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I just returned from California where our youngest
son was married in a heartwarming and beautiful ceremony.
I would have enjoyed spending more time with my husband
and relatives, but legislative duties often have a way
of interfering with family occasions, so I took a redeye
back to Connecticut for Monday's veto session at the
State Capitol.
Fortunately, there was some compensation for the lack
sleep. The good news for our district is positive legislative
changes regarding the threat of building a “Super
7” highway. This is has been a long and hard fought
battle that is finally over now that restrictions on
this land have been lifted. We should now move forward
with transportation priorities (like trains) that make
sense!
I am also pleased that a portion of Route 33 through
Wilton and Westport will be renamed "Fallen Heroes
Highway” in honor of Nick Madaras and all other
soldiers who lost their lives defending our country,
along with our police officers and firefighters who
lost their lives while saving others.
The rest of the veto session did not bring as much
good news. While 13 of the Governor’s 20 vetoes
were either upheld or not challenged – including
the unworkable and expensive “pooling bill”
to add more people to the state employee health insurance
plan – the majority party used their numbers to
enact several bills which we simply cannot afford, including
the “SustiNet” universal health care proposal.
This new law could cost Connecticut taxpayers as much
as $1 billion!
When I privately asked a few of my colleagues where
they intended to get the money as we are nearly $9 billion
in the red, they replied that the economy will have
recovered by the time the bill takes full effect in
2012. In my view this is unrealistic, downright dangerous,
and in fact gambling with other people’s money.
While I was in California, that state’s budget
crises finally reached the breaking point. With banks
and vendors refusing to accept that state government’s
IOU’s, the California legislature is finally moving
to cutting its budget back to 2005 spending levels.
When Governor Rell and we in Connecticut’s legislative
minority proposed cutting back merely to 2007 levels,
the majority refused.
During my west coast trip, I visited the Ronald Reagan
Library where I was reminded that President Reagan inherited
an economy in shambles. Mortgage rates had reached 18-20%,
and we had an effective tax rate of nearly 70%. President
Reagan used his leadership to reduce taxes by more than
half and to jumpstart the economy.
It is past time for those in charge of Connecticut’s
General Assembly to learn from both Ronald Reagan’s
courageous leadership and the California legislature’s
belated acknowledgment of the reality that they cannot
continue to increase spending when they are out of money.
Now, it is time for our legislature to join Connecticut’s
families, seniors and businesses in making the tough
choice to cut back. It is really the only choice left.
Senator Toni Boucher represents the 26th Senatorial
District, which includes the communities of Bethel,
New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, Westport and
Wilton. She can be reached at her legislative office
in Hartford at 1-800-842-1421 or via e-mail to Toni.Boucher@cga.ct.gov.
Senator Boucher’s press contact in the Senate
Republican Office is Catherine Sarault, who can be reached
at 860-240-8818, or at catherine.sarault@cga.ct.gov.
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