TO:                         Jeff Kurz, Editorial Page Editor

DATE:                    February 1, 2021

RE:                          Lockdowns or Open Society?

In an interview with the NYTimes, Melinda Gates, in discussing the COVID-19 pandemic, admitted, “What did surprise us is we hadn’t really thought through the economic impacts.” Apparent through the interview, she is under the impression that it is the fault of the pandemic, not the lockdowns, which caused our economic devastation and the well documented ancillary tragedies.

Whether you like it or not, the pandemic exposed the failure of an experiment in social and economic management by shutting down travel, businesses, schools, churches and instituting stay-at-home directives, all of which smack of totalitarian stratagem. The resulting unemployment has been catastrophic for many families.

This article is not downplaying the suffering and deaths attributed to the virus. Rather, here is the other side of the pandemic response, which is not being realized or focused on by the mainstream media (MSM).

According to the National Vital Statistics System in 2019, there were 2,854,838 deaths in the United States. Of those, heart disease accounted for 659,041 and cancer 599,601.

Overall CDC data shows, as of the end of September 2020 the survival rate of contracting COVID-19 in the United States, to be:

Age 0-19               99.997%

Age 20-49            99.98%

Age 50-69            99.5%

Age 70+                94.6%

With over 2.8 million people dying in the USA yearly, it is always worth reminding ourselves that we, as humans, are indeed part of the circle of life, a part of nature and susceptible to her whims and wrath. Man will never dominate over nature in the long term and unfortunately, the elderly and weakest among us are going to be the most susceptible to succumb to disease and calamity.

In their book, “Corporate Flight: The Causes and Consequences of Economic Dislocation” published in 1982, authors Barry Bluestone, Bennett Harrison and Lawrence Baker brought to light the devastating outcome of unemployment in this country. Their data shows us that every 1% rise in our national unemployment rate correlates to an increase of 37,000 deaths- due mainly to depression, cardiovascular disease, suicide, the deterioration of mental health and many other illnesses that increase mortality.

1. Harvey Brenner of the Yale School of Medicine and John’s Hopkins University, said, “Economic growth is the single most important factor to length of life.” He also added, “Employment is the essential element of social status and it establishes a person as a contributing member of society and also has very important implications for self-esteem.”

At the beginning of the pandemic, we all were told that we needed to “flatten the curve” so our medical facilities would not be over run and compromised. That was the major premise of the actions taken and was an important goal. Beyond that, so much of what our leaders decided and implemented, was basically uncharted waters and the blame-game was out in full force. Federal leaders and the scientific community flip-flopped on proper procedure and the estimation of the effects of the virus. State Governor’s, who are ultimately responsible to their own citizenry, vacillated, resulting in differing outcomes. (Many became the sole arbiter of policy and power, via executive authority given them by the dully elected state representatives, whose job it actually is to legislate). Governor’s extended their strong-armed policies beyond the threshold of statute, ordering the closing down of commerce and religion. The First Amendment was under attack and the political divide deepened.

Interestingly, it was private businesses that were hurt the most. Public sector jobs were kept secure, some even enjoyed pay raises during the pandemic. Meanwhile, people with Main Street businesses were often not sure where their next meal was going to come from or if their businesses could survive. Not every business received PPP funds and some are still waiting for their monetary distribution. This was evidenced here in Connecticut and we are still dealing with the problems stemming from our Governor’s orders done in the name of our safety. For all the appalling economic devastation, our survival rates have remained remarkably consistent. Pre-vaccine, for those under the age of 70, less than 1% died from contracting the virus.

Totalitarianism is defined by Wikipedia as, a form of government or political system that prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life. It is regarded as the most extreme and complete form of authoritarianism. Communist China is a classic example.

This definition is dangerously close to what we are living today. Opposition views from government issued directives are met with swift cancel culture attacks. The drumbeat of repetitive messaging from the MSM and evening news programing is that “We’re all in this together.” But all of us are not suffering the same realities from the ramifications of our Governor’s orders. If you work for the government, then you’re okay. Government has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it takes care of itself and its own. If you work outside the comfortable walls of public service, such is not necessarily the case. Fortunately, unemployment coverage has been offered to tens of millions and extended in many cases, however, this situation cannot last forever. What effect our present joblessness will have on society long-term is uncertain.

