Common Sense, or Business-As-Usual

By Rep. Christopher Coutu

On the heels of Groundhog Day state representatives and senators returned to Hartford on Feb. 3 for the start of this year’s legislative session. For anyone out there writing a script on Connecticut’s budget malaise—hey, you never know—the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Folks familiar with the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day, where he plays a reporter reliving that day over and over, probably feel the same way about their state legislature.

For more than two years Connecticut residents have struggled with smaller household budgets and job losses while prices seemingly rise for, well, just about everything. And while that happened, the legislature spun its wheels looking for solutions to the state’s budget problems.

Well, like Bill Murray, I’m starting to get that familiar feeling.

The state again faces a massive deficit—projected in the neighborhood of $600 million—and increasing—for the current fiscal year ending June 30. And so far, we’ve heard nothing but more doublespeak from super-majority Democrats who have essentially ignored viable, long-lasting solutions in favor of a “hope” that hour fiscal crisis corrects itself.

If we’ve learned anything from two decades of ever-increasing government spending fueled by taxation, it’s that majority lawmakers will look in familiar places to find more revenue to plug budget gaps: the pockets of taxpayers and the companies that employ them.

We’ve got to kick this business-as-usual habit. Years of rising state revenues have led to increased spending and creation of new programs—as well as expansion of existing programs.

But the bottom dropped out of that poorly-constructed financial architecture, yet the state continues to spend more money than it takes in. This defies common sense—something that’s seemingly lacking around the legislature these days when it comes to managing our state’s finances.

And does your family borrow more money than you pay back, particularly in a down economy? I doubt you do, but it’s something majority lawmakers do all of the time.

We need a bonding cap, a measure that would limit the number of non-essential projects—better known as pork—that the state funds. In other words, Connecticut should live by a common sense principle our parents taught us: Borrow only what you can afford to pay back.

As lawmakers we most focus on funding government’s core functions. And legislators must recognize that the more government tries to do, the less it does well. It’s common sense.

This sour economy has forced companies in the private sector to think outside of the box, to adapt their business models to fit the times. Why hasn’t government done the same?

It defies common sense.

This legislative session will be remembered for whether lawmakers find the collective courage to make structural changes to state government or operate as they always have. 

Let’s do the right thing for the state and our future. For a “change,” let’s use common sense to step outside the shadow of the status quo that has Connecticut taxpayers headed supporting roles in Groundhog Day.

Rep. Christopher Coutu represents the 47^th General Assembly District covering Norwich, Canterbury, Scotland and Sprague. He is a member of the legislature’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.