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The Ponzi Politics Of Our State

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The Ponzi Politics

Of Our State

To the Editor:

Everybody is familiar with the Ponzi scheme of Bernie Madoff. His scheme fell apart when the amount of money needed for investors collecting his promised ten percent exceeded the amount collected from new victims.

A state or any government can be similar to Madoff. It also applies the money collected (from taxes) mainly to two areas. First are the ongoing operations such as payroll of public employees, the other services the debt it has incurred.

Unlike Madoff, however, a state can increase its taxes and thus in theory could spend money like a drunken sailor, forever. But there is also a catch here since the laws of economics and, yes, mathematics come into play. First, there is the political backlash from increased taxes, but the real damage comes from a diminishing tax base as industry and private citizens move elsewhere.

Remember Waterbury, the Brass City? At some point the result of this approach, which has ignored these two fields, becomes irreversible as the slope of the curve representing required funding is and remains steeper than the slope representing the amount which can be collected. And, yes, my fellow Americans, at this point, you are looking at the prospect of a state defaulting, and any politician which ignores this fact, and this includes not only the governor whom I shall refer to as his Excellency, but our esteemed representatives in the State Assembly who have brought our Connecticut to its knees. Congratulations fellows. You have done it!

What should they have done if they possessed the political courage? Certainly not elimination of the only office of the Department of Motor Vehicles in this area. This is a simple ploy to have citizens fear the consequences of layoffs. No, the solution is quite simple: First revoke tenure laws for teachers. Second, increase class size by 20 percent. Third, eliminate the least productive 20 percent of teachers and make talent in teaching and dedication to their profession the criteria, not how long they have been in office and not their political bargaining clout. Fourth, seek a court order to overturn those ridiculous pension and health benefits. The law is on our side.

Oscar Berendsohn

34 Apple Blossom Lane, Newtown                                 July 29, 2011

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