abundantly clear. Your taxes are for their taking. And shame upon you for feeling otherwise. 

(https://www.jsg-2000.com/post/nick-menapace-mops-up-for-martha-marx?utm_campaign=bf655a7337d049e7bfa607e5c948bd3b&utm_source=so&utm_medium=mail&cid=5142583b-e7d2-4148-9e31-676a85e7b83d)

Connecticut has a massive amount of taxes and a wretched and needlessly bollixed tax system. And contrary to what the Marx's and Hughes’ of the world are saying, people are noticing more and more the excessive nature and strain these taxes create.  These taxes are progressive. These taxes insult the citizen and are painful. These taxes take productive money out of the economy and are redistributed to Democrat Party causes and political nepotism. These taxes fund a bloated state budget that just never is cut back. Yet Connecticut Taxpayers must find ways to save money in their personal budgets to help pay for these never-ending higher state taxes. Connecticut government makes no effort to cut taxes because such cuts would dilute its self-aggrandizing operation.

But in this war on the citizen and small businesses, there is a much greater front. The United States Congress (inclusive of many timid and weak-willed Republicans) provides little drive and effort to the most critical issues facing the nation today. On a national level, our federal government still has a $36 trillion-dollar National Debt. President Trump, contrary to the Connecticut Democrat Party and other assorted political cowards, is seeking ways to lower the debt and to cut taxes, especially by asking for a renewal of the Tax Cuts of 2017. Contrary to what liberal economists think,these tax cuts have helped to stimulate the economy and help the working middle class. In my opinion and the opinion of others, the Federal budget and these tax cuts should have been enacted upon by now, so more precise economic planning can take place for the economy. However, the present Congress (including many Republicans) would rather dilly dally with things such as “voting by zoom” and "childcare rights" rather than consider the burden on all citizens should taxes default to 2016 levels with an attendant by-definition tax hike of 10-15% per taxpayer. How often do you hear this brutal fact? And why does the Connecticut Republican Party not write letters of support for President Trump for these needed changes and a push for 100% expensing of business assets in addition to no taxes on overtime or tips? The lack of understanding and aggressiveness here by local and national Republicans on a grand scale, is mind-boggling and an insult to the hardworking honest citizen.

Perhaps, what these benign and somewhat blind lawmakers do not see is the enemy for what it really is. Without permanent Federal tax cuts, we will see the typical hodgepodge of multi-millionaire Socialist Democrats such as Bernie Sanders demanding justice and wanting to "tax" the rich since they “do not pay their fair share.”   "Do they know how much the U.S. already soaks the affluent? IRS data for 2022 show that the top 1% of filers paid 40.4% of income-tax revenue. The top 10% shouldered 72% of the revenue burden. The bottom half of filers, combined, paid 3%, and that is an overstatement because it does not account for “refundable” credits, which are treated as spending." (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/tax-day-federal-taxes-gop-congress-donald-trump-irs-26dd938b?mod=opinion_lead_pos3). I wonder why Senator Sanders maintains his "wealth" and why it is wrong for others to want to also? I wonder if this is the reason why Billionaire Connecticut King Governor Ned Lamont the Unaccountable dresses in public like a forlorn bum in order to not focus on his bulbous family wealth and his related offshore secret holdings?  Also, I wonder if this is why we never hear the state-run media talk about the family riches of Vietnam Combat Veteran Communist Senator Richard Blumenthal as it detracts from the “mission.” And the “mission” is to keep feeding the coffers of these self-interested political props so that they can come back next election cycle and take more of your substance from you to further embed themselves into your wallet each year.

As we have stated numerous times, Connecticut has one of the highest tax rates in the country and is last or near last in most economic categories. Connecticut, is a perpetual loser. Connecticut really has never recovered from the 1990 recession and 35 years later not much has changed. The continuation of unchecked spending with the desire to eliminate all checks and balances by trying desperately to end fiscal guardrails and deficit reduction only further add to the economic demise of the economy. As just one example, just look at how much new money the state wants to spend for "childcare". "H.B. 5003 would expand eligibility for the Care 4 Kids childcare subsidy program, provide salary increases and health care plans for early childhood workers, authorize bonding for facility improvements, and establish a range of new administrative requirements and reporting systems. According to the legislature’s Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) report, the bill would cost the state at least $600 million over fiscal years 2026 and 2027. That includes $150 million each year to expand Care 4 Kids eligibility — from the current 60 percent of the state median income to 85 percent — and to phase in benefits for families earning up to 100 percent of the median." (https://yankeeinstitute.org/2025/04/08/ct-dems-push-forward-child-care-bill-with-hundreds-of-millions-in-new-spending/” Over a half billion dollars of yet even more new spending which still offer little top no results in the ongoing childcare crisis and the horrific youth problems that Connecticut never seems to shake off.

Taxes, more taxes and even more taxes. More of the same each "Tax Day-April 15th". More inefficiencies and more pork barrel spending. Less and less disposable income for Taxpayers at all levels of government. $36 Trillion Dollar National Debt. Connecticut with $100 to $150 Billion Dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. It is a brand-new day, but we hear that same cries of more and higher taxes will solve every known problem on the face of the earth. But it never does.

On the April 15, 2025 “Lee Elci Show” (https://www.949newsnow.com/) my friend and colleague Tony De Angelo called for the formation of a volunteer “Connecticut Citizen DOGE with five-to-ten individuals having two months without restriction to drill at all state business in order to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in Connecticut. Tony is a realist and knows that not one elected official in either party would dare support a transparent effort that would lead to multi-million-dollar savings for taxpayers. The reason there would be no backing for such an endeavor is that it would lead to undoing of many of the politically constructed food chains that the politicians themselves have worked so hard to construct. The preceding statement alone tells you exactly what is wrong with this picture.

