Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

We all know that when the price of a taxed product or service drops, tax revenue also decreases.  The severe cut in the price of gas , for instance, cannot help but affect Connecticut’s already stratospheric gas tax revenue.  When the price of gas at the pump was hovering around $4 per gallon, state government was reaping far more in revenue than is presently the case, after the price of gas at my nearest pump has plummeted to $2.30 per gallon. When people move from cancer causing highly taxed cigarettes to more healthy untaxed e-cigs, one may expect tax revenue to decrease proportionally; though, in this regard, one must never underestimate the steely resolve of consumer protection senators such as Dick Blumenthal, tireless in his pursuit of new products that might be taxed or companies that might be sued. The perfect progressive, Mr. Blumenthal, it should be noted, is interested in reforming everything BUT government.