Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

The two most abhorrent but inescapable duties of politicians are: 1) selling themselves or their states to prospective investors, and 2) raising money for political campaigns. Connecticut politicians who do not like dunking for dollars hope to relieve themselves of the second chore through the public financing of campaigns. Whether or not the first is a disagreeable chore depends upon the individual politician and the condition of his product.

Some commentators, "Morning Joe" among them, may have missed the snarling irony of the moment. Governor Dannel Malloy, a frequent guest on "Morning Joe," will soon approve the Democratic Party budget, the most progressive budget in state history and Connecticut’s second most expensive budget in state history. Mr. Malloy’s first budget, launched at a time when his state was caught in the toils of a malingering recession, was a tad more expensive. In passing, one may note that Connecticut, unlike all the other states in the union, still has not recovered the jobs lost in the crippling Bush/Obama recession. Is it not possible that businesses in and outside the state are reacting to Connecticut’s counterproductive progressive economic policies? Three of the state’s largest job providers – Travelers, Aetna and General Electric – seem to think so.

 Mother Aetna Heaves A Sigh Connecticut’s House on Monday withdrew its tax infused budget shortly after three large companies – Aetna, General Electric and Travelers– hinted ever so gently they might move some operations out of state if lawmakers did not reconsider the Malloy-Sharkey-Looney budget. Reconsideration followed almost immediately, as legislators knees began to buckle.