Melinda Gates is above all the suffering. She and her family have financial resources on the order of $70 billion by some estimates, compared to the average citizen who earns $47,216 per year. The toll of the lockdowns and the impact on the collective mental health of our population will become evident in the future pandemic analysis. One thing is certain, the freedom we all once had is now gone, in the name of safety.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

While Franklin was addressing an issue of pending taxation, the current use of the quote is apropos. The common terminology of “listen to the experts” and “trust the science” is part of the dilemma of those who have been taught to think and to question authority. Many of those people tend to be conservative in nature. Regardless of the issue, the prosecution and the defense will always have their own “experts” to give the correct version of testimony. Both are experts, but each giving conflicting testimony on the same topic. What is the truth? Who is right, or more aptly put, who do you believe?

The saying, “Follow the money”, usually aids in sourcing the motive behind public opinions. It is not until you are affected by something, that it becomes important. Human nature is that one is disinclined to consider much about matters that personally don’t affect them. Likewise, not until you have “skin-in-the-game” will you take notice of something, or take them seriously. By now, most of us know someone who has suffered with COVID-19 and it is fact that many of those who first walked around without a mask and thought the virus was a hoax, contracted it. They now think differently.

What is currently growing are the extremes of wealth, of those who have in-excess and those who don’t have as much. Even as the middle class in this country continues to shrink, socialism is becoming more tolerated and taught in our schools. Not only in our public schools, but private institutions as well. Instead of calling someone a socialist or communist, they are openly referred to as progressive, and that somehow is okay. The attempt of many leftist leaders today is to try and rewrite our history through cancel culture. The only diversity that is not accepted, is diversity of thought.

I offer two perfect examples of cancel culture and the forced silencing of debate, which the First Amendment is supposed to guarantee in this country. “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.” On our college campuses, where civil debate and open-mindedness should always prevail- to question is for learning and understanding. Conservative advocates Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens have been forced to cancel speaking appearances by students and other organizations who threaten violence to those who oppose their thoughts. Why should their conservative voices not be heard, if offered in a peaceful manner? Just because you may not agree with the line of thought or politics, in no way does it give another the right to exclude them their Constitutional rights in the exercising of their right to offer their opinions or to peaceably assemble.

If you thought such affronts weren’t happening to our most precious First Amendment rights, specifically the right to be able to voice your own thoughts without repercussion or government suppression, then today is the day you should start to let your voice be heard. It is even more dire that our government is plotting with corporate tech giants to silence, stifle and preclude free speech, monitor our every click and increase surveillance of our private lives.

This is not a trend that bodes well for personal liberty, as outlined and guaranteed by our Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights. We hold these Truths to be self-evident. This is where this country is- half of the country does not think tearing up our founding documents is the correct course of action, nor the best road for the preservation of human freedom. If our new President is going to honestly unify our country as promised, then, according to The Associated Press, why in his first three days of office were 30 executive orders, presidential memorandums, and agency directives signed—all without the consent of Congress? Facts are facts and during his Presidential campaign in October 2020, Biden himself said, “You can’t (legislate) by executive order unless you’re a dictator.”

On January 20^th President Biden spoke often of the need for national unity. The President’s recent executive actions are more akin to divide-and-conquer. His actions are speaking (and dividing) louder than his words.

TO:                         News@theberlincitizen.com

FROM:                  Lou Arata, Candidate for State Representative 83^rd District

DATE:                    September 30, 2020

RE:                          Taxation Op-ed

The Connecticut legislature raised the State income tax in 1992, 2003, 2009, 2011 and again in 2015. All were passed by the Democrat controlled legislature, with little bipartisan support.

The Democrats still have a stranglehold on the governing bodies in Hartford. The influence on legislation from the state unions negatively affecting our cities and towns is well documented and known. It is a very sad statistic that the largest employer in the state is actually the State of Connecticut. Private enterprise creates the wealth and government spends what it takes. We still have people voting for the same individuals, term after term and the State continues to deteriorate financially.

For this reason, we’ve been seeing such a wealth drain of individuals and corporations relocating to more affordable areas. In order to correct this mess, we first need to get rid of the stale, entrenched representatives that have done nothing to fix this problem.  My opponent has served in the General Assembly for sixteen years and in 2019 she voted 99% of the time with her party. This is exactly why term-limits are a good idea.

