“Government Form Of Euthanasia”–GOP State Chair Says Dems Looting Taxpayers

Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy and the Democratic-controlled State Legislature have apparently come to terms on a budget to close a multi-billion dollar budget gap. A large piece to balancing the budget includes Malloy negotiating hefty union concessions. What happens in the state budget impacts Bridgeport’s budget big time. Mayor Bill Finch has submitted a budget to the City Council that calls for no tax increase and wants to keep it that way in an election year. Republican State Party Chair Chris Healy says state Dems are fleecing taxpayers. From Healy:

Legislative Democrats are moving forward Thursday toward approving a budget that punishes success, rewards dependence and puts a dagger in a state economy which is dying a slow, government form of euthanasia.

It seems now that looting has become legal.

A day after House Republican Leader Larry Cafero, R-Norwalk and Senate Leader John McKinney, R-Fairfield, rolled out a budget proposal that cut spending, reformed government while not raising taxes, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy moved to knock the GOP proposal off page one and from the minds of citizens who have grown weary of continued sacrifice.

Wednesday night, Democrats gathered in the Old Judiciary room at the State Capitol to announce a budget agreement that will raise taxes by $1.98 billion and $1.78 billion over the next two years, hike spending by $900 million, give $100 million to those who don’t pay taxes while praying for $2 billion from public sector unions. Part of the tax increases will affect hospitals, nursing homes and energy companies–costs that will be passed down to consumers.

The $2 billion shortfall, to be extracted by Gov. Malloy, demonstrates how truly cynical, corrupt and incompetent the Democrat Party has become over the last 20 years. Only Democrats could pass a proposal with a $2 billion fiscal canyon in it and call it an honest, fair budget.

Democrats were clearly worried that the Republican proposal would gather legs, despite the predictable criticism from the Malloy media house organs–in particular the Hartford Courant, which called the GOP plan a “sugar plum vision.”

There were lots of Democrat smiles at Wednesday’s press conference and why shouldn’t they be happy? While there was welcome news that $115 million in nuisance taxes would be dropped, there are not significant cuts to state programs and every Legislator in that room knows when push comes to shove on the concessions, they will reserve the right to go back to the “tax the rich” well to cover the difference. The concept of government reform, large layoffs and accountability doesn’t register in their collective conscience.

“I think this is a great accomplishment for the budget and the legislature,” Prague told the Courant’s Capitol Watch on Thursday morning. “No one is being desperately hurt. Pay a few more dollars in taxes? So be it. I don’t see this as onerous at all.”

As always, Dame Edith captures the sentiments of the entitlement class and the destroyers of wealth an opportunity.

Maybe when the concession negotiations come up drastically short, it might change the minds of the corporate sell-outs who have backed the Malloy plan. There support reminds one of the Winston Churchill remark about this form of negotiation when he said “an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”

While most Republicans would applaud Malloy if he obtained $2 billion in givebacks from public sector unions, it seems somewhat unlikely the new Governor was ever serious about meeting this goal. It would require both layoffs and a radical renegotiation of benefits for active and retired state workers to meet that number and to bend back the costs that will rear its head for the next five to 10 years.

It is also an open question where House Speaker Chris Donovan, D-Meriden, and Senate President Pro Tempore Don Williams, D-Brooklyn, have counted their members on this stinker, particularly Williams in the upper chamber.

State Sen. Ed “Soup” Meyer, D-Guilford, said Thursday he wants to look at the spending side, since many of his constituents will be paying higher income taxes.

The more the public sees and Legislators hear about this corpulent piece of nonsense, the better the odds of its defeat before adjournment. It will be interesting to see when Donovan and Williams call the vote. Hopefully, enough people in this state will look up and appreciate the old saw–“elections have consequences.”