Wake Up

To Economic Reality

To the Editor:

It is time to tell our town leaders to wake up and share the economic reality of the Great Recession. A few weeks ago, a small number of us turned out and voted down the most recent town budget proposal. Indeed, it was a focused effort by the authors to present a responsible budget with a minimal increase. However, any increase in this economy is just not based in reality but instead on imagined need and unreal perspectives.

To our town leaders, I say please wake up and share the reality of a reported nine percent unemployment.. really 15 percent, declining incomes, $4 a gallon gasoline, pending state income tax increases, skyrocketing utilities, declining home values and more people on unemployment and food stamps… right here in Newtown. Can someone please point out anything in this mix that comes near justifying a budget increase? A budget based in the current economic reality would present, at least, a ten percent decrease in taxes.

Our town leadership groups, government and education, are now in the process of developing the second version of a budget out of touch with the real world. The town has proposed to “slash” increases by $334,000. This is not a reduction in last year’s budget, but a decrease in the proposed first budget. Has anyone besides me read the details of that “slash”? Please, in the real world the proposed cuts are equal to giving up marshmallows and cotton candy for Lent.

The education budget reduction proposal is even less serious. At minimum the education leadership team should present a $1.5 million reduction. This number can be reached by adding the savings from their current proposed reductions to a hiring freeze and never building the $400,000 green house on the high school campus. Of course, the usual tactic here is to tell us our children need everything proposed in the budget. Well, if this is so, how is it that home schooled children consistently test in the upper 20 percent in comprehensive college admission tests without professional teachers, administrators, and expensive educational infrastructure?

If the town leadership really wants to share the economic reality, they can freeze hiring, freeze wages and increase employee contributions to health care and retirement benefits. That would probably result in a nice budget reduction and perhaps help the leadership teams to understand just what the taxpayers of this fine town have been going through for the last few years.

How can our leadership group even consider a budget increase in this economy? Please help them to wake up and share the economic reality of this recession and vote No on the upcoming budget proposal and any other after that until they submit, at least, a zero budget increase.

Larry Richardson

28 Jeremiah Road, Sandy Hook                                                                      May 7, 2011