To the Editor:

With spring struggling to peek around the corner and the election season picking up momentum, it is time for Connecticut voters to take a good look at the future of this state. Contracting populations, corporate exodus, bloated state budgets are mere symptoms of a greater problem. Hartford lawmakers are resorting to "vice" taxes - expanded gambling and marijuana legalization - to pay for the decades of excesses which are finally catching up and the payment due is addressed to you and me, the taxpayers. The only way to confront the myriad problems is with dynamic and innovative leadership.

The existing system of governance in this state is stuck in the horse and buggy era. Apparently this state has 169 municipalities, each of which is a separate government entity. Look at your town and all the positions staffed at your town hall. Do we actually need all of those people multiplied by 169? One of the major budget issues each year is how to fund the retirement programs for the public employees, yet we continue to add to that number without a thought of the long-term consequences.

There are eight counties in Connecticut. Why? In 1960, for some reason, county governments were dismantled and all the public services were taken up by the cities and towns. This is a major contributor to absurd inefficiencies and lack of economies of scale. Plus it has ballooned a cottage industry for government jobs. It is good for the local television news broadcasts each night that the eight counties are laid out on the weather map so the meteorologists can make reference to the movement of weather systems as they cross the state. There is obviously no other purpose for those counties to exist.

Let's identify representatives who will get to the heart of some of the state's issues and who have the political courage to do something about this state before it runs itself into oblivion. I am looking for candidates who understand the terms reform, consolidation, and reduced spending. Government is supposed to serve the citizens. Except here, the citizens serve the government

Lou Bracksieck

172 Country Club Drive, Oxford         April 16, 2018