Community action groups counter Rell (New Britain Herald)
http://www.newbritainherald.com/articles/2009/02/02/news/doc4987b2f8af50e598672372.txt
By SCOTT WHIPPLE
Staff writer
HARTFORD — A newly formed campaign unveiled what it called its “Better Choices” budget plan Monday during a press conference in the Legislative Office Building.
According to the nonprofit providers, public service workers and community and advocacy organizations which created Better Choices for Connecticut, the plan would rebalance the state tax system and raise revenue to protect public services.
The campaign released a policy paper explaining their plan to balance the state’s budget primarily with targeted tax increases on the state’s highest incomes. The group argues that other proposals which depend heavily on service cuts will only deepen the recession in the short term and make the state less fiscally sound in the long run.
“Connecticut has a revenue problem that needs to be addressed with a revenue solution,” said Douglas Hall, acting managing director of Connecticut Voices for Children.
Hall, who explained the revenue plan, said finding ways to increase revenues and avoid severe cuts that would harm the economy “is the path that is both fiscally and economically responsible.”
The largest share of new revenue in the Better Choices tax plan comes from raising income taxes on state residents making over $200,000 per year and by closing corporate tax loopholes.
The proposal includes a penny increase in the sales tax, reduced subsidies to the entertainment industry and higher taxes on alcohol and tobacco. The plan also includes a new small-business property tax credit and a state earned-income tax credit.
These reforms, along with funds expected from the federal economic stimulus plan and the state’s rainy day fund, should balance the state’s two-year budget without cutting crucial public services, according to the plan.
A poll recently released by the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition indicates broad support for the idea: 54 percent support increasing taxes on the wealthy and large corporations as opposed to large cuts to public services (19 percent) and laying off public employees (15 percent) as a solution to the budget crisis. Further, the poll indicates 78 percent support raising taxes on those making over $200,000 year and 83 percent support closing corporate tax loopholes.
The poll contacted 600 voters in the state in January. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percent.
“During a deep recession, demand for public services dramatically escalates,” said Maggie Adair, policy director, Connecticut Association for Human Services. “Slashing vital state services would hurt our most vulnerable people. Connecticut is the wealthiest state in the nation, but it is also among the most unequal. We have the capacity to protect and invest in our people and our communities.”
“People trust the government to take care of them when times get tough — it’s the bridge to getting back on their feet,” said Suzette Strickland, SNAP/Food Stamp Outreach and Policy worker at End Hunger Connecticut.
“We’re seeing so many more people who never thought they’d need food stamps and now they do — middle-class families looking for short-term assistance until they become self-sufficient again. We have to make sure that they have the tools to get back up on their feet,” Strickland said.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who addressed the state about her budget on television Monday evening, has promised that her upcoming biennial budget will include deep cuts affecting every agency of the state government.
Better Choices believes reliance on spending cuts is both unwise and unnecessary. Slashing public services in the midst of this recession places schools, transit, infrastructure, social services, and public safety agencies “in grave danger.”
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