BUDGET BOMBAST PUTS GOVERNOR MALLOY IN THE HOT SEAT
by Cort Wrotnowski, Editor
The only missing ingredient from the ongoing drama over the state budget in Hartford is the famous announcer known for saying "Let's Get Ready to RUUUUUMMMMBBBLLLE!!!
I am waiting for some tag team wrestling moves to make this really interesting. For now, we have in one corner the democrats and republicans who voted for the latest budget bill. In the other corner we have Governor Malloy and his legislative stalwarts who failed to keep the party in line. The rules for fighting this round are still being worked out. But Malloy originally signaled he is going to take his marbles and go home with a veto of the bipartisan budget. Amazing what a little time to reflect can do.
There is still a chance of some tangling. If the posturing about negotiations is at all real, then we should see some real fighting.
Yesterday's piece in the CT Mirror has Malloy going from pounding his chest to gesturing in a way that can be confused with some form of reconciliation, if not negotiation. Mere hours from the writing of this piece, he will be meeting with Republican leaders. Oh to be a fly on that wall. Of course, the good governor must stay in the good graces of his own party. After all, he IS the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. A backlash from his own party he does not need.
Is it possible that Governor Malloy will listen to reason instead of his donors? A quote from the Mirror article is full of implications all their own. "I’m not sure everyone understood the implications of the Republican budget, so we’re examining it. That’s what I said I would do” (1). Well, that is not exactly what he said originally. Let's be honest. The governor was probably just a little tired, upset and not thinking clearly when he said he would just veto it. Now that some time has passed, and he has had a chance to listen to some wise counsel, he is "softening" his tone. That's a good thing.
He seems to have become tone deaf about the serious short comings of the democrat designed budget proposal. We have heard the criticisms before. It's a job killer, the new tax structure will only drive more people and companies out of the state. The added debt reportedly pushes the state from spending 25 cents of every budget dollar on servicing debt, to 33 cents on every budget dollar. Roughly speaking, when you look at the debt loads in other states, the average is around 10 cents on the dollar. Clearly, the democrat designed budget is moving in the WRONG direction - that is unless you are a municipal bond investor with an appetite for risk.
Quite frankly, dear reader, I think there is a case to be made that the governor in fact suffers from a huge blind spot when it comes to business and economic development. He talks a good game, but it has not been born out in his 7 years in office. Note to governor: Connecticut is not Stamford. He has suggested the republican budget passed by both parties destroys his efforts for economic development. We need to pause here. A disturbing counter-example to his claim in the biotechnology sector in Connecticut. The governor has gone out of his way to attract biotechnology companies to this state. It is a good idea, but when you fail to understand what kind of economic climate you need to create jobs and new companies, you are just acting in a self-defeating way. The democrat budget he supports reflects that self-defeating mindset in service of what is really the status quo with the state employee unions.
The wrong-headed nature of his "strategy" for building business in Connecticut has really been put on display with the recent announcement by Alexion Therapeutics that it is moving to Boston (2). Governor Malloy ends up looking more like a jilted lover as the company hands back the engagement ring, while keeping the rest of the wedding gifts as they head off to Boston. What was it? $65 million in incentives to move from Cheshire to New Haven? Also a $6 million grant to boot?
Note to Governor: No amount of money can keep someone in a room that stinks.
Odds makers may conclude that as more time passes, the chances of the republican designed budget getting signed by the governor only get better. They have taken too long. Too much bad blood has already been spilled just within the democrat party. The political optics for Hartford just keep getting worse with the passage of time. So, governor, I leave you with timeless wisdom from that great American philosopher, Winnie the Pooh. Who, when realizing that he and Eeyore were lost in the woods by following the same path simply said, "Let's do the opposite". They found their way home.
1. Pazniokas, Mark "Malloy: My GOP budget criticism is vetting, not kvetching", CT Mirror, Sep. 21, 2017.
2. http://wtnh.com/2017/09/12/reaction-to-alexion-leaving-new-haven-for-boston/
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