There’s a certain amount of irony in the fact that the state Legislature closed up shop the same day Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey opened at the XL Center.
Think of it as the circus moving a few blocks across downtown Hartford. Both big shows involve juggling, tumbling, high-wire acts, ferocious animals and lots of clowns. Both have gone away from acts of strength. And there’s a significant mess to clean up when the show ends.
Surveying the detritus left behind by the legislative session leads to some conclusions:
Cooler heads
The sweeping energy bill may turn out to be a wonderful piece of legislation. Its promise of a 15 percent rate cut plus an emphasis on green energy is welcome news, if it turns out to be more than an election-year ruse.
We’ve got to be suspicious of any “great idea” whose sponsors manipulate the process in such a way that the bill never faces any kind of public hearing and ducks analysis by the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Research. The arrogance that comes with this “trust me” approach is appalling and certainly no way to run a state.
This kind of ready-shoot-aim approach provides too much potential for unintended consequences. In these complex, highly specialized fields, it’s too easy for “experts” to blow one past even well-meaning citizen legislators.
This is a great time for the governor to apply the brakes. If this is indeed a great idea, it’ll still be a great idea next session and a complete round of hearings and analysis will make that brilliance clear to all.
Politics and governance are about building consensus and getting things done. There is no meaningful consensus here because of the way this bill was handled. Let’s back up and do it right.
A veto on procedural grounds seems a sound course.
A Pox On All Sides
The state’s budget crisis isn’t over simply because the governor and legislature have agreed to look the other way.
Any plan that balances the books by not paying the bills — and that’s exactly what the state is doing by deferring a pair of $100 million payments to the state pension fund — and borrowing is no solution at all. Each year we don’t attack the fundamental problem of our spending habits, we dig a deeper hole.
Yes, the public employee unions are not happy about discussing buyouts and givebacks. Yes, making changes in various social service and entitlement programs is going to be unpopular. Yes, shrinking the governmental infrastructure is painful. But if we’re ever going to fix the structural problems, we need to show some backbone and make some tough decisions around what we can afford.
Maybe it is too much to expect statesmanship in an election year. But we can’t hide behind that curtain any longer. The election cycle has become 365 days a year, every year. Somebody needs to step up, do what’s right and let the political chips fall where they may.
Connecticut voters get a fresh chance this November to find that kind of leader. It would be nice if the next governor possessed those qualities. But in this system, leadership can come from many places — from either legislative body, from either side of the aisle, from within the administration. All it takes is a good idea and the courage to place doing what’s right for the whole state above doing what pleases campaign donors and special interests.
The electorate may have a short attention span but it isn’t stupid. Once the smoke clears, voters are likely to authorize statues to the person who saves the state from itself.
Internet taxation
Amazon.com and its ilk huffed and puffed and scared Connecticut away from taxing Internet sales for yet another year.
The argument for leveling the playing field for brick-and-mortar merchants is undeniable. We have subsidized the fledgling world of e-commerce for more than a decade. It is now strong enough to stand on its own.
There will be short-term dislocation. And it would be best to avoid any dislocations while the economy remains in turmoil. There’ll always be a reason not to act. This is one of those “if not now, when?” moments.
Connecticut needs to join the states that tax Internet sales, not serve as a refuge against fairness.
Get it done next session.
