tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069955.post56404121913596609..comments2023-10-26T08:02:44.948-04:00Comments on Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State: Cooking The Books The Malloy WayDon Pescihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11167988001948356357noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9069955.post-90793874984006274422012-12-07T10:39:49.661-05:002012-12-07T10:39:49.661-05:00Connecticut wouldn't be Connecticut if it were...Connecticut wouldn't be Connecticut if it were not cooking the books. We are a strong people...<br />----------------------------------<br />As governor, Mr. Malloy laid down ground rules. He said spending, which was on a course to grow by $1.8 billion, would remain flat. He said he would not borrow to cover operating expenses, as the state previously did. He promised to pay the state’s pension obligations fully and to make costly catch-up payments for years they were skipped. He ruled out early retirement plans, saying they really did not save anything and only stretched the pension system thinner. And he imposed strict accounting standards to bring more transparency to the state’s balance sheet.<br /><br />The strategy was simple: demonstrate a willingness to make tough cuts first; then demand sacrifice from labor; and only then ask the public to go along with tax increases.<br /><br />That, of course, puts him in direct opposition with Governors Christie and Cuomo, who say their citizens are already overtaxed.<br /><br />But Mr. Malloy does not apologize for proposing tax increases.<br /><br />“It’s what’s right for my state,” he said. “Connecticut would not be Connecticut if we cut $3.5 billion out of the budget. We are a strong, generous, hopeful people. We’d be taking $800 million out of education. You can’t do that in this state. You’d have to gouge the Medicaid system. You’d have to close 25 percent of the nursing homes. What do you do with people?”<br />http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/16/nyregion/16malloy.html?pagewanted=allpeter brushnoreply@blogger.com