Tax and spend politicians should be a thing of the past, like the horse and buggy. Connecticut residents are some of the most well educated in the nation, yet our voting patterns seem to be awry. Voting the same people back into office over and over doesn’t create an environment for new ideas. Only the politicians and the bureaucrats are doing well. They’ve been protected through the COVID-19 pandemic with their jobs and paychecks secure. How secure are you and your family? What ever happened to “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander?” and where is the shared sacrifice, if we’re truly all in this together?

People, we must collectively wake up to the God’s honest truth that we cannot tax and spend our way out of this madness. It has been proven over five times to be a grotesquely failing proposition. How many more fees and license increases, along with the sheer number of items and services that are now taxed here in Connecticut, can our working families withstand? State Representatives send our cities and towns unfunded mandates that each municipality must pay on their own, causing our property taxes to continue to rise. Do you feel your best interests are really being served by your elected officials in Hartford?

Our system of governance and our regulations must be revised since the state cannot declare bankruptcy and start over. It will take courage and transparency to tackle that mission. As a first step I support having a forensic audit of every department to unearth the waste, corruption, redundancy and mismanagement inherent in our present situation.

Lastly, with such a well-educated populous here in Connecticut, I would think we could find enough upstanding, smart folks, perhaps some within our own legislature, to figure out a workable path and develop a plan of execution, without having to spend millions of dollars for an out-of-state firm to tell us to do basically the same thing. Having that expenditure for an out-of-state commission to pass, tells me the elected officials need cover- because they can’t or don’t have the leadership qualities or qualifications it takes to succeed at their elected jobs and do what is the right thing for their constituents, which is to not raise taxes.

Please, I ask for your vote because I do have the qualifications and qualities to succeed, and I will begin to rebuild broken systems, seeking impetus from all sides. Those entrenched, elected officials want you to vote for them, yet they won’t make a difficult decision and an unpopular vote to be on their record. They only care about getting re-elected and so they can claim they fight for you, without a blemish on their vote tally. This is not progress.

Connecticut was once the leader of states in wealth and job opportunity, prior to the state income tax slide of the last 29 years. There are plenty of other states that are in the same situation, mostly led by Democrat legislatures and Democrat Mayors in our largest cities. Those are facts and sometimes the truth is painful.  Remember that only all of us, together, can we solve this and the other enormous problems we’re facing. Yes, difficult decisions will have to be made. Government will have to do more with less, just like you and I have had to do in our households. It’s about time.

I want to help our state and work for you, to once again make Connecticut a state where one can be raised, go to school, find employment and retire. I am asking you to vote for me for State Representative of the 83^rd District. Thank you.

TO:                         Nick Carroll, News Editor, Record Journal Weeklies

FROM:                  Lou Arata

DATE:                    July 28, 2020

RE:                          False Narratives              

There are so many false narratives floating around these days. Whatever side of debate you happen to be on, you can find an expert to support your position.

I argue what is essential today is a common sense approach to politics.

The State’s latest knee-jerk legislation is the “Police Accountability” Legislation (HB 6004). At its core is the ending of qualified immunity for police officers. I believe this is bad for our communities. If passed, how safe will you actually be if police response times increase?

While HB 6004 does contain some positive components, such as establishing police department accreditation standards and applies FOI provisions to union contracts and arbitration awards, the negative take-aways are far more numerous.

There are funding problems. Who pays for all the new mandated accreditation costs, increased costs for health evaluations and drug testing, reimbursement for must-have camera equipment and data storage?

Not surprising, this bill was rammed through without a normal hearing process. No proper notice requirements. No thorough scrutiny. Committee leadership severely limited time allotted for discussion and questions. There’s vague language- what exactly is “…conduct that undermines public confidence.” It’s also unclear just how an officer is to intervene if witnessing excessive force.

Besides the obvious difficulty municipalities will face recruiting and keeping officers, this bill doesn’t give the Police Accountability Taskforce the opportunity to review the issues with this bill. Why no proper review?

Lastly, there are questions about the constitutionality of the new Inspector General position. Our state constitution vests investigation and prosecution of criminal cases with the Division of Criminal Justice, the Chief State’s Attorney and the individual State’s Attorney offices. Do we need more bureaucracy?

Common sense is, why ram this through? Is passing any bill immediately, good for incumbent politicians running for reelection in the fall?

TO: Jeff Kurz, Editorial Page Editor

FROM: Lou Arata

DATE: May 14, 2020

RE: Three Strikes, You’re Out!

In the Friday RJ May 1, 2020 editorial, Gov. Ned Lamont was chastised for failing to abide by the 1975 enacted Connecticut Freedom of Information Act and for an obvious lack of transparency.

