Are extreme tax hikes during a recovery brave or foolish?

CT Governor Dannel Malloy has released his budget and it is a doozy. In an attempt to close the budget gap, he is proposing huge tax increases on nearly everyone and everything.

In one of the largest and most wide-ranging tax increases in Connecticut history, taxes on income, cigarettes, alcohol, gasoline, and estates would all increase under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget proposal to be unveiled Wednesday.

The current 6 percent sales tax would also rise for the first time since the state income tax was created in 1991 - to 6.25 percent...Malloy is also seeking to eliminate the sales-tax free week, which is popular among families as it is held in August for back-to-school shopping. Overall, Malloy is proposing more than 50 different tax changes in a package that would increase taxes by $1.5 billion in the first year and $1.34 billion in the second year.

The taxes are so wide-ranging that they would touch anyone who earns a salary, drives a car, gets a haircut, buys clothing, sleeps in a hotel, takes yoga lessons, pays for a manicure, smokes cigarettes, drinks alcohol or takes a poodle to get a haircut.

I am not sure what to think of the governor at this point. On the one hand, this is a courageous move in the era of the Tea Party. While CT is about as blue as they come, there are plenty of anti-tax protesters ready to come out in force. On the other hand, this seems sure to stifle any nascent economic recovery in the cradle and drive businesses out of the state altogether.

Then again, "brave" and "foolhardy" are not always mutually-exclusive terms. Here's hoping the CT Congress can moderate these terms into something the state can live with. Otherwise, it may be time to think about checking out job opportunities elsewhere.

Cost-of-Living can sink Employment

State legislators tend to think employers are privileged to be able to do business in their state. But the fact is that the decision of location is like any other for a company - cost vs benefit. And recently the CEO of Aetna (based in the state of Connecticut) had some hard words for CT Governor Dannel Malloy.

In short, the Hartford-based health insurer could add workers anywhere around the globe as it grows its health-technology business. Forty percent of Aetna employees today work from home full-time.

"We've done the analysis, and, quite frankly, Connecticut falls very, very low on the list as an environment to locate employees . . . in large part because of the tax structure, the cost of living, which is now approaching, all in, the cost of locating an employee in New York City," he said.

As states consider how to resolve their budget deficits, they need to keep in mind that it is not a problem solved in isolation. Businesses can and will relocate. And it is the best solutions that will keep and gain business tax revenue.

CT Health Care Reform Backlash

Do you remember when President Obama promised that his Health Care Reform plan would bring down the costs of health care for all Americans? Those of us in Connecticut are wondering how he will explain the latest move by insurers who now want the ability to raise rates by over 20% in 2011.

Aetna asked earlier this summer for an average 24.7 percent increase over last year for small-group HMO plans. State regulators approved an average increase of 18 percent for all of Aetna's small-group plans and 14.2 percent for large-group and middle-market plans, according to Aetna and an initial review of documents provided to The Courant by the state Insurance Department...

In what might appear to be an oddity, companies are citing a huge range of effects that the health care reform mandates will have on plan prices — from near zero to well over 20 percent...

ConnectiCare is seeking an average 22.2 percent hike for its individual-market HMO plans, according to a filing with state regulators...Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, by far the largest insurer of Connecticut residents, said in a letter that it expects the federal health reform law to increase rates by as much as 22.9 percent for just a single provision — removing annual spending caps...

Somehow, I suspect suddenly health care will return to be a #1 issue in the Fall elections... at least in my home state.

Share the Road.Org

I posted a few weeks back that Connecticut is not a good place to bike.  The fact is, riding the trails is great, but the issue is riding the roads.  For years, cyclists have tried to get the CT DOT to improve roads, create bike lanes, and put programs into place to increase awareness among drivers.  I have one friend who has faced irate/aggressive drivers here, who has been run off the road no less than a dozen times.  (One time, by a soccer-mom who saw it as her civic duty to "teach him a lesson" that bikes were not allowed on roads.)

