Republicans Counterpunch with No Tax Increase Budget

HARTFORD – House and Senate Republicans today proposed an alternative balanced budget that eliminates massive Democratic taxes, preserves vital programs and services at 2007 levels, and greatly reduces government costs through cuts, agency mergers, retirements and salary and benefit concessions. The proposal requires no reduction to municipal aid – including no reduction in ECS funding to any town – and it restores the $500 property tax credit Democrats eliminated.“Everyone has a stake in getting the state of Connecticut out of this fiscal crisis. But demanding that taxpayers pay another $3.3 billion more as the Democrats have done without even trying to make government smaller and more efficient, we believe is wrong-headed public policy,’’ said House Republican Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr. (R-Norwalk). “This was not an easy budget, but this is an honest effort to change the direction that the state of Connecticut is headed.’’

“Since April of 2008, Republicans have been sounding the alarm on the need to reinvent state government as we know it in order to face the budget crisis we all knew was on the horizon,” said Senate Republican Leader John McKinney (R-Fairfield). “Over the past year, Democrats have failed to respond to changing economic conditions. They are now expecting Connecticut taxpayers to foot the bill for their procrastination to the tune of $3.3 billion – the largest tax increase in state history. Republicans are going to do everything in our power to prevent that from happening, because we know there is a better way.”

Republicans balanced their budget by rolling back spending levels, combining state agencies, offering state workers early retirement and bringing state employee benefits more in line with the private sector.

Cafero and McKinney said Republicans will work with Democrats and Gov. Rell to produce a two-year budget Connecticut can afford and not drive more businesses out of state or raise taxes. Gov. Rell’s February budget had no tax increases, but state revenues have continued to deteriorate. The Democrats earlier this month proposed the largest tax hike in Connecticut history - $3.3 billion!

The highlights of the Republican alternative are:

• Early retirement to save more than $285 million;
• State worker concessions for salary, health care and pension benefits that save $662 million;
• Folding 23 agencies into six and implementing a hiring freeze to reduce overhead costs. Two more agencies would be merged into the General Fund;
• Overhauling the higher education bureaucracy that duplicates services and drives up tuition for families struggling to pay for college;
• Preserving school and municipal aid;
• Using the Rainy Day Fund for what it was intended – fiscal distress;
• Imposing $900 million in hard cuts;
• Restoring $25 million in municipal aid cut by Democrats and the $500 property tax credit for families earning as little as $46,000;
• Engaging private companies that can perform duties such as state park maintenance;

“Yesterday, on Tax Day, Connecticut rallied loud and clear and said ‘we cannot tolerate any more taxes.’ Higher taxes will lead to more companies failing and workers losing their jobs,’’ Cafero said. “We believe we have shown the way out of this mess without any tax hikes. We cannot tell employers or working families that their ‘fair share’ isn’t enough.”

“We approached this process from the principal that state government must first exhaust all responsible options for reducing spending and creating efficiencies. The result is a balanced budget proposal that makes government live within its means and does not raise taxes,” McKinney said.

“The Democrats said ‘put up or shut up’ when we rejected their tax increases and now we have. It is time to get down to the hard work and come up with reasonable solutions to these systemic fiscal problems that have been ignored too long,’’ Cafero added.

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