Dems Rap Rell Cuts
Photo by Steve Kotchko
Posted 6/15/09
When the General Assembly’s annual session ended June 3rd without a new state budget in place, a special session was called immediately so the task could be finished before the start of the new fiscal year July lst. So, you may ask, are negotiators from the legislature’s Democratic majority and the governor’s office locked in a room somewhere hammering out a budget accord to end the fiscal crisis? No.
Instead, both sides are out on the hustings engaging in an odd campaign season of sorts, continuing their pattern of criticism instead of getting down to business on a budget.
Democrats have been scheduling press conferences at various locations to blast Republican Gov. Jodi Rell’s proposed budget cuts in various programs on everything from the LIFE STAR medical helicopter operation to the suggested closure of the New Britain DMV office. The message from Democrats is that cutting what Rell likes to call the “bloat of state government” really amounts to harmful cuts in vital programs that affect real people.
Not to be outdone, Rell herself is making the rounds, defending her budget strategies. During an appearance on a radio talk show last Friday, Rell rapped the Democrats for “demonizing” her as a “horrible mean governor” who doesn’t care what gets cut in the name of budget efficiency.
“No one wants to make any cuts, it is difficult, but the truth is our state is facing an $8 billion deficit and cuts are absolutely necessary,” Rell said. She noted that families have put off purchasing automobiles, booking vacations, and made other sacrifices because of the recession, and the state must follow suit.
Rell turned the table on her Democratic critics by blasting them for turning out a state budget proposal that suggests hiking various taxes to the tune of $3.3 billion, including higher taxes on corporations. She said increased business taxes would ruin Connecticut’s ability to attract new jobs in the current environment.
Without offering details, the governor claimed she’s been “courting” a New York-based company that wants to move to Connecticut because the firm can no longer afford Empire State taxes. “Think about that,” said Rell, “a thousand jobs—now is the time to keep our taxes (low).”
Whatever nuggets of truth are present in the arguments of Democrats and Republicans, one question must be asked. Should both parties continue the bickering and finger pointing that has gone on for months, or should they be in that locked room working out a budget deal?
Some sources say Democrats are moving slowly because they continue to have problems herding their substantial majorities in the House and Senate into a budget consensus. In other words, leaders can’t deal with Rell until they button up their own differences over spending cuts and taxes.
The start of the new fiscal year July 1st should be the target date for a budget deal. Yet the way things are going, that deadline, just a few weeks away, is beginning to look like the impossible dream. If a budget deal is not achieved by July 1st, the challenge could turn into a fiscal crisis that spreads deep into the summer and beyond.
Leadership in the time of crisis requires that elected officials focus on the public good, and not on championing their own political philosophies, agendas, and interests. If they fail, they should not expect sympathy from voters when election time rolls around in November 2010.