In this Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019 photo, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont delivers his budget address at the State Capitol in Hartford, Conn. The Democrat’s proposed two-year, $43 billion plan sets the stage for months of negotiations on hot-button topics, ranging from what goods and services should be taxed to whether cities and towns should pick up part of the tab for teacher pensions. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Over his two terms as governor, Dannel Malloy obliterated the once beautiful and lively state of Connecticut, pounding it mercilessly into a perpetual state of agony. He is, by many counts, the worst governor in the history of Connecticut. Yet the newly-elected Governor Ned Lamont is vying vociferously for that coveted title.
In 2011, less than one month into his first term, Gov. Malloy, with the help of his legislative cronies, delivered the largest tax increase in the history of the state. Four years later, Malloy raised taxes again in an effort to close the multi-billion dollar budget deficit his administration’s irresponsible spending perpetuated. In 2017, Malloy signed into law yet another tax increase, ultimately leaving behind a $260 million deficit to secure his legacy as the Nutmeg State’s most prominent dolt.
As he mercifully vacated the position, Gov. Malloy’s dying last wish was to raise the gas tax.
All told, Malloy’s administration was a total failure. According to the American Legislative Exchange Council, Connecticut has the second worst state economy in the entire country. The state has the ninth highest top marginal corporate income tax rate and the eighth-highest property tax burden, as well as the highest estate tax in the entire nation. All of this excess thievery forced major companies out and cost the state a loss of $2.6 billion in revenue due to out-migration of disgruntled residents.
For eight years, elected Democrats ran roughshod over the state of Connecticut and mutilated it beyond recognition. So, naturally, we elected another one.
Obviously, Lamont was just a tad behind the eight ball heading into this, but, to utilize another pool reference, he decided to sink rather than swim.
It is first important to note that Gov. Lamont has done well thus far in refusing to raise the top marginal personal income tax rate despite forceful beckoning from this state’s most progressive thugs to do so. Unfortunately, however, he should be working to eliminate the income tax because Connecticut struggles to compete with states that don’t have one, such as Florida, for example.
Now, Gov. Lamont has gone terribly wrong in his plans to add new tolling on state highways and expand the sales tax.
After months of lying to the people of Connecticut, Lamont finally revealed that all state residents will, in fact, pay the tolls, as opposed to just out-of-state truckers as he originally promised. Who saw that coming?
Additionally, Lamont is expanding the sales tax more rapidly than President Obama expanded the reach of the executive branch. The governor intends to levy the state sales tax of 6.35 percent on dozens of previously exempt goods and services. Ultimately, we’re looking at a projected $520 million expansion of the state sales tax, according to the CT Post. In total, the state’s taxes are expected to rise $751 million by the second year of Lamont’s two-year budget plan.
Lamont has been governor of Connecticut for exactly fifty-one days and already succeeded in making it more expensive to live here. Similar to Dan Malloy, Gov. Lamont required only a month to raise taxes. But, the difference is that Lamont has managed to add an entirely brand new tax in addition to spiking the already existing ones.
Our past two Democratic governors were faced with a massive budget deficit and both, in an effort to close the gap, radically increased taxes. This is not a solution to the budget deficit; it is a band aid.
Raising taxes to generate sufficient revenue to balance the budget is effective in the short term, but is unsustainable considering, in this beautiful free country of ours, people and businesses move out to more affordable states. At that point, we lose jobs and we lose tax revenue. Eventually, there’s nobody left to tax. Just ask New York’s bonehead governor Andrew Cuomo who recently begged President Trump to restore the state’s tax breaks on wealthy residents because they’re moving out in large numbers.
Where are these New Yorkers fleeing to escape high income taxes, Governor Cuomo?
“Florida,” he whined, is poaching New York’s population.
If Lamont wants to fix the budget crisis, he needs to decrease the tax burden on residents and businesses alike, otherwise he’ll without a doubt join Gov. Malloy on Connecticut’s wall of shame; that is, of course, if the people don’t mount his rear end up there first.
Kevin Catapano is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at kevin.catapano@uconn.edu.