But once again, it is Connecticut. Where the motto should change from “The Constitution State” to “Citizen, Be Damned.”

 

 

What Exactly are the Connecticut “Fiscal Guardrails?”

For a number of years, Connecticut taxpayers have heard many statements out of the mouths of politicians and in media about “fiscal guardrails.” This buzz-phrase had its origins during the 2017 state budget negotiations and ever since has been trumpeted as a security system of sorts against fiscal recklessness and insanity in the State of Connecticut. However, since the onset of the 2024 Legislative session, this term has been used increasingly as a term equivalent to a gold standard of ensuring against fiscal ruin. To this end, I have felt it incumbent upon me to strip the concepts to bare metal and describe what the Connecticut “fiscal guardrails” really mean, and as to if the basis they have in actuality.
To understand what the guardrails are is amazing look at the creative “funny money" accounting of Connecticut's government going all the way back to 1991. Unbelievably a "spending cap" was enacted as part of the agreement to give Connecticut a State Income Tax in 1991. That "spending cap" was summarily ignored by careless feel-good legislators on both sides until said cap was rebranded as the "fiscal guardrails" in 2017 as the state was entangled in excessive spending, borrowing, bonding and ignoring all of its long term unfunded liabilities including (but not limited to) the bulbous state pensions paid to retired state employees and state legislators (with many checks sent to low/no tax states where these people now live). Therefore, rather than dealing with sharp fiscal controls, expense reduction, and eliminating the waste, fraud, abuse, and oppressive administrative state redundancy in Connecticut, these "fiscal guardrails" were instituted to accomplish a mere three restraints on spending, being, a spending cap of a base percentage tied to the inflation rate, a volatility cap that forces excess revenue from variable revenue sources to go first to the budget reserve and then to underfunded pensions, and a revenue cap that limits state spending in order to create the illusion of a surplus. Trying to understand these "fiscal guardrails" since 2017 is a colossal study of a vague theory never quite catching up with the reality of the fiscal wreckage and spending horror that unfortunately, is the Nutmeg State.
To make the weakened “fiscal guardrails” concept example even more clear, let us take a step back to reflect on basic fiscal realities. In 1991, the Connecticut State Budget was $7.7 billion dollars. In 2024 Connecticut is sporting a $26 billion dollar budget. That is a 335% increase in state spending. Adjusting that figure for inflation, we see that it has increased roughly 135%. In that same period, Connecticut's population has stagnated by increasing between only 5% and 9% depending on what you read and or believe and state GDP has cratered with rampant business departures and the loss of professional and high paying occupations. Thus, state spending has accelerated to an incredible level with little increase in its population. And Connecticut proudly boasts one of the highest property tax rates in the country in addition to one of the highest state rates in the country while being a constant bottom five states in business categories in one of the most business-unfriendly and avoided states in the union. Also, Connecticut has $100 to $150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities (such as the state pension fund). Contrary to the rhetoric of King Ned Lamont (aka “the Unaccountable”), his Democrat Party, and his state-run media spokespeople, legal and productive citizens and new businesses are not flocking to the state, nor have they been coming in since 1991, going all the way back to the enactment of the first state income tax.
In 2024 like past years, cries from liberal sources spew their hatred against all "fiscal guardrails", as incomplete as they may be. From liberal/socialist Democrat State Representatives and State Senators to the insatiable SEBAC-state government union groups, to the money that is never spent on children and for the perpetual deficit of state higher education, we will hear the shrieks of “more spending” is essential for Connecticut to survive! It is borderline miraculous as to how Connecticut has survived since 1991 in overspending and overtaxing its dwindling business and legal citizens for 33 years.
But where is the improvement of over three decades of reckless spending? One may notice that there is massive crime, a decaying infrastructure, shameful cities, massive state debt, massive taxes, and a migration out of the state even with these minimal "fiscal guardrails" that are a battle cry to Democrat Party socialists who wish to end them. In fact, if more money is the answer to all the problems stated above, then why isn't Connecticut flourishing in 2024? Why has Connecticut now become dependent on tax revenues from public safety and societal hazards such as legalized gambling of all forms and now legalized marijuana sales? What is next for the state; legalized taxed prostitution? Legalized heroin? Psychedelic mushrooms? I am now of the belief that there is no limit to the lows where this can all go.
In addition, many wonder how these "fiscal guardrails" are working in the least when the state somehow magically saves $20 billion dollars in 25 years by making payments to its underfunded pension fund. If indeed true, will this $20 billion dollar windfall be used to lower taxes in the state? Or will it just be used to throw more many at failed social programs that do little for the state? Why cannot state government fiscal restraint be the norm as it is for Connecticut families and businesses who are fighting for their economic survival in 2024?
So, while there may be some partial benefit in the concept of the "fiscal guardrails", said concept is not nearly adequate for the fiscal out of control wreckage that is Connecticut. Real, honest-to-goodness guardrails would be an effort towards consolidation and fiscal transparency while removing the Connecticut cancers of waste, fraud, abuse, and redundancy. Instead as we stand, the wonders of Connecticut government are akin to placing hard working legal Connecticut Taxpayers in an ill-equipped electric vehicle gasping down the wrong side of a potholed highway to a slow and painful fiscal death. But The Connecticut Democrat Party cannot wait to rail that any sort of "fiscal guardrail", even limited ones, be dismantled and destroyed for the last time.