The Norwich Bulletin is saying state government, including Gov. Dannel Malloy and the General Assembly, needs to overhaul how it approaches spending and taxes for success in fighting ongoing economic woes in Connecticut.
The editorial states, ” We’ve raised taxes, with the highest increase in state history. We’ve squeezed concessions from state workers, at least as far as the unions would go given contractual limits. And we’ve reduced current services spending, essentially cutting back on spending increases, not real reductions in spending. Now we need to do ‘the right thing.’”
The Bulletin adds, ” We need to accept that government is too big, and not just in size but also in the role it plays. We need to embrace the idea that government can no longer afford to be the answer to every problem, and adopt priorities reflecting that.”
“(T)he real challenge for the upcoming legislative session isn’t about finding more places to cut, but rather redefining the role of government. And that means major and significant policy changes based on realistic priorities. It’s not about how much is being spent, but where and how those dollars are being spent.”
