[Chazbme99]

Stefanowski is the only choice Connecticut has. Lamont will raise taxes and not cut a dime in spending. Democrats have ruined this once rich and successful state. Our cities are becoming total dumps loaded with people just collecting freebies. Anyone who retires with a pension flees this state instantly upon retirement. College students leave and go to other states to build a future. Connecticut is becoming a welfare beacon to the North East. Stefanowski might not be perfect but he is better than Lamont. You need some opposition in Hartford to try and make deals with the legislature. Malloy was a joke and destroyed our state. He wasted millions of dollars on pointless programs. Need to cut spending and not raise taxes. Connecticut needs to become business friendly or else we have no future.

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by Chazbme99

Stefanowski is the only choice Connecticut has. Lamont will raise taxes and not cut a dime in spending. Democrats have ruined this once rich and successful state. Our cities are becoming total dumps loaded with people just collecting freebies. Anyone who retires with a pension flees this state instantly upon retirement. College students leave and go to other states to build a future. Connecticut is becoming a welfare beacon to the North East. Stefanowski might not be perfect but he is better than Lamont. You need some opposition in Hartford to try and make deals with the legislature. Malloy was a joke and destroyed our state. He wasted millions of dollars on pointless programs. Need to cut spending and not raise taxes. Connecticut needs to become business friendly or else we have no future.

Except Stafanowski has no plan and has now hinted it might not be possible to cut taxes in the near future.

Malloy at least acknowledged the problem, he just tried to do something about it far to late. It should be noted the GOP faction of the legislature tends to not really cut anything in the budgets they put forward either they just use accounting tricks to say they will cut in the future. I have a bad feeling that our issues will not be sorted if either of the two major candidates wins.

To his credit Lamont is leaning more conservative on financial stuff in the last month or so but his plan only seems slightly more rooted in reality then Stefanowski.

I think the major concern with electing Stefanowski is we will lose a ton of time while he tries to figure out how the state works, and maybe in a worst case get something passed that makes our budget worse by trying to cut taxes without having the right cuts in place in the budget.

[SAE72]

Originally Posted by East of the River

Except Stafanowski has no plan and has now hinted it might not be possible to cut taxes in the near future.

Malloy at least acknowledged the problem, he just tried to do something about it far to late. It should be noted the GOP faction of the legislature tends to not really cut anything in the budgets they put forward either they just use accounting tricks to say they will cut in the future. I have a bad feeling that our issues will not be sorted if either of the two major candidates wins.

To his credit Lamont is leaning more conservative on financial stuff in the last month or so but his plan only seems slightly more rooted in reality then Stefanowski.

I think the major concern with electing Stefanowski is we will lose a ton of time while he tries to figure out how the state works, and maybe in a worst case get something passed that makes our budget worse by trying to cut taxes without having the right cuts in place in the budget.

All I did was Google it and there was his plan , 5 steps. Figure out how the state works ? Well we have had all these Democrat experts the last 8 years , and they drove us off the road into the ditch. Maybe they aren't that smart ?

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by East of the River

Except Stafanowski has no plan and has now hinted it might not be possible to cut taxes in the near future.

Malloy at least acknowledged the problem, he just tried to do something about it far to late. It should be noted the GOP faction of the legislature tends to not really cut anything in the budgets they put forward either they just use accounting tricks to say they will cut in the future. I have a bad feeling that our issues will not be sorted if either of the two major candidates wins.

To his credit Lamont is leaning more conservative on financial stuff in the last month or so but his plan only seems slightly more rooted in reality then Stefanowski.

I think the major concern with electing Stefanowski is we will lose a ton of time while he tries to figure out how the state works, and maybe in a worst case get something passed that makes our budget worse by trying to cut taxes without having the right cuts in place in the budget.

None of them have a workable plan. And the concerns about Stefanowski's unfamiliarity with state government applies to Greibel and Lamont as well. They are all outsiders. Whoever wins better hope their party controls the legislature if they want to get anything done.

[East of the River]

Originally Posted by SAE72

All I did was Google it and there was his plan , 5 steps. Figure out how the state works ? Well we have had all these Democrat experts the last 8 years , and they drove us off the road into the ditch. Maybe they aren't that smart ?

His 5 step plan

Cut taxes
Cut taxes
Cut taxes
Maybe see if we can cut spending somewhere No idea where but maybe the DMV and some other undefined waste
Tax payer bill of rights.

If you think there is more in the detailed plan there isn't it's basically 75% why CT sucks 15% why were good and 10% the 5 steps laid out above. No details. The closest thing to a detail is that tax cuts should be connected to revenue increase AKA no tax cut if revenue dose''t rise. Given CT's current situation that seems unlikely so basically taxes would stay the same.

