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

State budget do-over: The conversion of Dannel Malloy

  • CT Viewpoints
  • by Suzanne Bates
  • February 10, 2016
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

In the waning hours of the 2015 legislative session, as the exhausted members of the General Assembly debated the budget during an all-night session, Democratic leadership pulled their rank-and-file members out one by one to promise, cajole, and threaten them into voting for the budget.

Several months earlier, Gov. Dannel Malloy had presented his version of the budget, which called for increases in spending and taxes, then essentially disappeared from view while the legislature tacked on hundreds of millions of dollars more in spending and new taxes.

Now, half a year later, we can see why so many Democratic legislators were reluctant to join their leadership in voting for the budget. All of the warnings came true – people and businesses are leaving the state at a faster pace than ever, revenues continue to lag behind expectations, and the state budget remains out of balance.

We also now see a much-changed Dannel Malloy. Not only has he had a conversion from a self-described ‘liberal’ big-spender into a responsible budget hawk, but he also claims to want to stay involved this year, having already announced that he will embark on a town hall tour to promote his version of the budget.

So far it looks like the deeply liberal leadership in the legislature has not undergone a similar conversion, so it remains to be seen whether they will follow through on his plans to cut the state workforce and other spending.

The cuts are deep in Malloy’s revised budget. He plans an across-the-board 5.75 percent cut of discretionary spending, and his budget chief Ben Barnes said that likely meant “thousands” of state positions would be eliminated.

Malloy also laid out five “principles” that would guide him in the building of this and future budgets. The first: “(W)e need to limit our spending to available resources.”

Somehow, this is radical in Hartford.

But does he mean it?

He sure seems to – for now. (At least until he asks them to vote on his tax increases for his transportation wish list next year.)

Barnes also seemed serious about the new state of affairs as he presented the budget on Wednesday to a room full of reporters and lobbyists. There were audible groans, and even a muttered “insane” as he described the cuts.

I’m sure they did sound insane to the people who’ve come to depend on the state taxpayers’ generosity. But those people are competing for money against an interest even more entrenched: the public sector unions.

Because here’s the problem – given the expected increase in spending on state employee benefits, not even the proposed deep cuts will be enough to put the state back in the black in future years.

In particular our pension and retiree health-care debt, which stands at $48 billion, will eat up more and more of the budget for the foreseeable future. And while Malloy likes to blame his predecessors for that debt, the blame also lies at the feet of union officials who agreed to underfund the pensions in exchange for better pay for state employees.

The results are clear. A Yankee Institute study published earlier this year showed that state employees earn an average of 25 to 46 percent more than their private sector counterparts with similar experience.

Unlike most states, where state employees earn less pay but more generous benefits, Connecticut’s state employees earn roughly the same pay as state residents in the private sector and more generous benefits.

Much more generous benefits.

The state spends 35 percent more on health care for its current employees than private sector workers receive, while pension benefits are five times, or 500 percent, more generous. On retiree healthcare, the numbers are even more staggering – state employees’ benefits are 33 times more generous. That’s 3,300 percent.

This holds true when you compare Connecticut to other states as well – our retiree health care benefits are the second most expensive in the country, and, according to a Pew study on public employee health care costs in 2014, we spend about 30 percent more than the national average on employee health care premiums.

Lawmakers should keep this in mind as the state negotiates new contracts with 12 collective bargaining units. All of these contracts should come in front of the full legislature for review and a vote.

These contracts only include pay and work rules, not benefits. Those can’t be touched – supposedly – until 2022.

Republicans are on the right track when they say the state should legislate these benefits instead. It’s how all our neighboring states set employee benefits.

But there is something else they can do right now. By law, state lawmakers currently get the same generous and expensive benefits as state employees.

Lawmakers could – this year – set an example by changing their own benefits.

Don’t laugh. It could happen.

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
One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

A 71-year-old white woman has a request of the police
by Maggie Goodwin

Please officer, begin to look at every traffic stop and nonviolent police intervention as one where you will meet me, a white-haired 71-year-old retired social worker.

A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion One step Connecticut can take to address our maternal mortality crisis
by Myechia Minter-Jordan, MD

Uncertainty. Fear. Worry. These are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that run through the minds of almost every expecting parent. And for many expecting Black parents, those feelings can be more acute. That’s because for far too many, having a child is a life and death struggle.

Opinion Connecticut lawmakers on aid in dying: two decades of delay, deferral, obstruction
by Paul Bluestein, MD

Very soon, members of the Connecticut House and Senate will be voting on HB6425, - the Medical Aid in Dying bill. More than 20 years ago, Oregon implemented its Death with Dignity Act. Since then, Washington, Vermont, California, Montana, Colorado, Maine, Washington DC, Hawaii and most recently New Mexico have passed legislation authorizing medical aid in dying for terminally ill adults. But not Connecticut.

Opinion The intersection of race, class and gender in America’s childcare system: The class edition
by Georgia Goldburn

When Michelle Obama declared that she wanted to become “Mom in Chief,” she spoke to a sentiment shared by many women, i.e. the desire to be the primary caregiver of their young children in their early years. Not unexpectedly, Mrs. Obama was derided for making that choice, highlighting how society stands ready to indict women […]

Opinion A progressive income tax to re-align Connecticut’s moral compass
by Ezra Kaprov

Redistribution of wealth and property is a fundamental and missing pillar of the hope for multi-racial democracy in the United States.

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