Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism
CT VIEWPOINTS -- opinions from around Connecticut

Bob Duff sells out his district on the union concession deal

  • CT Viewpoints
  • by Gregory T. Ehlers
  • August 9, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Every family who lives in Bob Duff’s district and every business operating in Fairfield County needs to be aware of what their elected State Senator just did to threaten their livelihoods last week.

The labor contract agreement that just passed and will now become law is another in a long line of sweetheart deals with unions negotiated by Gov. Dannel Malloy that has prolonged the fiscal crisis and created the poor economic climate our families and businesses suffer in every day.

It should no longer be a surprise to anyone in Connecticut that our state remains mired in a devastating fiscal crisis that has resulted from a cycle of spending money we don’t have, raising taxes to cover the differences, and then suffering the consequences of taxpayers leaving for more tax-friendly states. This cycle has been repeated for decades and has stunted economic growth in this state.

If you closely observe this economically disastrous cycle, you will notice one troubling fact about Connecticut’s government that has given wake to years of awful budgets: the basic fact that state government is just too expensive.  In particular, state employees receive benefits so luxurious, and so unprecedented, that as bureaucracy balloons and employees retire it has brought the state to the brink of insolvency.  Public sector jobs and benefits in Connecticut are unparalleled in other states and would make most private sector workers seethe to know what they pay for.

For example, did you know that some state employees pay $0 into their pensions? Or that employees can factor overtime pay into their pension calculations?  Healthcare co-pays are insidiously low. Sen. Richard Blumenthal chose to keep his state health care plan versus what was is offered at the federal level. It’s a recipe for fiscal disaster.

If Sen. Duff were truly interested in allowing Connecticut’s economy to recover and solving our budget crisis — as he repeated throughout the 2016 campaign that he was “working hard and standing up for you” — then he should have addressed the inordinate amount of power that state employee unions wield in government.  Sen. Duff should realize that his duty as our State Senator and responsibility as Senate Majority Leader is to summon the political courage to curb their power in order to balance our budget.

Sen. Duff also needs to be aware his district contains relatively few state workers.  What he does have in his district are overworked and underpaid municipal workers., These include teachers, police officers, firefighters, and librarians.  If you are a teacher, police officer, firefighter, or librarian, you are among the losers of this union deal and of the budget crisis in general.

These invaluable jobs depend on responsibly managed municipalities who raise revenue, most prominently, via property tax receipts.  Cities and towns also receive funding from the state in the form of municipal aid, which is really just the state returning a portion of income tax receipts that they collected from their residents.  In helping the labor deal pass, Sen. Duff decided protecting unions, state workers benefits, and Gov. Malloy was more important than making sure towns have sufficient funding to pay municipal workers.

Make no mistake about it – this union deal is a tax increase.  Although its supporters will point to the $1 billion it saves, it is hard to be cheerful when the actual budget deficit is $5.1 billion.  To claim this deal helps out is completely disingenuous.  The state is going to have to make up for that extra $4 billion somehow, which they will do by cutting off town funding (so towns will have to increase property taxes) and by raising state taxes.

I shudder to think of what this means for Norwalk parents, since Norwalk is perhaps the most underfunded school district in the state because of an unequal ECS formula.

If Bob Duff were truly interested in helping out his district, he would have stood up to Gov. Malloy and the unions and steered the State Senate to reject this horrible deal.  Then, he would get to work on a budget that actually advocates for the people who fund government rather than the people who work for government.

On that note, has anyone asked Sen. Duff where the state’s budget is after a painful month of the governor running the state through executive order? It’s really a stunning abandonment of duty.

Sen. Duff needs to look himself in the mirror and decide who he represents — state workers in Hartford or hard-working families in Norwalk and Darien.  He needs to decide if he wants to grow the bureaucracy or grow business, because he really cannot do both at this stage in the budget crisis.  Right now, he is taking his orders from union bosses and Gov. Malloy.

(And, no, taking selfies at Calf Pasture and posting them on Twitter does not qualify as representing your district, Bob.)

I urge residents of his district to call his office at 860-240-8600 and demand he work to pass a budget that benefits taxpayers rather than special interests.

Every day that passes without a budget is another death knell for family finances and business prospects in this state and our state senator stands right in the middle of the process.

We are waiting, Bob.

Greg Ehlers was a 2016 GOP candidate for election in the 25th District of the Connecticut State Senate. He lives in Darien.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
College students in Connecticut should be vaccinated now
by Dayna Vadala

If the state of Connecticut wants its institutions of higher learning to return to normal in the fall, it’s going to have to get shots into the arms of the students.

Connecticut, be a International leader against hair discrimination among children
by Faith D. Crittenden, Jade A. Anderson, MD, and Whitney L. Stuard

On March 1, 2020, Connecticut became the eighth state to pass the Crown Act, a national legislative movement that recognizes natural hair and cultural headwear discrimination as a form of racial discrimination in the workplace. While we are  in strong support and advocate for this law, it is important to recognize the limitations of the Crown Act and how it can be improved upon in future policy.

Three lessons for schools across America from Secretary Cardona’s hometown
by Mark Benigni

Over the past decade, Meriden Public Schools -- where U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona served as assistant superintendent -- has become a unique laboratory for new ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible in public education. And many of those ideas have paid off.

A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

The Connecticut Juvenile Training School and the lie that built it
by Colleen Shaddox 

Sitting in the paddy wagon, I was afraid – maybe apprehensive was a better word, since I rightly suspected that white privilege would guarantee me good treatment.  Still, I said a prayer of thanksgiving. After years of advocating for people in our carceral system, I was given a chance to develop more empathy.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion College students in Connecticut should be vaccinated now
by Dayna Vadala

If the state of Connecticut wants its institutions of higher learning to return to normal in the fall, it’s going to have to get shots into the arms of the students.

Opinion Connecticut, be a International leader against hair discrimination among children
by Faith D. Crittenden, Jade A. Anderson, MD, and Whitney L. Stuard

On March 1, 2020, Connecticut became the eighth state to pass the Crown Act, a national legislative movement that recognizes natural hair and cultural headwear discrimination as a form of racial discrimination in the workplace. While we are  in strong support and advocate for this law, it is important to recognize the limitations of the Crown Act and how it can be improved upon in future policy.

Opinion Three lessons for schools across America from Secretary Cardona’s hometown
by Mark Benigni

Over the past decade, Meriden Public Schools -- where U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona served as assistant superintendent -- has become a unique laboratory for new ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible in public education. And many of those ideas have paid off.

Opinion A healthcare system too broken to fix
by Sosena Kedebe MD

On March 25, the White house announced that it was going to invest over $6 billion in health centers that are funded through the Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in order to expand COVID-19 vaccinations and other health services provided to vulnerable populations. As a chief medical officer for a health center that is strained to reach some of the most disenfranchised patient population in Hartford, this was great news. Yet there was a part of me that took the news with a deep concern. Why you might ask?

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO