"Kick the Can" Olympics at CT Capitol

If your income goes down will you cut spending in your household budget? Will you find more ways to stretch your dollars? Of course you will!


State government works differently than you do. Revenue to state government (taxes collected) has crashed during this recession. The answer from majority Democratic leaders at the State Capitol – borrow billions of dollars and keep spending!


Last September the Democrats borrowed $950 million for operating costs without substantive spending cuts. Budget experts and economists warned us the recession would impact the state budget far longer than the private sectors of our economy. That warning should have motivated the Democratic leadership to entertain serious government reform to cut spending in future budget years. Unfortunately, we’re likely to see a proposal to borrow another billion dollars to pay for current year expenses!


Surely businesses and families have responded to the recession in their budgets but state government keeps driving full speed ahead to the budget cliff in 2012.


Our state budget for 2012-2013 is projected to have a $4 billion deficit. If we know the amount of future deficits why not fix the deficit problem? “Kick the Can” Olympics is the reason. The majority Democratic leadership is kicking the can down the road for a future governor and legislature to address the long-term budget crisis in Connecticut.


“Kick the Can” Olympics – a political game that lets the majority Democratic leadership claim they’ve “balanced the budget” in time for their re-election campaigns. Everyone who watches government operations in Connecticut knows 2012 is a nightmare for the next governor and legislature.


What a shame we can’t convince the majority Democratic leadership to make the tough decisions today that will lessen the budget catastrophe coming in 2012.