Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

The report card the state has received from The Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants is alarming. Connecticut ranks 50th in personal debt, 48th in debt measured a share of personal income, 49th in pension funding, and 49th in the amount of working capital it has in hand. Marcia Marien, president of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants , put it this way when she was invited to give a presentation at the state Capitol: “We’re not going broke. We’re broke right now.” Over the last five years, state revenues have increased 5 percent, while state spending has increased 28 percent. And although stimulus funds provided by the federal government have helped some states to get by, federal funds – tax money withdrawn from the private marketplace and distributed to states and favored industries in the form of grants or credits – are not likely to continue because, according to Ms. Marien, “The federal government doesn’t have the resources, either.” If the fe...