Salomone: The Democrats – There They Go Again…

By: |
Print

Submitted by Frank Salomone, Greenwich


This is a big local election year in both Greenwich, and Connecticut. For twelve years, the Democrat party has maintained total control of all policy making in our state. They have had a firm grasp of the CT House, Senate and Governorship. A while back, Ronald Reagan asked the American people in his televised debate with then President Jimmy Carter “Are you better off now than you were four years ago?”. Reagan’s question figuratively snapped America out of its lethargy, and the answer to it was a clear and resounding “No!”.

CT Democrats do not want you to hear the facts. They would rather talk about theoretical “Transportation Infrastructure Banks” or “Environmental Sustainability” or their newfound discovery that Eversource is as incompetent as it is inefficient. They would rather you focus on national politics. Anything to distract your attention from their awful performance as stewards of your taxpayer dollars. They have blinders on when it comes to the economic and fiscal damage they have caused which has led our state to fall into disrepair. But the facts remain undeniable.

Prohibitively higher taxes, a bureaucracy that repels small business and entrepreneurship, a system of cronyism that favors unions over free market competitiveness and an unaddressed, unfunded pension liability time bomb are the main hallmarks of 32 out of 34 years of Democrat run CT legislatures. This is the election where Greenwich voters can and should pivot away from continued failure in Hartford. This is the time to move toward a different approach, based in fiscally responsible policies and a commitment to a more efficient and effective government.

There is plenty of analysis to back up this thesis. I provide links (below) to several studies focused on the fiscal health, business friendliness and economic vitality of states. A depressing theme runs like a thread through each one. Connecticut ranks poorly in almost every measurable metric.

Usually, one can find fault in both political parties when judging who is to blame for the failure of a state. In Connecticut though, it’s challenging to make that case simply because Democrats have been in control of the policy making apparatus for so long. It is Democrats who are on trial in this local election year. And it is their fingerprints that are all over the evidence.

I ask all Republicans, Independents, Undecideds and Centrist Democrats to examine the evidence carefully. Read the professional academic studies thoroughly. And when you’re done scanning through the charts and rankings, ask yourself that familiar question; “Is Connecticut better off now than it was twelve years ago?”

Reference Material: