Found State Budget Savings Should Encourage Finding More
News this week of about $300 million in healthcare savings for retired state employees over the next two fiscal years should encourage lawmakers to find more rather than change the state’s constitutional spending cap.
Lawmakers are considering a proposal (HB 6352) that would modify the spending cap in order to make the current state budget proposal for the next biennium work. The proposed budget—now in negotiation between the administration and Democratic legislative leadership—goes $500 million beyond the cap.
But with the revelation of significant healthcare savings that answer more than half that amount, legislators should continue to pore over every line item in the budget to find additional savings.
In fact, that’s just what a group of lawmakers is now doing, in order to preserve the integrity of the constitutional spending cap and get the immediate budget proposal under it.
State spending has soared 153% over the past 20 years, far outpacing household income, the inflation rate, and Connecticut’s population growth.
It’s time for lawmakers to move in a different direction. More than ever, they need to set more realistic budget priorities, fund only those programs with proven track records, and lean the cost of delivering public services.
There’s no better economy-driving, job-creating program available to lawmakers than delivering a balanced budget that doesn’t increase taxes or extend those due to expire—and doesn’t change the spending cap.
The economic boost of that kind of budget would create additional tax revenues needed to offset future deficits.
What’s necessary now is keeping spending within our means and using taxpayer dollars more wisely.
For more information, contact CBIA’s Bonnie Stewart at 860.244.1925 or bonnie.stewart@cbia.com.
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