As
Congress considers massive tax hikes to fix the U.S. deficit, the state
of Connecticut is worth a look. There, a similar strategy is failing
epically.
Governor Dannel Malloy’s budget chief told the state legislature on
Wednesday that Connecticut was facing a $365 million deficit for this
fiscal year. That’s nearly twice as big as the $205 million estimate
released last week by the Office of Fiscal Analysis and the Office of
Policy and Management. And it’s more than six times what Governor
Malloy, a Democrat, had estimated before the election.If you think that discrepancy is suspicious, you’re not alone. And consider this: Democrats, who hold the majority in both houses of the state legislature, voted to postpone the release of the fall consensus revenue forecasts, which revealed Connecticut’s rather ugly fiscal picture, until after November 6. Democrats say the delay was in order to give a more complete financial picture; Republicans say it was a political ploy. Come Election Day, Republicans failed to gain additional seats in either chamber of the legislature.
That’s a pity, because Republican lawmakers have correctly identified the problem: Connecticut has consistently spent too much, and then tried to fix the budget shortfall by raising taxes.
Read more: http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/333519/connecticut-s-fiscal-mess-jillian-kay-melchior
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