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WASHINGTON – Followed by a phalanx of journalists, Rep. Jahana Hayes joined a group of House Democratic freshmen Wednesday who went on the hunt for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to pressure him to hold votes on Democratic bills that would end the shutdown. They did not find McConnell, but even if they had, there's little evidence they would succeeded in ending a 26-day stalemate.
Should the state bill towns for teacher pension costs? Former Gov. Dannel P. Malloy first raised the idea of sharing the fastest-growing cost in the state budget with cities and towns. But while Malloy failed to win legislative support before he left office, the debate over whether to bill communities for a share of municipal teacher pension costs is not over.
The Office of the Child Advocate released a scathing report Wednesday morning on the substandard conditions in state facilities for imprisoned and detained youth and called for an overhaul of the system.
As we begin a new year, the State of Connecticut faces daunting challenges. Each feels more pressing than the last and it’s hard to know where to even start. But efforts in one policy arena hold promise for creating a ripple effect that would contribute greatly to our state’s economic development, fiscal sustainability, public health, and more.
Over the last few years, our politics have become polarized in a way that I’ve never seen and never would have expected. Civility, kind gestures or words seem to be in short supply. Too many people in our country have developed an “us against them” mentality and believe that our government institutions no longer work for them.
Everyone lives in a house, apartment or some form of physical dwelling which has locks on all exterior doors and all the windows. Why is that necessary? Are the locks to prevent unwanted entry? Yes! Are the locks to prevent theft of one's possessions? Yes! Are the locks to prevent squatters from occupying the structure? Yes! Are the locks to create a sense of security and safety for the legal occupants? Yes! Do politicians have home security cameras and alarms in their homes in addition to window and door locks? I'd bet that the answer is YES.
Any mechanic will tell you, don’t put gas in the engine until the engine is fixed. Connecticut’s economic engine is still broken, so why the rush to put “gas” in it, in the form of a $15 minimum wage, when it still needs fixing? I am all for a proper minimum wage that should be a peg of a local minimum to approximately 50 percent of the local median wage. That is where other advanced comparable OECD nations are currently. But jumping to $15 per hour would constrict economic growth.
