The election of Greenwich plutocrat Ned Lamont marks a watershed in Connecticut’s history as he is pursuing policies that ensure that the rich remain in Fairfield County, the poor stay invisible while sequestered in the inner cities, and the middle class heads for the door.
Let’s look at what at what he is proposing:
1. A tax on everything. Democrats are proposing extending the sales tax to virtually every product and business service except for lawyers – who make up a large portion of the legislature – and doctors – not because doctors have any politically clout, but because the seniors would riot. When this plan hit the newspapers, five patients came into my office in one day and said they were leaving Connecticut.
2. Tolls, tolls and more tolls. It was one of the best political whoppers since President Obama promised you can keep your doctor, and Lamont has reneged on his promise to only place tolls on incoming trucks. The Democratic legislature is poised to do so, but there are a few bugs to be ironed out. Fairfield County is upset. Thus, Lamont is considering not allowing tolls on the Merritt Parkway. Only someone who spent his entire life being chauffeured would suggest such insanity. Drivers from Interstate 95 would turn the already-congested Merritt into parking lot to avoid the tolls. And what is Lamont’s first priority in using this toll money? If you guessed improving the train service to Manhattan in order to prop up Fairfield County real estate prices, go to the head of the class.
3. Lowering the estate tax. Lamont’s buddies at the club are upset by the estate tax – not that it is not unmanageable since it maxes out around $20,000,000 – chump change at the club. But it is annoying. The money could be much better spent flying one’s private jet to conferences against global warming. Plus you wouldn’t believe the price of good canapes these days.
4. Increasing the minimum wage. Because of the booming economy created by President Trump, minorities have the lowest employment rate since statistics have been kept on this metric. Some of them are even threatening to vote Republican! Thus, the best Democratic strategy is to jack up the minimum wage and price them out of the market. Besides, who wants ambitious minorities competing with white kids for good jobs? Much better to increase the minimum wage, have white kids do unpaid acting internships that minorities can’t afford to take, and keep them in the depressed cities where they belong.
But then who is going to do the dirty work? No problemo. Connecticut is a sanctuary state so the illegals flooding the state can be paid under the table. As any Trump-hating lady at Ned’s club will tell you, no one cleans the toilets better than Rosita.
5. Forcing towns to pay teachers pensions. Even the Democratic mayor of Fairfield, Mike Tetreau, is outraged by this. This will simply raise property taxes more and decrease housing values. Even the teachers’ union is opposed to this plan.
Lamont’s actions make perfect political sense as he was elected by a coalition the urban poor, public employee unions and wealthy white women who complain about President Trump’s misogyny while debating whether the latest first growth Bordeaux is over-oaked.
What is annoying about this is that it will not reduce the deficit. Connecticut is basically an extortionist state, shaking down taxpayers to support public employee unions, bureaucratic sinecures, and do-nothing educrats. Is anyone surprised that a police captain in Stamford pulled down over $400,000 last year? Is anyone surprised the lawyers in the State’s Attorney General’s office just got an 11 percent raise? Crime may not pay, but fighting crime certainly does.
But we should not despair. Our new Commissioner of Energy and Environment Protection Katie Dykes, who rakes in $175,000 a year, is determined to decrease Connecticut’s carbon dioxide emissions by 45 percent by 2030. There is no doubt she will achieve this goal, but not by scamming the taxpayers to fund solar panels and wind power. No. Ms. Dykes, the governor and the Democrats have a much better plan. Humans inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. By chasing the middle class out of the state, Connecticut will no doubt be a leader in decreasing its carbon footprint.
Joe Bentivegna MD is an ophthalmologist in Rocky Hill.
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A dose of reality is always good with the morning coffee. This so is funny because it is so true.
this is the best written and most concise article I have ever read on the subject. Kudos Doctor
Love Dr. Bentivegna’s tongue-in-cheek (but realistic) take on CT’s politics!
Dr. Bentivegna is of the few men and women in this state (and this country) who have the inner strength, conviction and downright bravery to put their careers and public ‘good standing’ on the line to stand up, speak the truth, and openly dissent against the utter corruption and depravity of the Democrats in power. It is fitting that a man who sees so clearly at the state of decline in our society is an opthamologist. In the movie “Crimes and Misdemeanors” the character who represents all that is good in the human spirit – slowly goes blind, as deceit, corruption, and treachery take over the souls of those around him. Let us all hope that those who see the truth, never go blind. For then, all will be lost. I stand with the good doctor. – Signed, Rebecca Carnes. Newtown, Connecticut.
There has to be more accountability on every line item Very wealthy ($500,000 +/year income) people need to invest in CT by creating jobs in manufacturing instead of keeping all the profits for themselves and the investors. Remember “It’s a Wonderful Life” The money needs to be circular, and cheats need to be caught. Not enough tax was collected from 1995-2012 which is another big issue when the debt went up to $3.2 Billion Dollars from $300 million. CT beats NY and NJ by a long shot. Get Strong. Get Proud. Make solutions.
Some couples earn 500k a year, so they are not all business owners. They pay the higher taxes and get very little in the way of loopholes or credits.
Truly a man of vision, pun intended. All of Connecticut companies have outsourced their middle-class employees and brought in foreign visa guest-worker replacements ( think Lamont’s Infosys ) and any illegal immigrants and refugees they can get.
Now we can’t afford our government employees and teachers. It’s not the government employees and teachers who are at fault, it’s the private sector and the government who are complicit in destroying the middle-class tax base!
High taxes, put on by Democrats, destroy the middle class tax base.
State employees are seen as a source of free money by desperate Democrats and rapacious Republicans. Because they have little public support, there are few complaints when their compensation is reduced.
Pensions are an example. The state failed to save for the higher cost pensions agreed in contracts, so they’re a problem now. But for people hired later, payouts and benefits have been worse and worse. Now the state’s retirement program has been evaluated as not much different from that in other states.
State employee numbers and pay are under pressure from non-profits. People who work for those organizations aren’t paid as well. And despite contract restrictions, a lot of work once done by state employees has been transferred. I suspect that’s the main reason Governor Malloy could claim a 10+% cut in state employees.
In the last budgets, state employees provided savings equal to about a third of the large deficits. In return, they received a SEBAC agreement extension and no layoff provisions. The idea, it seems obvious, was to put pressure on the legislature and new Governor to increase taxes on the rich, with reduced pressure on restricting state labor expenditures in future. That’s not working well.
So the author of this article is wrong to claim that the unions own Democrats. Looking past the need to make up for past underfunding, state employees have been a source of reductions in expenditures for a long time. The spending problem isn’t the fault of the people who carry out the programs the legislature has decided to fund.
Great article.
This viewpoint written by the doctor is 100% correct and I love that someone else “Gets It”. Why don’t the taxpayers in Stamford go nuts about police making over $400,000 in a year and the associated long term costs associated with this kind of money. People, take a look at what police earn in other places in this country, this is not normal. Now, Lamont wants to give big raises to the state police. We need to care because associated pension and other costs will continue to keep the private sector worker in CT down.