Oh, those cut-ups on the Left Coast.
Facing a budget deficit that by some estimates could ultimately top a trillion dollars and all concede runs into the billions already, the California legislature has been unable to agree on a budget for months. When the new fiscal year began July 1, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, channeled his inner Terminator and ordered the pay of some 200,000 state workers to be cut to the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, starting with the checks due Aug. 1.
The screams from employee unions were seismic and the state comptroller, a Democrat of considerable upward aspirations, said he wouldn’t obey the order.
The “governator’’ has won the first legal skirmishes but this mess isn’t going away anytime soon. Now, Sacramento’s discomfort seems remote to Hartford. But that’s just a trick of geography. The similarities are too numerous to ignore with a wave of the hand.
Republican governor and Democratic legislature? Check. Heavy influence by state employee unions? Check. No appetite for tax increases yet no willingness to cut programs and services? Check.
Previous efforts to attack ‘structural deficits’ have failed, resulting in deferred pension payments and borrowing trickery to meet the legal mandate for a balanced budget? Check.
The lame-duck Schwarzenegger holds the title governor because voters recalled his predecessor when he couldn’t balance the budget without hefty fees on autos. Schwarzenegger won election on a platform of budget reform, including tearing up the state’s credit card. His campaign then sounded much like the one taking place in Connecticut today. Still, six years later, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
This isn’t Sacramento’s first time at playing games with the state payroll. A few years back, faced with another July without a budget, the state resorted to issuing script. Imagine how that soured the local economy.
In the latest meltdown, a handful of California state employee unions are being spared — the ones who recently signed new contracts agreeing to lower pensions and pay going forward. Could that situation play out here too?
It’s going to take a court to settle the California mess and therein lies the message for us here in Connecticut. These aren’t academic exercises of moving zeroes around; at some point, real people are going to get hurt. The sooner we address the problems, the fewer people suffer and the pain is less severe.
We can make some tough choices now or we can inflict a great deal of pain and suffering until a court has to step in.
Let’s learn from history rather than reliving it.
Rebooting Hartford
From the day Pedro Segarra was sworn in as mayor of Hartford, he’s been saying all the right things.
He’s been humble, particularly in his wholly believable disclaimer that he never aspired to be mayor. His is a triumph of fate and timing rather than of shrewd political strategy. And in these complex days, that’s refreshing.
He hasn’t been shy about telling his personal story of immigrating here at age 15 and moving forward through education and hard work. He’s spoken with passion about the city’s assets and with honesty about its challenges. He’s reached out to those who can be of help, particularly those in state and federal government. But he’s also shown an appreciation for Hartford’s diversity. Most of all, he’s shown a recognition that its renaissance can only come about through a rebooting of its economy that goes beyond paying lip service to business. It’s easy to like what’s transpired so far and to root for Segarra to succeed.
But the road is long and rocky. Actions will speak louder than words, both for Segarra and for those so eager to help.We’re eager to see the next act in this play. Hartford deserves a happy ending.
