In a largely symbolic act, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy vetoed a bipartisan bill Monday to reverse cuts to the Medicare Savings Program, calling it an unbalanced exercise in “wishful thinking” that only would worsen projected budget deficits.
Malloy vetoes Medicare program fix, calls it ‘wishful’ budgeting
Posted inMoney
Surging CT income tax receipts bolster budget reserve
An anticipated surge in state income tax receipts has bolstered Connecticut’s emergency reserves to nearly $900 million. But it remains unclear how much of that windfall is lasting — and how much is only an advance payment of funds Connecticut otherwise would receive in mid-April.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy names Thomas J. Saadi to lead Veterans Affairs
Thomas J. Saadi, an Army Reserve officer who has held senior jobs in the state Department of Veterans Affairs for nearly three years, was named Tuesday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy as his choice to lead the department as commissioner. Saadi has been acting commissioner since October.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
What Jeff Sessions doesn’t understand about medical marijuana
On Jan. 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole memo, a 2013 document that limits federal enforcement of marijuana laws. This opens the door for a crackdown in the nine states with legal recreational marijuana. … I have researched a number of drugs of abuse and natural products for safety and effectiveness. Just because a drug has abuse potential doesn’t mean it’s always bad and just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s always safe. While I’m no fan of legalizing recreational marijuana use, I believe there has to be special dispensation for patients with a legitimate medical need.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Push for carbon-free and other climate-change legislation
The article published in the Connecticut Mirror on Jan. 18, “Sandy + 5; Irene +6: Coastal resilience still elusive and expensive,” highlighted the need for Connecticut’s coastal towns to develop plans to become more resilient to hurricanes and rising sea level, yet it made no mention of the need to address climate change, the consequences of which include coastal flooding and more extreme weather events.
Posted inEducation, Money
Pressing question for CT: A state tax break for private school tuition?
The federal tax overhaul may have triggered an automatic state tax break that would allow parents to avoid paying state taxes on some of the money they put aside to send their children to private K-12 schools. Forces already are lining up to back or resist a change.
Posted inPolitics
On MLK Day, a reminder of the ‘appalling silence’ of good people
Controversy over President Trump’s comments about immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Africa weighed heavily Monday over the celebration at the State Capitol of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Posted inMoney
Report: Personal income in CT, long lagging, fell last fiscal year
A recent analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts shows Connecticut has been lagging the nation in personal income growth since the last recession. And most recently that meager growth has been slowing down.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The state’s pension plans as configured are doomed to fail
States all over the country are grappling with ever-increasing unfunded pension liabilities. My home state of Connecticut trails such pension liability behemoths like Illinois and New Jersey, but still ranks high on the danger list. In June 2010 the Connecticut public pension fund had $9.3 billion in assets but its actuaries calculated that the state still needed an additional $21.1 billion to meet all its pension obligations. It was only 44 percent funded.
Posted inJustice, Politics
Tax bill may make 2018 a wild year for CT divorces
WASHINGTON — Meghan Freed, who practices family law in Hartford, said the massive tax overhaul surprised divorce attorneys and their clients by scrapping a 75-year-old tax deduction for alimony payments. Divorce attorneys say that change will complicate the delicate negotiations of couples who have decided to part.
Posted inNews
Trump’s language creates firestorm
President Donald Trump’s offensive language and his mental state were hot topics last week nationally and here in Connecticut, where lots of candidates for governor, state attorney general and other high offices are emerging.
Posted inJustice, News
Months after Maria, relief center helps more than 1,000 arrivals
More than three months after Hurricane Maria left widespread devastation and wiped out power across Puerto Rico, Connecticut is still seeing displaced evacuees arriving from the island in search of aid and stability. MaryAnne Pascone is managing director and the director of community education at Capitol Region Education Councils Relief Center. In this Sunday Conversation she spoke about the challenges and conditions facing the islanders seeking the center’s help.
Posted inHealth
With CHIP funds running low, doctors, parents scramble to cover kids’ needs
The months-long failure on Capitol Hill to pass a long-term extension to CHIP — a program that provides health coverage to 9 million lower-income children around the nation — portends serious health consequences, with disruption in ongoing treatments.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
President Trump should apologize to the Haitians
Why does President Trump always shoot himself in the foot? His policies of lower taxes and decreased regulation has the economy on a tear and the stock market booming. He has destroyed ISIS, forced NATO to pay its fair share and kept many of his campaign promises.
So why insult African Americans – whose unemployment has plummeted because of his policies – by calling Haiti and Africa a “shithole?” President Trump should apologize and allow the 58,000 Haitians given temporary legal status after the earthquake to remain in the United States.
Posted inPolitics
House Democrats back to 79 with arrival of Bobby Gibson
The Democratic advantage in the state House of Representatives has grown with the arrival Friday of Bobby Gibson, a Democrat from Bloomfield who won a special election Tuesday, and the resignation last week of Rep. Laura Hoydick, a Republican who is the new mayor of Stratford.