I wanted to believe that our new Governor was an honest man and would be a good communicator to help heal the deep distrust of government created by his predecessor, Gov. Dan Malloy. I was proven wrong.

Gov. Lamont is at it again, now appointing a Boston consulting firm to orchestrate opening business back up in Connecticut, with a price tag of $2 MILLION dollars.

Last summer Gov. Lamont, with billionaire Ray Dalio and his Dalio Philanthropies, created the Partnership for Connecticut to benefit education in the state. Only the problem was that the cooperative would be exempt from our freedom-of-information laws even though tax-payer money would be included in its expenditures.

Then our Governor appointed 47 individuals to advise him on opening up business, called the Reopen Connecticut Advisory Group. They too, according to Gov. Lamont, are exempt from FOIA laws. To make matters even worse, Lamont’s Reopen Connecticut Advisory Committee Chair, Indra Nooyi, used to work for the same Boston consulting firm.

So, just to recap, now we learn Gov. Lamont has hired a Boston consulting company without any input from the Legislature, spent $2M at the most inappropriate time and couldn’t find enough common wisdom within his own handpicked advisory group of 47 people to tackle the job?!

Something smells rather fishy.

How about Gov. Lamont appoints local leaders to lead the re-opening effort, as they actually know what is going on within our communities since they serve their communities every day. They know what decisions will work to keep us safe and get us back open.

Hey Ned, three strikes and you’re out!

TO:                   Nick Carroll- News Editor, RJ Weeklies

FROM:             Lou Arata

DATE:              April 18, 2020

RE:                   Don’t Be a Hypocrite

Gov. Lamont likes to follow the lead of the Governors of surrounding state’s and he should keep his stripes and suspend the $353 Million-dollar SEBAC 5.5% pay increase for state employees, effective July 1, 2020.

For all tax payers and an already overburdened economy, in my opinion, we must provide some financial relief to the frustration and anxiety caused by layoffs and pay cuts to 1-in-7 workers. That figure may even get worse in the coming weeks.

Gov. Lamont has had no problem using broad strokes of his pen to contract law interpretation via his Executive Order No. 7X, extending COVID-19 restrictions of all kinds through May 20, 2020.

Connecticut still hasn’t fully overcome the fiscal losses sustained in the 2008-2009 Great Recession and fiscal uncertainty remains at our doorstep. I urge elected officials to Hartford, as I hope all who read this will do, that they collectively do the right, prudent and responsible thing for ALL citizens of Connecticut- suspend the pay increases. The argument isn’t whether increases are justified or not- it’s the timing and the State simply can’t afford them.

I further strongly suggest suspending HB 5004, the $1/hour increase, effective September 1, 2020 to the minimum wage. On October 1, 2019 a $1/hour increase brought our current minimum wage to $11 per hour. It’s certain that small businesses will have an uphill climb once they are allowed to open back up and this mandated payroll increase will likely put many permanently out of business.

The State of Connecticut fiscal picture is far worse now than when Gov. Lamont touted the “debt diet” after he took office. Be fair to tax payers and present real Leadership by holding the line on spending until such time all of us can begin, again, making financial contributions to our communities.

TO: Jeff Kurz- Editor, Record Journal
FROM: Lou Arata
DATE: February 14, 2020

RE: Toll Chicanery

It’s been announced by the Democrat majority leaders in Hartford, that House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz and Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney will bypass the longstanding norms of Connecticut parliamentary procedure and hold a “simultaneous vote” to pass Gov. Ned Lamont’s grandest wish- reintroduction of tolls into Connecticut’s revenue stream.

Against overwhelming opposition to the idea of tolls by the electorate, the state government will again do what it wants to do, and not follow the directives of the public.

This sneaky, subversive pending action reminds me of wacky judges who decide upon themselves to legislate from the bench, instead of following and implementation of legislation passed by the House and Senate, as they have sworn an oath to do.

SHAME ON ALL OF THEM.

Unfortunately, too, shame on those who continuously vote these same people into office- lying officials supposedly being elected to represent our best interests.

It is quite apparent that in all of these various and forever changing plans of Gov. Lamont, never in any public offering has there been a word regarding more efficient spending and elimination of waste within our DOT or management of the Special Transportation Fund. Much has been offered by the Republican minority regarding alternative funding for our needed infrastructure without the need for one toll. The truth is that our elected majority party has overseen the robbing of what should be dedicated tax revenue for our transportation needs, to fund other general fund projects. I might suggest that seems almost unconstitutional, no?

