Like a profligate spender with maxed out credit cards and limited income, Connecticut finds itself stumbling towards financial ruin. Relying on an addict to convey the true depth of his problem is, in general, ill-advised. This instance is no different. Hiding behind accounting gimmicks impermissible in the private sector, Connecticut politicians in the state’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (“CAFR”) measured a substantial $70 billion hole at the end of 2014: $22 billion of bonded debt, $26 billion of unfunded pension liabilities and $22 billion of unfunded retiree healthcare liabilities. Large as these numbers are, they understate the scale of the problem.
Erik Cafarella
Posted inCT Viewpoints
On Connecticut’s self-inflicted financial meltdown
Connecticut is spiraling out of control. Gross mismanagement, political ideology, cronyism, and entitlement are self-inflicted wounds. The state’s projected $1.5 billion fiscal deficit is just the tip of an iceberg into which Connecticut is colliding. It is a devastating multi-year crash that could have been avoided. Now, residents who remain, either by choice or necessity, will all have to bear its brunt.