Jodi, We Hardly Knew Ye

MANIFESTO

Governor Clubwoman's turnabout of the last few days is almost beyond belief. At the very least, she's shown that she really has no idea what she's doing.

Viz., from her State of the State speech in February:

Fiscal responsibility ... means proposing a balanced budget. As I said earlier my budget contains tax increases. I wish it did not. I wish we didn’t have structural holes in our current budget. I wish our existing revenue stream could keep pace with rising energy costs, rising employee costs, rising health care and the like. I wish our exihttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifsting revenue stream could allow us to make the investments we need in education, energy, transportation and the like. But it cannot.

And I will not employ gimmicks like underfunding pensions, underestimating caseload counts, bonding for current services, and more. It’s time – long past time – that we were fiscally responsible.

To pay for our historic and unprecedented investments, I am proposing a fractional increase across the board in the income tax rate – a quarter of a percent for this fiscal year, and a half of a percent in the following fiscal year. I am also calling for an increase in the cigarette tax of 49 cents per pack.

Doesn't that sound great? The income tax rate hike was going to affect those who could most afford it while all strata of Connecticut's society would benefit.

Alas, this week, the governor turned back into a Republican, determining that no tax hikes are necessary. She could have made this decision, as state Democrats contend, after viewing the results of a poll showing in no uncertain terms that the state's denizens don't want a tax hike. Or, it could be that she saw that a tax hike bill would cause people to argue. Or, it could be that she has the economic sense of a gerbil.

At any rate, as governors go, she makes a very good Junior League corresponding secretary.