Dear Governor Dannel P. Malloy,

 

The purpose of this letter is to make you aware of the increased level of hostility that has been created in our small communities and in our state, all due to burdening taxes, increased regulatory policies, and your carefree national agenda. All of which, have been drafted and adopted by you, your administration, and the Democratic legislative majority. Unless you live in a cavernous hole or on a mountaintop, you cannot tell me that you are unaware of the mass exodus of businesses and residents that is currently taking place within our state. I understand that it’s your job to defend the reasoning and practices behind your budgets and policies, but it is borderline criminal to think that the overall solution to our problems is more taxes and more spending.

 

Please, as I use my words, allow me to paint a mental picture for you. Over the past four years, residents of Connecticut have endured the two largest tax increases in the history of our state. Our overall debt for unfunded liabilities is approximately $50 billion dollars. You have justified these tax increases as a way to manage and reduce our debt. However, if spending increases 3% to 5% each year and evidence has proven that state revenue continually fails to cover these budgets, how do you ever expect to lasso our debt obligations? You are quick to blame falling gas prices and a weak stock market for our financial woes. So why do you continue to bet the hand on these false projections?

 

Short-term investments are never the answer to financial problems. Robbing Peter to pay Paul has never been an effective means of fiscal recovery, especially when we end up having to pay Paul’s children and Paul’s grandchildren. We need to focus our attention on sensible long-term investments. My suggestion is to sharpen that focus on the residents of Connecticut. You need to develop a plan that will retain businesses, individuals, and every young family that if so fortunate to call Connecticut home. We are the ones that are keeping this state above water. But we can only tread water in the deep end for so long. Our legs and our wallets need a reprieve. We need to attract more businesses and more families. We need to drastically increase our tax base. Just because you don’t have the money to pay for something, it doesn’t give you the right to increase taxes or create a new tax, and ultimately pawn that extra expense off on us. We cannot go on like this. High school graduates need a reason to stay here. College needs to be more attainable and more affordable. Our Tech graduates need more incentives to start a business in the trade that they’ve just studied for four years. Existing businesses need a reason to keep their doors open and their shelves fully stocked. Our families need more reasons to brag about Connecticut. Living paycheck to pay check doesn’t stimulate an economy. It only allows people to take a few more breaths before their lips are once again slurping salty water.

 

Your brash demeanor has alienated countless elected officials and state residents. Any hope for a cordial political discussion is quickly silenced by malicious argument. Your leadership style has divided the two-party system to its breaking point. It is quite obvious that your statehouse is plagued by nonsensical stalemates and often times imitate what is occurring on the national level. As Governor, you need to steer the ship in a direction that is safe for everybody. Your destination is unachievable if your crew and your passengers feel neglected and uneasy. By all means, you are free to plot any course that you see fit, but unless that course benefits both the crew and the passengers, nobody will board, and as we’ve seen already, many of them will abandon the ship.

 

I hope that you will consider what I have written. I pray that one-day our great state will return to the glory it once claimed. I am confident that Connecticut can once again be that beacon of light, hope, and prosperity for each and every one of our residents.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Brian M. Ohler

North Canaan, CT