Finally, Connecticut is starting to get serious about cyclists and encouraging bikes as alternative transport.  To that end, they have created a new website which collects the rules of the road, and reiterates the important principles for cars and bikes to share the road.  Combined with an bus-ad campaign, hopefully this will make it better to roam on two wheels in the Constitution State.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from The Bike Nomad

It begins - CT has its bond rating cut

My home state is the first, but it won't be the last. Ratings agencies are beginning to cut the bond ratings for the state. This will make it much more expensive to raise funds in the future

Connecticut is preparing to borrow $956 million to close a budget gap in the fiscal year beginning July 1, after borrowing money last year to cover a deficit of $947.6 million. Not good. Fitch has reduced the states credit rating from AA+ to AA.

Blumenthal lied about Vietnam?

Richard Blumenthal has served as Connecticut's Attorney General for many years - and is widely respected - but recently he took the podium at a ceremony regarding veterans and apparently misrepresented his own service in the Vietnam era. This apparent lie has been exposed by the New York Times, and some are arguing it may lead to the end of his political career.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

This will be an interesting one to watch. Mr. Blumenthal is running to replace Senator Chris Dodd. If he should fall, is there a Democratic candidate who can step in to fill the gap, or is this one seat that the GOP can mark as "safe" for 2010?

Connecticut Weirdness: The Ballroom Polka

I remember with dismay my elementary school years when my teachers tried to get me to memorize such trivia as the state bird, state flower, and state instrument. How, I wondered, could anyone care about this kind of stuff? It must be a relic of a bygone age, right? Not so much - apparently, some Connecticut residents are trying to get the state government to designate a "state polka". The supporters seem quite passionate about it. Personally, I never knew "passionate" and "polka" could be placed in the same sentence. The candidate polka is in the YouTube video below. And I will grudgingly admit it is impressive, and somewhat catchy.

Same-Sex Marriage to become law in CT

It appears the CT legislature is poised to make same-sex marriage the law in the Nutmeg State. There was significant resistance from religious groups fearful of the lack of exceptions for faith-based organizations, but it appears that the legislation has been amended and now the bill is likely to pass.

"Obviously the Supreme Court decision in 'Kerrigan' has made same sex marriage the law of the state of Connecticut," said Senator John McKinney. "What we're trying to do is make sure that there are protections for religions and religious organizations with respect to the performing of marriage ceremonies and celebrations of marriages."

"It appears that the religious liberties issues are being addressed and that's a very good thing," said Pat Korten of the Knights of Columbus. "Obviously, the bill that came out of committee had virtually nothing of that sort. This is major progress."

This has been coming for a while, and I think it is inevitable that same-sex marriage is essentially law of the land in the USA. I disagree with the philosophical arguments, but they are not incoherent. Now is the time for Conservatives to honestly assess what same-sex marriage in all (or at least most) states means for them. And how they want to explain this move to the children.

Talk about Bad Timing!

This last week, the local high school in Shelton, CT was upbraided by the CT state Fire Marshall for not complying with the fire code. The local Fire Marshall had been dismissive of the non-compliance, first claiming they had a waiver and then saying that no waiver was needed. Overall, the state felt the school was out of compliance because of lack of sprinklers and external exits for many classrooms. The state is expected to order soon that the school be brought into compliance.

Well, before such an order can be given, an explosion and fire has been reported at the high school during a Freshman girl's basketball game.

Updated 9:01 PM: Here is the video of the story.

CT Supreme Court Rules Gay Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

That is right, folks. It is official. I knew it was coming, but it still is shocking to me. Nice to know the culture war will be coming to my home state for a while. Maybe it'll boost the economy for a bit. Even angry protesters need to eat and sleep somewhere, right?

CT takes High School online

Most days, I have no particular love of my state of residence: Connecticut. But every once in a while it feels good to be from the Nutmeg State.

Connecticut public high schools will begin offering online courses to students next month, according to Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

The pilot program, called CT Virtual Learning Center, will offer courses such as algebra, geometry, and English to students at risk of falling behind or failing, Rell said in a written statement. By enrolling in the courses, students will be able to avoid summer school and recover credits.

Electives that may not be available at many schools -- like Mandarin, biotechnology and international business -- will also be available online.

Now if only these courses were open to ALL residents in some way. I'd love to take a course in Mandarin, even if teacher support were only available to real high schoolers.

Fire Video

Here is a video I took of the smoke rising from the fire.

Fire, Fire, Fire

A Fire broke out near our shop less than an hour ago. Preliminary reports are that it is a brush fire. The flames were really high though, so it could be more than that.