While we sit and watch the elected officials disfunction and chicanery, it is upon each and every one of us to raise our dissatisfaction with every one of our legislators and declare our objection to this obvious additional taxation on the citizens of Connecticut.

TO: Jeff Kurz, Record Journal, Editorial Manager
FROM: Lou Arata
DATE: January 21, 2020

RE: TERM LIMITS, NOT TOLLS

We need term limits, not tolls. We need to elect true leaders who have the gumption to implement ideas to stop the incessant taxation which is a plague in Meriden and the state of Connecticut. We elect followers, hell-bent on keeping power and control at the cost of losing taxpaying citizens and corporations alike.

We see successful outcomes in other communities surrounding Meriden where voters exercise basic common sense and elect politicians from both parties and policy is made by differing majorities or on a bipartisan basis. In Meriden, like the state of Connecticut, we have for decades continued to elect Democrat majorities and kept decision making in the hands of that one group. This is fertile soil for abuse.

The proof in Meriden is seen in our spending habits. Our Democrat majority, being left unchecked for decades, has fallen in love with borrowing and spending resulting in excessive taxation, one of the highest mill rates in Connecticut putting constraints on our family budgets. We continue to spend above our bonding cap. Few seem to care or express outrage! As surrounding towns are prospering, (many led by Republican majorities) Meriden leaders use cheerleading tactics to make us “feel” that Meriden is on the right track.

Let’s join successful administrations surrounding us and see our City Council pass a “No Tolls” resolution. Say NO to tolls. Commuting workers, following our children to away games, anyone buying retail for that matter, will see costs go up across the board.

When is enough taxation enough? Oh right, we already lived that, in the Meriden budget referendum– where instead of decreasing taxes, the City Council actually RAISED THEM. Here we are, yet again, just through another municipal election cycle and voters are electing the same cats, with the same stripes, into the majority.

TO: Jeff Kurz, Editor- Record Journal
FROM: Lou Arata
DATE: March 8, 2018

RE: Time For New Thinking

According to Tax Foundation, Connecticut has the highest total tax burden in the nation. We already have the dubious honor of being the only state in the nation to have both a gift and an estate tax and Governor Malloy wants to add on some more.

From 2005-2015 an extraordinary $6 billion in adjusted gross income (AGI) left this state and migrated to Florida alone- while the Connecticut legislature, along with Governor Malloy’s approval while he’s been in office, raised state income taxes in 1992, 2003, 2009, 2011 and 2015.

With tax payers permanently leaving Connecticut by the thousands and our legislature and Gov. Malloy ever increasing the tax burden on those left, is it any wonder that according to Standard & Poor’s, Connecticut’s credit rating is 3rd lowest in the country? That means it’s going to get harder, much harder to borrow money to possibly assist in getting us out of this financial log jam. Our pensions are the 4th worst funded (2015) and now Malloy’s budget chief, Office of Policy and Management Secretary Ben Barnes, is trying to sell the idea that it makes sense taking the CT Lottery proceeds to bankroll the Teachers’ Pension Fund.

So, what if it were decided that taking that $335 million (+/-) per year, for the next 10 years, was okay for the teachers own pensions? What about all the other departments and services who’ve been receiving that yearly revenue, that serve the rest of us? Like the Department of Education, Libraries & Education Services $104 million, Health & Hospitals $33.4 million, Medicaid $45.2 million, Corrections $27.6 million and State Debt Service $35.77 million, to name a few departmental beneficiaries. The sleight of hand is great for magic tricks, not balancing budgets.

Gov. Malloy has proposed more tax increases on consumer goods- 7 cents per gallon of gasoline, $3 per tire, 25 cents per pack of cigarettes and increasing the real estate conveyance tax, hotel room tax and installing highway tolls. It’s time for new thinking and to get away from the “business as usual” status quo bankrupting the state.

The surprisingly unimpressive politicians who’ve been at the helm for decades, looking out for their own re-election and pensions, need to be replaced by new minds that have the fortitude and backbone to make the hard decisions, actually vote those necessary changes into law and then make sure the laws are followed.

Let’s try adjusting our spending to our revenue, not the failed other way around. Since 1992, Connecticut has had the slowest employment growth in the country and that was the year we began collecting state income tax under then Gov. Lowell Wicker. Perhaps the distinction between politicians and weathermen is closer than one might have thought. Both can be wrong and mislead, but still keep their job. It’s about time we at least change our elected politician’s fate.