To the other point OZ has run the Metro Hartford alliance which is a development agency that works with the state and local governments in the Hartford region. He is a regular fixture at the capital and the way I understand it has been deeply involved in the legislative process needed for redevelopment. He would seem the most well versed in the operations of the state.

[SAE72]

Originally Posted by East of the River

His 5 step plan

Cut taxes
Cut taxes
Cut taxes
Maybe see if we can cut spending somewhere No idea where but maybe the DMV and some other undefined waste
Tax payer bill of rights.

If you think there is more in the detailed plan there isn't it's basically 75% why CT sucks 15% why were good and 10% the 5 steps laid out above. No details. The closest thing to a detail is that tax cuts should be connected to revenue increase AKA no tax cut if revenue dose''t rise. Given CT's current situation that seems unlikely so basically taxes would stay the same.

To the other point OZ has run the Metro Hartford alliance which is a development agency that works with the state and local governments in the Hartford region. He is a regular fixture at the capital and the way I understand it has been deeply involved in the legislative process needed for redevelopment. He would seem the most well versed in the operations of the state.

He makes it pretty clear that the greatest threat to the state is the present level of taxation and the damage high taxation can do . Another little known statistic I saw recently is that CT home owners hold onto their homes for nearly the longest time in the country. The number has gradually increased since the 2008 National Election, and in CT, over the past 8 years of Democratic rule, it has continued. This is another indication of a stagnant economy, more stagnant that almost any other state in the country. That's one of the consequences of high taxation.


Looking from the outside in, you have to understand that finding key areas where cuts can be made might be difficult. However once you can get in there, roll up your sleeves and get to work, you might turn up one unexpected area after another. It is way past time to break up the Ruling Class that have driven CT into the ditch. Democrats are going to raise taxes, put in tolls, and please, if they get elected, don't let them start digging tunnels around Hartford. This is why they no longer deserve a vote, Between the Social Justice nonsense, the pie in the sky ideas , and the lack of any cohesive demonstrative effort to reduce taxes and curtail spending, it's time for new Blood.


I'm not interested in " a regular fixture at the Capital " . Too many of those there now.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by JayCT

But many of those are outside of Mallloy's control. Should he be blamed for the pension agreements and employee benefits made by prior Governors? What about Medicaid? He can control bond debt and aid to cities and towns but the others no. That said I don't think he has done well controlling debt. I am not sure about town aid but I would guess it is down or even. Jay

I agree that there are things outside of his control, but the budget deficit has grown to billions of dollars under his watch. In 2014 Ben Barnes described CT's finances as a "permanent fiscal crisis," but you wouldn't know it based on the inability to address spending during his administration. Everything should have been on the table, so to speak, yet the "big 5," according to Haar, increased by 40%. So we got tax increases and no meaningful spending cuts. And here we are, eight years later, still looking at budget deficits for the foreseeable future.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by SAE72

H

Looking from the outside in, you have to understand that finding key areas where cuts can be made might be difficult. However once you can get in there, roll up your sleeves and get to work, you might turn up one unexpected area after another. it's time for new Blood.

Stefanwoski is not the answer. He thinks he will go into Govt and lay off employees, cut services, privatize services, and sell Govt assets. He thinks he can do the same stuff he did at the payday loan company. However, Govt doesn't work like that and he'll waste a lot of time trying to figure that out. (just like Trump has wasted a lot of time trying to figure out how Govt works).


I do find it strange that people would vote for Stefanowski when he was the CEO of a business that is illegal in CT. (payday loans) Very perplexing to me why Lamont or Oz have not pointed that out.


Democrats tax and spend - Republicans borrow and spend. Neither party at the state level or national level care about deficits. In the long run the Democrats are better on Govt spending because borrowed money has to be repaid with interest.


None of the three candidates are "new blood" none of them have any unique ideas. CT will be the same in four or eight years from now. We will only see significant change in expenses and revenue over the coming decades. The issues are too deep to fix in one or two terms.

[RunD1987]

Oz I believe represents those who are Right Leaning Dems, Left Leaning Republicans and Left Leaning Libertarians

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Oz I believe represents those who are Right Leaning Dems, Left Leaning Republicans and Left Leaning Libertarians

Oz is a Libertarian whether he believes that or not. And he certainly doesn't have a left leaning idea in his head. I would vote for Stefanowski before Oz. He's a complete joke and its a shame another more viable candidate isn't running instead of him.


He's going to sabotage Stefanowski anyway so I guess in the end Oz serves a purpose.