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Gearing Up for the 2010 Elections February 1, 2010 Dear Fellow Salisbury Republican, We are writing to inform you about recent changes in your Salisbury Republican Town Committee (SRTC). As a registered Salisbury Republican, we hope you will take a few minutes to read this letter. Salisbury has approximately 700 registered Republicans, 1,145 unaffiliated voters and 1,300 registered Democrats. For too long, Republican values and voices have been low key to silent in our town; that will change in this critically important election year. The SRTC is now up to full complement with the following members: Mieke Armstrong, Peter Becket, Pari Forood, Mark Gomez, Tom Haines, Anne Harris, William Harris, Will Harris, Charlie Harson, Jon Higgins, Shirley Hurley, Chris Janelli, Rod Lankler, Kathy Lauretano, Janet Lynn, Jackie Merwin, Vivian Nasiatka, Alfred Nemiroff, Christopher Reynolds, Newt Schoenly, Cynthia Smith, Robert Smithwick, Lloyd Wallingford, and GOP Selectman Robert Riva. We hope you will visit the SRTC web site frequently to stay informed on SRTC events and read Committee news and communications. All Salisbury residents are welcomed to send Letters to the SRTC for publication on the Letters blog. This web site will also facilitate communication with the other Republican Town Committees, particularly those in the 30th Senate District that includes the 64th House District. Please register your email address at the web site to receive SRTC communication and news. More than ever, it is important for Salisbury Republicans to be heard and be counted with respect to town and state politics. It is equally important that the SRTC reach out and communicate with all of Salisbury's unaffiliated voters - even our Democrat neighbors - as today more than ever many find themselves in agreement with ";What the SRTC Believes"; that is posted on our web site. While the current national economic and unemployment crisis is certainly contributing to Connecticut's unemployment, wealth and business flight and lost jobs, make no mistake about the past and present role of the Democrat controlled General Assembly that sees no solution other than to raise taxes and fees. As we approach the 2010 and 2012 elections, it is critical that fiscal conservatives - no matter what their party affiliation - get elected as state representatives to start the process of taking control of the General Assembly. This is the only way to stop the state's decade long descent into a fiscal abyss, which is destroying Connecticut's prospects for future prosperity. At present, the General Assembly is dominated 70% by a Democratic tax-and-spend majority that never fails to vote the party line to raise taxes and fees. The Democrats who have controlled the state legislature for the past decade have allowed a year-2000 budget surplus of $240 million to evaporate into a currently projected two-year budget deficit of $8.6 billion. This is disgraceful, and there are numerous RINO (Republican in Name Only) legislators who are equally accountable and need to be replaced with fiscal conservatives. Connecticut currently has a two-year $35.6 billion budget. If viewed as revenues, an annual budget of $18 billion would rank Connecticut about # 136 on the Fortune 500 list of US companies, yet we allow our state to be managed by part-time legislators, too many of whom have little to no business experience creating jobs in Connecticut. Unless things change in Hartford, the state's future and prospects for all its working citizens is dismal. The facts speak to the situation: • Each year the Tax Foundation policy research group estimates the average taxpayer's total state and local tax burden in each state and District of Columbia. Per their latest August 2008 calculations, Connecticut ranked # 3 in combined state & local taxes (per capita) at a rate of 11.1%. NJ and NY ranked #'s 1 and 2 respectively and California ranked # 6. • The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research found Connecticut ranked 50th in the nation in terms of the rate of increase in the number of wealthy filers (those with Adjusted Gross Incomes of $200,000 or higher) despite years of historic gains on nearby Wall Street indicating Connecticut is losing the competition to attract and retain the nation's biggest taxpayers. Taxable wealth is fleeing Connecticut for friendlier tax states. • In 2009, Connecticut ranked 30th in the Business Tax Index that pulls together 16 different tax measures and combines those into one tax score that allows the 50 states and District of Columbia to be compared and ranked (Source: The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council). While certainly not the worst, neither is Connecticut overwhelmingly attractive compared to friendly tax states. • Since March 2008, the state's economy has lost 85,400 jobs, nearly 5 percent of its employment base, and the state could lose another 15,000 jobs. Connecticut's unemployment rate jumped to 8.8 percent in October from 8.4 percent in September. (http://www.courant.com/business/hc-state-unemployment-1120,0,3097682.story) • The Democratic legislature increased spending by $560 million at a time when Connecticut is facing its largest budget deficit in history. They claim taxes were raised primarily on those who could afford them the most, the wealthy and large corporations, but their budget seeks to collect more than $100 million by raising fees across the board. Call it what you like, but fee increases are simply taxes with a different name, and just about everyone in Connecticut will be affected. House Bill 6802 increases, in some cases doubles, nearly every professional license fee. It doubles fees for most corporate filings and doubles recreational fees (like hunting & fishing), including state park fees. The Democrats claim to tax the wealthy and big corporations; this is a lie and the worst part is their fees hit working families hardest. In the coming year, your SRTC intends to work hard to make a difference in the affairs of this state, which go beyond taxes and fees to the business of running and governing Connecticut. Clearly, the current General Assembly over the past decade has proven itself incapable of fiscally managing an $18 billion bureaucracy. As a registered voter, it's your choice to permit business as usual to continue in the General Assembly, or to get involved and make the business of Connecticut your business; you are paying for it! We hope you will support our efforts and become part of the solution; to do nothing is to be part of the problem. In closing, we want to remind you that the Salisbury Republican Town Committee is a volunteer political organization with expenses. Our mission and the initiatives we are pursuing need to be financially supported, so we ask you to consider some level of financial support. No amount is too small or unappreciated. Whether your gift is $5 or $500, it signifies you support our efforts and want to participate in changing Connecticut's future. Donations should be sent to: The Salisbury Republican Town Committee, PO Box 221, Salisbury, CT 06068. Thank you for reading our letter. The SRTC meetings are held every third Tuesday of each month and are open to all, regardless of party affiliation. We would be delighted to have you join us and share your thoughts and ideas. One of our committee members will call you in the near future to introduce ourselves and become better acquainted. Sincerely, The Salisbury Republican Town Committee
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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 |