One would also think that elected politicians would feel obligated to their constituents to make the financial climate here in Connecticut healthy, where folks would want to live and retire. For that wish to come true, however, we must stop the “tax & spend” philosophy. It’s just got to end. We should eliminate or at a minimum, reduce to competitive levels our corporate income tax, as well as elimination of the state income tax, over a period of years, and eliminate the gift and estate taxes- all of which are crucial components for attracting businesses and retirees.

And about your home- contrary to Mr. Barnes’ remarks when he was discussing Gov. Malloy’s new tax plans, he said, “Addressing our transportation infrastructure, maintaining it and growing it in key ways is going to be the most important thing we can do to assure our state’s attractiveness and real estate values.” Hogwash.

Home prices are stagnating or declining and high tax burdens make it much more difficult for people to qualify for mortgages. Have you driven around nice neighborhoods and noticed the abundance of “For Sale” signs? I suppose Mr. Barnes wants those folks leaving the state to do so on nice roads.

How misguided can Barnes & Malloy be? To make any state “attractive” there must be jobs that pay enough for families to live there. Businesses must be coming into the state, not leaving it, in order for people to work and live in those homes. “Tax and spend” is a short-term arrangement where some win for a while, but if you want everyone to keep dancing, you’ve eventually got to pay the band.

Why is our state government in the business of loaning money to already successful businesses? Is that not what commercial banks are for? And if a bank wouldn’t lend a company money, why in the world should the government be doing it?!

Some of these loans are at below market interest rates and forgivable! Do we really want our state government in the corporate banking business? The state program intended to facilitate large companies’ growth called the First Five Plus Program, since its launch in 2011, has doled out funds to Connecticut corporations providing more than a dozen companies with financial assistance amounting to several hundred million dollars. These loans were given in the form of standard loans, forgivable loans, tax credits and other methods.

Hold on to your hat- Hartford is even subsidizing hedge funds! Gov. Malloy gladly touted Greenwich based AQR Capital’s expansion project participation in the Department of Economic and Community Development’s (DECD) First Five program, providing up to $28 million in loans and up to $7 million in grants to support the firm’s $72 million expansion. They will retain 540 jobs as it creates new ones, Malloy said. Is that really a rational investment of tax payer money or was there something else going on?

DECD also committed $22 million in May, 2016 to help Bridgewater Associates hedge fund – which manages about $150 billion in assets and who’s CEO and founder Ray Dalio, in 2016 earned $1.4 billion – expand facilities in Westport, Wilton and Norwalk. That commitment includes a $17 million loan, a $3 million alternative energy installation grant, and a $2 million job training grant. DECD spokesman Jim Watson said, that for the entire loan to be forgiven, the company must retain 1,402 existing jobs and create 750 new jobs by the end of 2021 and retain them for two years.

If there was already a vibrant, low tax, pro-business environment in place, those hundreds of millions of dollars would never have to be loaned, nor any loans forgiven, in the first place. Those hundreds of millions of dollars could have been better spent on many, many other projects around the state, positively affecting tens of thousands of citizens, not 2,000 hedge fund jobs.

We are the “Gateway to New England” and still have many attributes that other states don’t. For instance, Connecticut has a well-educated populous. We have great schools, where we’re consistently ranked in the top 5 states. We’re 4th in the country for bachelor’s degrees earned and 3rd in the country for advanced degrees earned and we still have a diverse and well-trained work force. We also have an advantageous geographic proximity being so close to both NYC and Boston.

We need to reduce taxes in order to attract businesses so that it is in their best interest (and ours too!) to be here.

TO: Jeff Kurz, Editor – Record Journal
FROM: Lou Arata
DATE: January 8, 2018

RE: No Need for Connecticut Tolls

The Governor and his highway toll advocates have been preaching across Connecticut that we need tolls to pay for improvements in State infrastructure due to alleged decreasing gasoline consumption. The Governor argues we must have tolls or a big increase in gas taxes or the Special Transportation Fund will go bust.

Is it true that decreasing fuel taxes caused by decreased gas consumption are about to precipitate a Transportation Fund crisis?

