To the Editor:

Within two years, Governor Malloy, with the backing of the Democratic party majority in both the House and the Senate, will announce major tax increases due to falling tax revenue, greater expenses, business relocations, low growth in the economy, increasing health care costs, and continued net migration from the state. Sounds scary, right? It should, because that is a preview of what will happen unless the balance of power in Connecticut changes in November. Presently, the Democratic party controls the governorship, both the House and Senate, attorney general, comptroller, treasurer, and virtually every head of every state agency, as well as every federal elected position in the state, including every congressional district and both US senators. There is simply no one else to blame for the mess that this state finds itself in year after year, and the projected deficits in future years are still forecasted in the billions by the nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, meaning a cycle of continuous tax increases as far as the eye can see.

Previously, Governor Malloy enacted the two largest tax increases in the history of the state, with the second occurring after he specifically promised the voters before the last election that he wouldn't. Today, it's hard to believe that anyone in this state feels that individuals and businesses are not taxed enough except perhaps for the majority leader of the house, Joe Aresimowicz, who, in what has to be described as the dopiest statement ever uttered, said that "they can take a weekend off from their yacht" over GE's complaints about the state's newly enacted unitary corporate tax policy. We now know how that turned out. We ended up losing an iconic Fortune 500 company to the state of Massachusetts. If the house remains in control of the Democratic party, Rep Aresimowicz, who teaches organizing and bargaining in his role as an AFSCME union employee, will be the new speaker. If that happens  Connecticut can forget about major businesses moving here. I'm glad that Sikorsky is staying, but state subsidies to one company are not enough to keep the rest from moving to lower cost states. Businesses need absolute assurance and long-term predictability with a stable tax policy, and that is nonexistent in Connecticut.

Finally, with the recent ruling by a state judge requiring that the educational cost sharing grant formula be revised, it is likely that Newtown's state funding for education will decrease, causing even more stress on families and town budgets. We need an enforceable cap on property taxes, corporate taxes, and state spending along with a supermajority requirement to raise any taxes and also, the option of every town to ignore unfunded state mandates (which cost millions each year) if they so choose. I love Newtown but unfortunately it is becoming, along with many other towns our size in Connecticut, unaffordable.

If ever there was a compelling case to vote Republican to change the balance of power and economic policies in the state, this is the year.

Sincerely,

Joe Kearney

9 Daniels Hill Road, Newtown         October 12, 2016