By Matt Clyburn
The stage had been empty for some time. Many audience members have come and gone – they speculated about the lack of drama, they wondered why there were no heroes or villains to denounce or applaud. In time, they would give up hope for a refund and walk off to the next theater for a more entertaining show.
The governor’s theater has been quiet for many years now. The birthplace of great plays and actors became a graveyard for the same, forever haunted by phantoms of yesteryear.
That is, until last week. Great political theater has become a mainstay in Hartford once again.
Ahead of his Wednesday budget address before a joint session of the legislature, we are audience to a Governor Malloy wearing many masks – actor, director, stagehand. Like most tragic heroes, we are drawn to this man of intrigue. Lured in by promises of budget cuts and state agency streamlining, we fall prey to his beautifully delivered monologues and gripping charisma.
An unforeseen twist – tax increases, big ones. The curtain falls, intermission.
We are left chatting amongst ourselves over our playbills, wondering what could come next. More cuts are coming, jobs will most certainly be lost and state services will be left unrendered. Tax increases, though, could be catastrophic in this economy.
Connecticut is last in the nation for job creation over the last decade. These taxes, if passed, may push Connecticut past New Jersey for the highest taxation rate in the country. We have remained relatively unscathed in the wake of this recession, but it’s not over yet. When we suffocate the disposable income of our friends and neighbors by implementing tax increases across the board – gasoline, property, estates, income, sales, alcohol and cigarettes, just to name a few – we will most certainly be due for a devastating blow.
I, for one, vehemently oppose the tax increases. Not on principle, but on the reality. Tax increases are not evil by their very nature, but almost always turn from temporary inconvenience to permanent parasite. Consider, if you will, the fact that two decades ago there was no income tax in the state of Connecticut. Our inflated bureaucracy has been built on the foundation of band-aids and scotch tape rather than a much needed surgical intervention.
Our lead actor in the present day has given us exactly what he promised – a combination of taxes and spending cuts to deal with a very serious budget crisis. If we must learn one lesson from this situation, let it be that actions have consequences; inaction can have indescribable consequences.
For this reality, let us not blame the actor, the director or the stagehand.
It is we, the audience, that has speculated, wondered and walked away while the theater remained empty. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show that we ourselves have written.
