Connecticut's Government Spending
Current Problems
Ten years ago Connecticut had a 240 million dollar budget surplus. Today we have a 2-year budget deficit of 8.6 billion. Our unfunded liabilities for all state personnel retirement expenses total 61.7 billion dollars. That means the average family of four in Connecticut owes $70,512 in unfunded liabilities alone. This does not include the cost per family for Connecticut's annual operating expenses.
The state debt is 18 billion, making it the 8th highest in the nation as percentage of income (based on CT State Budget FY2010 as analyzed by D. Dowd Muska of http://www.dowdmuska.com ).
Recently, Forbes published an article that ranks Connecticut as one of the top five states in the worst financial condition in the entire country. The article can be read here
The Yankee Institute has created a chart that illustrates our flat, stagnant population growth compared to the rocketing state spending by Connecticut over the past 40 years. Columnist Rick Green has a reference and discussion on this chart, which can be found here
Mouse over the Yankee Insitute Chart below to zoom, or click image to enlarge:
What Will Kathy Do?
Work to:
- Freeze hourly pay rates, salaries and benefits as contracts expire to bring them into line with pay rates for comparable work in the private sector. This includes freezing non-union management pay
- Cut all department spending by 10%, freeze all hiring and allow attrition to reduce state employee numbers while reorganizing department job descriptions to consolidate the number of positions that need to be filled.
- Reduce or eliminate departments that overlap functions
- Stop earmarks - all projects to be required to go through the correct legislative budgeting process