No Budget For Old Pols
Maybe it’s that with all the rain we’ve gotten Rell and the legislature feel comfortable with that rainy day fund. The state continues to operate under executive order spending, and all the usual suspects have something to say about the budget.
Susan Bysiewicz: “…we as Connecticut citizens should be appalled and outraged by the irresponsible games being played by our Governor as we’ve just entered our second month into the new fiscal year without an adopted budget for the next biennium. Currently, Connecticut is one of three states that has still not adopted a state budget.
And make no mistake: indecision and the inability to lead have consequences. Right now, towns and cities across Connecticut have halted summer construction projects and long awaited improvements to infrastructure because no one knows how much funding they are going to get from the state. These are the very infrastructure projects meant to be funded by the federal stimulus package passed in January.”
Dan Malloy: “The day the Governor presented her budget, I said it was out of balance. She said it was balanced, despite knowing it wasn’t, for one reason only: to maintain the illusion that she could somehow balance the budget without looking at the revenue side of the equation. Today, 174 days later, she’s finally willing to acknowledge that revenue has to be part of the solution. But look at what’s happened. We’ve wasted taxpayer dollars — $10,000 a day. Important programs life-altering programs are now being handpicked for survival by the Governor as she governs by executive order. None of this was necessary. All of it was avoidable. And we still don’t have a budget.
“Had the Governor done her job in February which was to propose a balance budget all of this could’ve been avoided.
“What a waste of time, money, and effort. What a shame.”
Both Malloy and Bysiewicz are running for governor. The actual governor says little but has a new budget proposal that raises taxes.
M. Jodi Rell: “I would prefer not to raise taxes at all. The Democratic majority cannot and will not cut state spending any further. … I could cut more, but they cannot – and we need a budget.”
The Senate Majority Leader spins rhetoric and wants to suck more money from Fairfield County.
Don Williams: “It is unfortunate that Gov. Rell is proposing tax increases on working men and women, and businesses – but letting our wealthiest residents take a walk. She is taxing the six-pack but not the six-figure salary. This is not shared sacrifice. This is Republican-style trickle-down economics.”
The House Minority Leader points out that maybe cutting spending might be a good idea.
Larry Cafero: “This biennium is the absolute worst time to raise taxes, and therefore to put our budget in balance, which we are constitutionally required to do, we have to make some tough choices with regard to spending. With due respect, and I’m sure Democrats can characterize their own ideology, but there has been some resistance to that and the feeling has been that we can only reduce our spending so much.”
With an $8 billion deficit, forecast by the same people who have always told us that there was a surplus in previous years when there wasn’t, we have budget proposals based on fantasy numbers because neither side has adopted GAAP.
Meanwhile the town aid road grant isn’t funded. The result? Towns like Portland, Griswald, and Coventry aren’t able to pave roads. In 2008 Norwalk recieved $607,537 in town aid road grants.
