Debicella Urges Cut In Payroll Tax Says Himes Bloats Deficit

Decisions, decisions coming from lots of pols.

Marilyn Moore is considering a primary against State Senator Anthony Musto who defeated her in a close Dem primary in 2008.

Former Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy today will officially announce his candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. He’s been raising moolah as an exploratory candidate, but will now form a full-blown committee for governor under Connecticut’s dubious public financing system. It’s dubious because a federal judge ruled the state law violates the rights of minority-party candidates. The case is being reviewed by a federal appeals court, and legislators are looking at fixing the law. But will they?

Malloy will be at a spending disadvantage because his chief Dem rival Ned Lamont will leverage his enormous wealth to finance his campaign. Ned is the guy who defeated Joe Lieberman in a Dem primary in 2006, but lost the general election to Joe when he ran as an independent. Malloy is the favorite to win the party endorsement in May, something he had in 2006 before losing a close guber primary to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano who was trounced by Jodi Rell in the general election.

Fasten your belts for a hotly contested Dem primary.

Easton First Selectman Tom Herrmann joined the Republican fray to challenge Democratic Congressman Jim Himes. Herrmann is managing director of Stanwich Partners LLC, a private equity investment firm, so he should have a few bucks of his own to bring to the table, in fact $300,000 to start, not a bad piece of change. GOP candidate leaders are former Bridgeport State Senator Rob Russo and Shelton State Senator Dan Debicella who was raised in Bridgeport. OIB asked Debicella to introduce himself in a guest column, as we will for many candidates. In his column he says the government’s stimulus package is a mess and isn’t working. His proposal to kick-start the economy? Cut the payroll tax. See below.

Dan Debicella

I am running for Congress to restore the values of small government, economic growth, and individual liberty to Washington. As a businessman, I believe I can bring common sense back to our federal government. As the State Senator for eastern Fairfield County, I have been working to implement these values in Hartford. Voters will have a clear choice in November between Jim Himes’ big-government proposals and my ideas for growing the economy, reducing the deficit, and lowering the cost of healthcare.

I grew up in Bridgeport, where my Dad was policeman for twenty years. I was the first person in my family to attend college full time, and have spent my career in business. I have worked at McKinsey, Pepsi, and The Hartford in executive positions focusing on strategy and marketing. I got involved with politics as most people do—locally. I served on Shelton’s Board of Apportionment & Taxation, where we lowered the mil rate by 8% during my tenure through controlling spending. I successfully ran for the State Senate in 2006 and 2008, and have focused on controlling state spending and promoting job creation. I am proud to have co-authored a budget proposal that reduced state spending by 5%, and passed a Job Creations Tax Credit to help small businesses create jobs in this recession.

Our country is heading in the wrong direction, and I entered the race for Congress because I have solutions to get us back on track. Jim Himes has failed us as a Congressman, because he believes the answer to everything is more government, from pork-barrel stimulus packages to bank bailouts to government takeovers of healthcare and the auto industry. Jim Himes has voted with Nancy Pelosi over 96% of the time, and we need a Congressman who will represent our families, not Washington insiders.

There is a better way to create jobs than the failed stimulus package. What has your family received from the stimulus package? You have $10,000 more in national debt for your children to pay back, with no job creation in Fairfield County to show for it. We received zero dollars in transportation funding, and unemployment continues at a record high. Instead, I have proposed we repeal the unspent stimulus dollars, and instead cut the payroll tax in half for a year. A payroll tax cut will accomplish three things to stimulate the economy and create jobs: every middle class family will directly receive $1,500; every small business will get a tax break to enable them to hire more people; and the budget deficit will be reduced by $150 billion (because the tax cut costs less than the unspent pork-barrel stimulus).

I also believe we need to get our deficit under control. Jim Himes has voted for a $1.6 trillion budget deficit, and this is not sustainable. Just like your family, government needs to live within its means. I have proposed putting in place a spending cap that will limit the size of government to no more than 20% of GDP, and restrict future growth to a maximum of population plus inflation (about 1-2% a year). Putting a spending cap in place will force politicians of both parties to prioritize our spending needs, not just approve every piece of pork that passes their deck. With my spending cap proposal, we will eliminate the deficit by 2016 through reducing government spending.

