Republicans in Congress are about to pass the Trump tax bill, which hammers Connecticut. Our state is already getting cheated by the federal government, sending over $2,700 per resident to Washington more than we receive back. The Trump tax bill adds another $800 net loss per resident, money sent to D.C. which we never see again. We are in a hole; stop digging.
The many billions of dollars which pour out of our state to Washington every year is redistributed to New Mexico and West Virginia and a majority of the states which receive more money back. Connecticut is in the minority: donor states which send money out. In fact we are second worst in the country according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
Our Democratic representatives in Congress are fighting the Trump tax increase on Connecticut, but we need help from our Republican friends. Now is the time for our Republican candidates for governor to challenge this tax bill. Their silence is deafening. Speaker Paul Ryan says that rich states like Connecticut can afford the tax increase; no Mr. Speaker, we have some rich residents, but we are not a rich state and our aging infrastructure and struggling schools deserve federal support, certainly as much as your state of Wisconsin, which is not a donor state.
The first order of business: Connecticut Republicans and Democrats stand shoulder to shoulder to stop the Trump tax bill, this massive tax hit to our state. Stop digging.
Ned Lamont of Greenwich was a Democratic candidate for governor in 2010.