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It is exactly this kind of thinking that has brought our state to its disastrous financial condition. By Chris P. Janelli July 9, 2010 Unfortunately, too many of Connecticut's 169 towns live under the misguided notion that partisan politics has no relevance in a "small town", and put being neighborly and non-confrontational ahead of politics. It is exactly this kind of thinking that makes my hometown, Salisbury and possibly yours, partially responsible for our state's disastrous financial condition that is going to get significantly worse under our Democrat-controlled General Assembly. Take one minute to review Connecticut's fiscal, economic and employment facts: Connecticut unemployment is above 9%-the highest since 1976. Connecticut has lost over 100,000 jobs since March 2008 and today there are over 174,000 Nutmeggers unable to find work. In October 2009, CT's unemployment insurance fund ran out of money. In January 2010, the Democrats increased the unemployment tax rates for Connecticut employers to generate $650 million, or about 50 percent of the $1.3 billion needed to cover expected jobless claims. The state predicts it will need to borrow another $1 billion over the next two years so jobless residents can continue to collect unemployment checks. In February 2010, the University of Connecticut said, "There is no job recovery in sight and the state should expect to continue to lose jobs through 2011." In 2010, Connecticut passed a $19 billion budget, the largest in history; not one Republican voted for it. Connecticut, the "wealthiest state in the nation," ranks 24th in the nation with a Gross State Product (GSP) of $216 billion. Connecticut now projects a $3 billion deficit in 2012 and a 2-year budget in excess of $7 billion-unprecedented in the state's history. The Democrat-controlled legislature has proven it will not cut state spending and programs, choosing taxes and debt to fund the worsening budget deficit. In June 2010, Fitch downgraded the state's credit worthiness from AAA to AA-this will increase interest rates on future debt. In October 2009, there was $12 billion outstanding in general obligation bonds (bonded debt)-it's now over $18 billion. In January 2009, Connecticut ranked 4th in the nation with State Per Capita Debt of $6,830. Connecticut ranks 1st in the nation on the per capita state, county and local tax burden of $7,007 that is 63.6% higher than the national average. In December 2009, Connecticut's Long-Term Obligations-mostly unfunded state pensions and healthcare-totaled $61.7 billion, up 7.1% from 2008, which equates to approximately $17.6 thousand for every man, woman and child in Connecticut-that's over $70,000 for a CT family of four. Yankee Institute warns CT's state pension funds could be underfunded by as much as $80 billion. Towns that maintain the status quo of re-electing tax, borrow and spend Democrats must bear some of the responsibility for these facts. Why? Because the Democrat-controlled legislature for more than a decade has proven their unwillingness to cut the size of government (in fact is has grown), eliminate waste, discontinue ineffective programs and deal with the states unfunded pension and health obligations. And the citizens across many towns continue to re-elect these progressives who have brought the state to its knees. As a concerned Republican, you are undoubtedly aware of what is happening across America-even in Massachusetts that elected a fiscally conservative Republican to fill the US Senate seat held for over 50 years by Ted Kennedy, one of the most liberal Democrats in history. Across America, citizens-even those who voted for change-are waking up to the harsh realization that America cannot spend its way to prosperity no matter how much money the government prints and injects into the economy. The only difference between Connecticut's and this nation's path to fiscal collapse is Connecticut cannot print money-but it can tax and borrow, and unless the Democratic legislature is stopped that's exactly what they will continue to do-tax and borrow. Connecticut-the once great "Constitution State"-is today looking into the abyss of fiscal disaster while the facts stare us in the face. We ask, how can anyone who loves Connecticut ignore or blindly close their eyes to what is going on in our Democrat-controlled state legislature? The voters of Connecticut better wake up before it's too late. Politics must start at the local town level-and make no mistake, it is partisan politics. What we do in Salisbury, and what happens in the other 168 towns across Connecticut, will have significant consequences for the future of Connecticut and the prosperity of its citizens. To put Connecticut back on track to fiscal sanity and sound economics that both create jobs and attract employers, this November we must start by throwing tax, borrow and spend liberal Democrats out of office replacing them with fiscally conservative candidates. But we must not stop there. We must also elect fiscal conservatives as Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of the State, Treasurer and Comptroller, as well as to the US Senate and Congress. Republicans must encourage their Unaffiliated friends, neighbors and co-workers, even disillusioned Democrats, to vote out their tax, borrow and spend incumbent legislators. Here are the National Fiscal, Economic and Employment facts, which are even more frightening. Today the Us Public Debt is $13 trillion. The Public Debt is projected to exceed $15 trillion by 2012. For the first time in history the Public Debt is projected to exceed America's Gross Domestic Product (the total market value of all goods and services produced in a year). The federal government projects Public Debt will increase $9 trillion over the next 9 years. Half of those $9 trillion will go to pay interest on Public Debt. One half of the Public Debt, or about $7 trillion, is owned by foreign countries. In 2009 the government interest payment on the Public Debt was $189 billion. 45 cents of every dollar the US government currently borrows is used to pay interest on the Public Debt. The government's average interest rate on the Public Debt was only 1.6% in 2008 and 0.3% in 2009; remember prime interest rates were 21.5% in 1980. If the prime interest rate goes to 15% America's interest payments would exceed $2.2 trillion a year. The Public Debt does not include over $100 trillion the federal government must fund for Social Security and Medicare. Each year the federal government accrues unpaid interest on the money it borrowed from the Social Security Trust Funds-in 2008 that interest was $212 billion. About 36% of all tax filers pay over 80% of all personal income taxes collected by the government. A June Gallup poll showed 60% of Americans approve of additional government borrowing and spending to stimulate the economy. Nationwide unemployment is reported at about 9.5% with the "real overall unemployment rate" around 20%-unemployment during the Great Depression was 25%.
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November 21, 2012 2012: A Time for Choosing The time is right for the GOP to woo Democrat voters October 27, 2011 Connecticut's # 1 in the Nation with Per Capita Debt Connecticut is 13.6% higher than the # 2 ranked state. October 16, 2011 The Mayoral Race in Bridgeport is about Connecticut What happens in Bridgeport in this November Mayoral election could be the match to set this state on fire for change |
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Salisbury Republican Town Committee, P.O. Box 221, Salisbury, CT 06068 Paid for and Authorized by the Salisbury Republican Town Committee, Peter L. Becket, Treasurer |