Only two of Connecticut’s U.S. House members-Reps. Joe Courtney and Jim Himes–voted “yes” on the fiscal year 2011 spending deal hashed out between House Republicans, Senate Democrats, and the White House last week. That plan, which averted a government shutdown, would cut $38 billion from current year federal operations. Himes, D-4th District, and Courtney, D-2nd […]

When Rep. John Larson introduced his public financing campaign bill earlier this month, he blasted the current chase for campaign cash as a corrupting and all-consuming. “Especially in the House, the moment you’re elected, you spend the rest of your time on the phone dialing for dollars, instead of being in the pursuit of the […]

Just in time for tax day, Pulitzer-prize winning reporter, author and lecturer David Cay Johnston takes on what he calls nine “media-perpetuated tax myths” that prop up the theory of supply-side economics–the notion that lower tax rates promote investment, which creates jobs, which raises tax revenue. No. 1 on his list: The widespread notion that […]

A progressive coalition’s campaign to nudge Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the General Assembly towards a bigger tax increase and a new 8.95-percent tax bracket for multi-millionaires quickly was branded a non-starter Wednesday. The legislature is likely to adjust the governor’s tax plan by adopting a slightly more progressive income-tax structure than Malloy’s top rate […]

As a boy growing up in Connecticut, Jamie Merisotis absorbed his parents’ message about the value of higher education–a message he brought back to his home state Wednesday, along with a warning. In building an educated workforce, Connecticut is slipping, said Merisotis, one of the nation’s leading voices on higher education. “Today, other states are […]

A new report by the legislature’s non-partisan budget office says a proposed bill that would give in-state college tuition rates to undocumented students won’t necessarily increase higher education costs–but it isn’t likely to persuade opponents of the measure. “I don’t believe that there is no cost,” said Sen. Toni Boucher, R-Wilton, the ranking Republican on the […]

A legislative plan to tax the state’s two active nuclear power plants could threaten jobs, send the wrong message to businesses and lead to higher electricity rates, lawmakers, municipal officials, business and labor leaders and the operators of the plants warned Wednesday. “This targeted, seemingly vindictive initiative would undermine and destabilize an entire region of […]

WASHINGTON–The federal spending deal, reached by top congressional negotiators on Friday to avert a government shutdown, would shrink emergency heating assistance for the poor. It would slash high-speed rail funding. And it would trim the Army Corps of Engineer’s budget, jeopardizing dredging projects in Long Island Sound. That’s the bad news for Connecticut, spelled out […]

Pat Scully’s got a new gig. And no, it’s not as the fifth starter for the Sox.

The House soundly rejected a jobs-related bill sponsored by Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, on Wednesday. It didn’t even really get a full-fledged vote. Instead, Republicans squashed it in a procedural motion. And that’s about as good as it’s going to get, now that Murphy and the rest of Connecticut’s U.S. House delegation is in […]

There was so much attention paid in the 2010 Senate contest to Republican Linda McMahon’s profligate spending, that we somehow missed this little gem: a $97 expenditure by businessman Merrick Alpert, an unsuccessful contender in the race, on a “Chicken costume.” What did Alpert need a chicken costume for? Well, it has to do with […]

Despite major increases in state spending on corrections, recidivism rates were largely unchanged nationwide between 1999 and 204, a new study by the Pew Center on the States says: More than four in 10 offenders returned to prison within three years of release. The rate varies significantly among states, however, ranging from 61.2 percent in […]

Another day, another announcement in the 5th Congressional District. Dan Roberti of Kent, who formed a candidate committee weeks ago, announced his candidacy today for the Democratic nomination. “As I watch the mess in Washington unfold – with Republican threats to shut down the government, end Medicare, and hold our economy and middle class jobs […]

Quote of the Week “This has been good for me and my growth as a person, someone who aspires to be a good governor.” — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, concluding his 17-stop listening tour

MIDDLETOWN–A feisty Gov. Dannel P. Malloy parried challenges to his budget from the left and right Tuesday night at the last of his 17 town-hall meetings. But he concluded on a softer note, calling his two-month listening tour an exercise in personal growth for a new governor. “I appreciate so many people across the state […]