House Republican Press Release

April 15, 2008

Press Office: 860-240-8700

Where # 1!! (Again…)

By State Representative John J. Ryan

If you are a regular column reader, you know that there are some things about government in Connecticut that you can depend on…the General Assembly operates on a predictable constitutional calendar, and you can always count on a frenzy of issues all clamoring for some resolution before the Session runs out of time. (And lately, you can also count on extra-inning Special Sessions on the topics that should have been tackled during the regular session!)

And with the coming of Spring blooms, and long legislative hours, we can also look forward to the Tax Foundation’s annual report on Tax Freedom Day, that date on the calendar when we  all stop working for the government and start actually keeping some money for ourselves. So take a wild guess on which state in the U.S. came up with the latest date (again) on the Tax Freedom Day calendar? That’s right; Connecticut is once again Number 1!

According to this year’s annual study, the average tax burden as a %age of income for Connecticut residents is 30.8% and we have the dubious distinction of having the latest date on the Tax Freedom calendar (the date that you begin putting money in your own pocket ) of May 8 of any state this year. Do not take our word for it, go look up the report and the charts at www.taxfoundation.org  and see the cheery news for yourself. Despite this noteworthy achievement (we even nose out New York, New Jersey, and Tax-achusetts, again ! ), if you follow the news at your State Capitol, the discussion always seems to be that government needs still MORE of your money, never what is happening to the billions already being spent. As we write this, there is yet another story in a local daily on how special-interest groups are advocating for an increase in the income tax rates “on the rich”, and for new taxes on things like delivery services. (Can you imagine what your tax burden would be if we had ‘county government’, too?) So why did anyone believe that there was any chance that the “temporary” conveyance tax increase would not become permanent?

And so it goes….

Now that we probably dampened your enthusiasm for the day, we assume that you saw the good news that newly-installed Governor Patterson of New York has announced his opposition to the Broadwater plant, which almost certainly dooms the amazingly ill-conceived floating natural gas plant proposed for the middle of Long Island Sound. Of course our area has growing energy needs, but could one come up with a proposal that presents more obvious problems? And how would the damage ever be undone if there is some “accident” or calamity? (Of course, we should remember that “obvious” usually does not work in government.) Governor Rell was out front in opposing this plan take a look at her remarks on April 10 at www.ct.gov/governorrell   if you want a quick summary of what happened. Of course, nearly every politician in existence is trying to get on the bandwagon with this good news, but it is the result that counts. Can we hope for the same good news with FAA-airline traffic patterns?

Of course, it would be helpful if there were other good news to report. For example, will there be an acceptable budget resolution in a few weeks that will not involve new/increased taxes and even more spending?

As always please feel free to contact me with your concerns and issues. As your state representative, it is my job, and my priority to represent you and to make sure that your needs and concerns are addressed at the capitol.  You can write to me at Room 4200, Legislative Office Building, and Hartford, CT 06106-1591, send me e-mail at John.Ryan@housegop.ct.gov or call my office toll-free at 1-800-842-1423.