Finally, I believe the healthcare bills promoted by Nancy Pelosi and Jim Himes will severely harm the middle class. To cover the 6% of us who are uninsured, Himes would raise taxes and increase insurance costs by thousands of dollars on the other 94% of us. I believe there is a better way. We should focus on lowering out-of-control costs, which will help both the middle class and help cover more of the uninsured. Bipartisan ideas that both Republicans and Democrats can agree upon should be our focus, including interstate competition for insurance companies, electronic medical records, incentives for preventative care, tort reform, and high-deductible insurance for young people.

Elections are about more than just Republicans versus Democrats—they are about who we want to be as Americans. I believe people will have a distinct choice between the Pelosi/Himes vision of more government as the answer, and my solutions for job creation, reducing the federal deficit, and lowering healthcare costs.

0
Share

26 comments

  1. Jim Himes Ned Lamont Alpert/Blummy 2010!!! Musto must go. Let’s get Moore into the mix we need someone to step up and give Musto a primary. Is it just me or does Line B always pull good numbers on primary day in the Park City? Remember Malloy screwed Bpt out of a casino!!! Ned Lamont all the way.

    0
    1. 1. There was WAY TOO MUCH Messiah worshiping at the recent David Walker speech. I didn’t see a halo over his head. It was pathetic. I wonder if The Peter G. Peterson Foundation–headed by David Walker–will offer/do any work here in Bridgeport. That’s what counts.

      2. I extend best wishes to Mr. Debicella and his political fortunes. However, whatever reduces payroll taxes increases the Federal Deficit no matter how well-intentioned his proposal is.

      3. WHATEVER keeps a casino out of Bridgeport is good for Bridgeport. I hope I made my point.

      0
  2. What is the voting record of Mr. Debicella as it relates to bills that would have benefited Bridgeport? How did he vote when the bill came up to increase Pilot payments from the state?
    The first selectman from Easton yeah he can relate to our problems here in Bridgeport. His town can’t even agree on a 9/11 memorial. Give me a break.
    Lennie I understand politics and I know you have to write about them but Jesus enough is enough.
    What about the BOE budget they passed with barely time enough to actually count the pages let alone make an intelligent vote or is that an oxymoron?
    What about the meeting held at Harding yesterday by various state politicians. No books, crumbling building etc, etc. These kids are a hell of a lot more important than all of these assholes running for office. BTW where has Clemons been while these kids at Harding have been getting shortchanged?

    0
    1. tc, I’ve written about the BOE budget and conditions at Harding several times, including in the past week. I’d like to see one pol scream at the top of his/her lungs that a new Harding High is the educational priority. The $20 million that Rell wanted to invest in Bridgeport for another jail would cover the city’s cost share for a new high school. I’ve tutored kids at Harding. The building is a mess. Someone needs to step up.

      0
  3. Re: Detention Center–“Success has many parents and failure is an orphan.” Many bows can be taken but Juvie Jodi knew she didn’t have the votes when Denise Merrill backed down on her bond vote. It’s called Political Capital.

    Clemons C. Don needs a Pardon or GPS for his district.

    0
  4. Lennie what I don’t understand is the lack of anger on this blog as it relates to the BOE and the education of our kids. We have a dropout rate of 60%-plus and there does not seem to be any outrage.
    We are creating generations of kids that have little or no chance of having a happy and productive life. Politicians go to Harding and point out what everybody already knows. The building sucks, there are not enough books and the kids that want to learn are sidetracked by teachers busy monitoring halls or who are busy going through the motions.
    This problem does not start at the high school level it starts in the lower grades where the same I don’t give a damn attitude prevails. By the time these kids get to high school they are already beaten and told they cannot learn.
    What we should do is fire every damned administrator in the BOE and start with a new batch of modern thinking, I can get the job done people. They are out there but they are not part of the good old boy administrators’ network.
    We are building new specialized high schools, 2 by my last count for kids going on to college. What are we doing for the kids that are not going to college? Zip point nothing. Are we teaching them skills that will help them when they get out of high school? NO. Do we offer courses that will help them learn a trade? NOPE.
    These kids are not dumb they just need teachers that will not quit on them, teachers that will not run out the door when the final bell rings. It’s been proven all over the country that kids from the inner cities can learn and move forward when given half a chance.

