Issue Position: Jobs and the Economy

Issue Position

My primary mission as our State Representative has been and will continue to be holding our elected officials accountable and helping our economy back on track. I believe strongly that we need to create an environment that encourages business to choose Connecticut. That means keeping the businesses we have, encouraging startups and having businesses choose to relocate to Connecticut because what we have to offer. This will require smart policies that reduce punitive taxes, burdensome regulation, and needless red tape. I am also opposed to Governor Malloy's policies such as the First Five program which takes tax dollars from some communities to offer incentives to businesses in others. This sets up a dangerous precedent that will cause even more of this activity in the future and further hurt our state's economy and our ability to create jobs. Businesses that receive these benefits will certainly take advantage but for how long. How long until they start looking for the next "incentive"? And what about the other businesses, who received no such benefit? This is not the proper role of our state government.

The truth is that our state is in trouble. With multi-million deficits, the highest unemployment in generations and jobs continuing to flee, this is the time to make spending cuts, shrink government and reduce spending. I will fight for a more strict balanced budget amendment in Connecticut. There is no question it will be difficult but I am committed to the hard work of finding ways to reduce the cost of government. My Republican colleagues and I have offered a solid budget alternatives based on sound "Common Sense" principles. I am a firm believer in the measures proposed in the "Republican Common Sense No-Tax Increase Budget Alternative" and will make every effort to see these principles enacted.

SPEND WITHIN OUR MEANS
Reduce spending to what we can reasonably anticipate in revenue without assessing new taxes
Abide by the constitutional spending cap
BORROW ONLY WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD TO PAY BACK
Cap bonding levels which result in a debt service of no more than 10% of the annual budget
Borrowing should be restricted for public works projects, including school construction, roads and rails, serving the greater public good and creating jobs for Connecticut workers
Eliminate earmarks. Fund all projects by competitive grant to be awarded based upon measured return on investment i.e., job creation/economic development
IF IT'S NOT BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT. BUT IF IT'S NOT WORKING, GET RID OF IT
Evaluate all state programs every two years
Eliminate the program if it does not achieve results
THE MORE GOVERNMENT TRIES TO DO, THE LESS IT DOES WELL

Focus on core government functions: Public safety, education, transportation, public health
Strive for excellence in each government function
Privatize non-core functions
WE SHOULD HAVE ALL THE GOVERNMENT WE NEED, BUT ONLY THE GOVERNMENT WE NEED
Consolidate government services to eliminate duplication, excess and waste
Recent reports show that Connecticut has the highest net tax-supported debt among the 50 states at nearly $5,000 per capita, according to Moody's. Connecticut also has the honor of being the "most taxed state" according to the Tax Foundation.

Our state is still bleeding jobs. Unless some of the punitive regulations and anti-business hurdles are rolled back, Connecticut will remain at a competitive disadvantage. We should immediately do away with the business entity tax and reduce the recently increased license fees back to their previous levels. We need to encourage business in Connecticut not stifle it. I believe that making Connecticut a more business friendly state will result in decreased unemployment and increased tax revenue.

I believe each state agency and department needs to justify its existence to the taxpayers. Every expenditure needs to be reviewed and justified. In cases where multiple agencies and departments overlap, cuts need to be made. Going forward, salaries for state employees should be in line with salaries in the private sector. This includes benefit & retirement packages as well. Privatization in some areas is a viable solution. Local landscaping companies can be contracted to work on state parks vs. state employees at a huge savings to taxpayers. Connecticut also has one of the most bloated higher education bureaucracies. There is certainly room to make changes.

I firmly believe that our cities and towns cannot afford ANY reductions in state aid. Any cuts, however small, will only translate into increased property taxes that will hit seniors and working families the hardest.

We should require a super-majority vote to enact any unfunded mandates on municipalities. These unfunded mandates are what to lead to ever-increasing property taxes and they need to disappear.

The inability of the Governor and legislative Democrats to reign-in spending, cry out for new leadership to make cuts in state spending and bring our budget back into balance. Spending no more than you take in is just common sense.

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