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Anyone researching this can find CT annual motor fuels consumption on the Department of Revenue Services (DRS) website. The truth is the annual volume of gasoline consumed in Connecticut has INCREASED nearly 50 million gallons from FYE 2013 through FYE 2017. Alternative fuels and diesel annual consumption have also gone up by millions of gallons per year also, according to the last 4 years of DRS summaries. Revenue generated via the fuels tax goes to the Special Transportation Fund (STF). So, contrary to the
Governor’s claim, gas tax collections are not declining because of decreased consumption. Quite the opposite is true; gas consumption is up, not down in Connecticut.

So, if decreased gas consumption is not causing a financial crisis is our Transportation Fund really in danger of running out of money?

Sadly, the answer is yes if the public allows the Governor to implement his out-of-control $100 billion spending plan (think of the “Magic Busway”).

The Governor plans on a 500% increase in transportation spending compared to when he entered office in 2011. We all can attest our need to address necessary infrastructure improvements, but do we really need to spend that much and that fast? Given Connecticut’s current financial crisis, that kind of increase is ridiculously ambitious and worst yet, it’s not just for one or two years. It’s every year for the next 30 years!

When Governor Malloy came into office in 2011, Connecticut spent about $280 million per year plus another $750 million of Federal funding on DOT capital project programs. This year in 2018, Gov. Malloy wants to spend $1.4 billion of Connecticut money, plus about $700 million in Federal money on DOT capital projects.

In other words, Gov. Malloy believes that Connecticut taxpayers can afford a 500 percent increase in state funded DOT spending in 2018, compared to the 2011 spending levels. Looking beyond the next two years is an even bigger increase in spending!

If there will be a STF funding crisis in Connecticut, it will be due to the unbelievable increase in spending planned by the Governor.

Can we redevelop Connecticut’s transportation structure without tolls, or worse yet, a 14 cent per gallon tax increase which the Governor also has proposed?

In May 2017, Connecticut Senate Republicans unveiled a Special Transportation Budget that did not require ANY tolls to support the expansion of spending needed to catch up on maintenance and repair of Connecticut’s interstate highways. That proves we can improve our transportation system without tolls or a big gas tax increase.

TO:                   Jeffery Kurz, Editor – Record Journal

FROM:             Lou Arata

DATE:              January 31, 2018

RE:                   Taxing Fundamentals

Governor Malloy is one of a handful of Governors filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the new federal income tax laws limiting state and local tax deductions. Gov. Malloy said, “It is fundamentally unfair and illegal.”

I find Gov. Malloy’s statement to be fundamentally flawed. It is still yet to be determined whether or not the law is, in fact “illegal.” We will have to wait and see what the courts have to say about the Governors version of what is or isn’t. According to many legal scholars, it is rather unlikely to be found illegal as under Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress “shall have the power to lay and collect taxes.”

Additionally, I find it unfair, very unfair, how Gov. Malloy’s administration and his Democrat controlled Connecticut Legislature, feel that it is “fair” to continually look at how they can come up with ways to rip the wallets out of tax payer’s hands to fund their gross mismanagement. Shouldn’t they begin cutting every last piece of fat from every department and existing program, first? When is the size of government big enough?

Incidentally, Connecticut has the highest administrative costs for transportation projects in the country! According to a nationwide study by Reason Foundation in 2015 (the most recent data available) Connecticut spent an astounding $99,417 per mile. The national average was only $10,864. That’s over 9 times the national average.

What is also fundamental, is that the tax-first attitude of Gov. Malloy and the current sitting Democrat majority, is flawed. While we should always look to find ways to assist those in need and fund our infrastructure, however, by continually increasing taxes no one is going to be left, nor able to afford, to help assist the neediest or pay for our necessary services and improvements.

That tax-first mentality is literally driving away, permanently, many of the State’s highest tax payers. In several recent discussions I’ve had with soon-to-be-retirees, none of them were seriously thinking of staying here in Connecticut. It’s either just too expensive to live here or the taxes levied on retirement savings is just too high.

To compound our state government mismanagement, the new tax options expounded by the crew of Democrat candidates for Governor- such as an increase in our sales tax, bringing back highway tolls or adding another tax increase of $.04 per gallon of gasoline- fail in the most basic sense. We need to cut taxes and contain expenses, not expand the collection from a declining base.

Connecticut is doing something very wrong. We need a dramatic leadership change in Hartford if we’re ever going to right-the-ship: and that process most likely isn’t going to be pretty. What has become the status quo here in Connecticut is unsustainable. In the final analysis, citizens get what you vote for in who you vote for.