    0
  5. OIB Rumor Mill:

    Bridgeport BOE decides to cut Harding High School teacher salaries by 50% until there’s enough funds to complete a new HHS. There will be no deliberations. The BOE’s decision is final.

    0
  6. Let’s fire every administrator and hire new ones.
    Oh, wait a minute. We won’t be able to hire new ones out of fear they’ll be fired in a couple of years because high schools students will need 8-12 years to recycle through before you can really hold these new administrators responsible for all of the old problems.
    Oh, well. What the hell.

    0
  7. Let’s teach the kids a trade so when they graduate from High School they can get a job.
    Let’s see; Burger Flipping 101, Advanced Super-sizing, Waitressing, Intermediate Cash Register Operations.
    These are about it.

    0
  8. Debicella is Sarah Palin in a suit. = He voted against most things that would help Bridgeport i.e. wages and education. He is a an ultra-conservative wingnut. Russo looks like a liberal next to him.

    0
  9. Grin, that is pure bullshit. These kids can be taught the basics of a trade; if you need any proof go over to Bullard Havens and check it out. Two kids, same neighborhood, same circumstances one goes to Harding and one goes to Bullard Havens who has a step up in the job market? The kid that went to Bullard Havens.
    You don’t need 8-12 years to see if these new administrators are having an effect and are changing the curriculum to fit the kids’ needs.

    0
  10. johnb, you said, “Debicella is Sarah Palin in a suit. He voted against most things that would help Bridgeport i.e. wages and education. He is a an ultra-conservative wingnut. Russo looks like a liberal next to him.”

    You got that right about Debicella, all one has to do is to watch him on CTN TV on Ch.88 when the Connecticut Senate is in session. Calling Debicella an ultra-conservative wingnut might be a little mild, this guy is so full of himself that he will give you a good laugh by just listening to him talk.

    0
  11. TC,
    I was talking about the lack of good-paying skilled positions for someone with a High School degree. In a service-based economy jobs like Tool and Dye Maker, Draftsman, etc. have disappeared from the economy.

    0
  12. If everyone agrees the kids shouldn’t be going to school in a slum, then what?
    Can Harding be rehabbed and rebuilt, or is the building too far gone? By rehab, I mean a gut with all new mechanicals, etc. Nothing half-assed that will be falling down in 10 years.
    If a new building, where?
    And while a building is relevant, an education plan that works seems to be–oh–necessary. No one really wants to talk about a parent problem–anywhere. The best teachers can only do so much.

    0
  13. I agree with the statements about that Shelton right-wing conservative. I think he will lose big because of his stand on issues if he runs against Himes. Russo on the other hand can pull off a victory. I am hoping Debicella beats Russo so we can win that seat easily.

    0
  14. My feeling is that buildings don’t teach but they do help to learn in a clean up-to-date facility. We have built 7 new grammar schools and are building 2 new specialized high schools that will be regional. In the meantime we have Harding & Bassick, 2 schools that have been around forever. No attempt to modernize or build new high school(s).
    Parents do play a role here but in this city like most inner cities there are a lot of single-parent homes. It has been proven that given a caring teaching staff and a viable curriculum these kids can learn and will stay in school.
    It seems to me too many people in the educational field are willing to throw up their hands and say these kids don’t want to learn so why should I give a shit.
    I personally know of one teacher that actually starts counting the days until summer vacation on the very first day of school.
    We are wasting generations of our youth and dooming them to a life of welfare and despair. I think it stinks.

    0
  15. Good story on Courant.com regarding the Buys-A-Wish-List prepared by SuBy on the state’s dime and time.

    Someone should Sue her for invasion of their privacy. Chris Duby-Duby-Do, who went to law school on Bridgeport’s dime and time is mentioned in the report.

    0
  16. Grin, thanks for pointing out the Courant story … unbelievable … your tax dollars at work profiling CT citizens for SuBy’s benefit … self service over public service once again. Any other State employee would get fired over this–outrageous …

    Hey Grin, what do you think she has next to Lennie’s name?

    0

Leave a Reply