During the Great Depression, when America needed a laugh, the comedic team of Laurel and Hardy rose to the occasion.
Often their film plots revolved around hare-brained schemes to make money that inevitably backfired, teeing up Oliver Hardy’s signature line: “That’s another fine kettle of fish you’ve got us in.” Stanley Laurel’s witless character would grin sheepishly.
Fast forward to the new century and The Great Recession. As the result of downsizing, Gov. Dannel Malloy is left to play both roles. With the defeat of Malloy’s deal with state employee unions, we are indeed in a fine kettle of fish and when Malloy looks in the mirror, one can only hope he sees himself grinning sheepishly.
Instead of a triumphant moment that would propel Malloy and his “shared sacrifice” approach into national prominence, Connecticut is providing the rest of America with a grin while Nutmeg taxpayers feel the pain. The taxpayers — both business and individuals — got the bill; the governor didn’t deliver the goods.
But before we succumb to the prevailing view that the sky is falling, let’s look for a silver lining.
At best, Malloy’s grand plan was a bandage, not a cure. He went hat in hand to the unions and asked for a huge giveback. The employees were under no obligation to help; those approaching retirement age had every reason to resist. Yet none of that changes the fundamental dynamic.
The state’s spending level is unsustainable and employee compensation — pay, health benefits, retirement benefits, the whole package — is a huge part of the problem. Whittling on programs is needed too, but compensation is where the big dollars reside.
All through the negotiation process, Malloy employed the carrot — a guarantee of no layoffs for four years — and the stick — the specter of a massive and immediate barrage of pink slips. In the end, the strategy didn’t work. The unions called his bluff, confident that a Democrat who won by the thinnest of labor-supplied margins wouldn’t pick up the ax.
They are probably right. We’re likely to be treated to weeks more of posturing as both sides try to figure out a new deal that will avoid a self-destructive mass layoff. As our Focus section’s mid-year look at the economy details, a massive state layoff will cripple the frail recovery and make a mockery of every elected official’s pledge to create jobs.
Maybe clever negotiators can tweak the deal and win a second vote. Maybe the rising tide of state revenue will allow Malloy to use the smoke and mirrors he promised to avoid and push the problem downstream another year. Or maybe the public cry — and legal necessities — will really trigger layoffs.
With the pressure on and limited options, we hope Governor Malloy will turn to attacking the real long-term problem. He needs to re-engineer state government to do the same with less, a better deal than the more-with-less reality most of the private sector has been living with for years.
Even in this bluest of blue states, expectations of government and the governing class must start to come down to earth. That’s the real fix, governor, and the sooner you start treating the disease rather than the symptom, the sooner the state will recover.
Score this round for the state employee unions. While long trumpeting democracy, labor’s intricate internal mechanics ended up going against the wishes of the majority of SEBAC members. And against the best interests of the state.
A quick run to the dictionary to check out Pyrrhic victory might be in order. For as long as the budget is unsustainable, this war is far from over.
The only question is whether Governor Malloy will be the one directing the pivotal battles ahead that deliver the result he talked about this year but couldn’t deliver.
