Socialism = Redistribution of Wealth.

This is a repost of a piece written by former Connecticut
Republican State Central Committee member, Sean Murphy.

A simple conversation many months ago has led me on an interesting journey. Rob Kane told me in January while running for State Senate that Hartford gets $6.31 (now $6.65) in state aid for every dollar in state income tax its residents pay to the state. Rob then spoke that Woodbury, my town, gets $0.06 per dollar. My interest was high and I started to investigate. After some number crunching, I was outraged. I have always known that the income tax is a tool of the socialists to redistribute income. I did not know how true it is in CT.

The three cities that get the most aid: Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport get $676M in aid.

This is 28.46% of total state aid to towns and cities.
They pay 2.97% of the state income tax bill.
These three cities are 11.27% of the state population.

In addition, there are 36 towns that get less than 10% of their income tax back (total state aid vs. total income taxes paid). The state average is 51%. Those combined get 3.35% of the state aid and pay 43.83% of the income taxes. Those towns are as follows:

Guilford, Stonington, Brookfield, Branford, Glastonbury, Trumbull, and Goshen get 9%.

Sherman, Cornwall, Southbury, Simsbury, and Orange get 8%.

Old Saybrook, Sharon, and Fairfield get 7%.

Madison, Woodbury, Middlebury, and Salisbury get 6%.

Roxbury, Bridgewater, Old Lyme, Lyme, and Washington get 5%.

Wilton, Ridgefield, Essex, and Easton get 4%.

Avon, Redding, and Woodbridge get 3%.

Darien, Weston, Westport, and New Canaan get 2%.

Greenwich gets 1%.

I also looked at state aid vs. income tax and sales tax and the picture was basically the same. The cities get way more than they put into it. The supposed “rich” towns are the ones left paying the bill.

What does all this mean? The income tax in CT is used to confiscate money from wealthy and middle class citizens. The Democrats attack working people and steal as much as they can. This money is taken and given to cities without accountability and filled with giveaways to Democrat supporters such as labor union bosses, and lazy people who have no interest in being productive citizens. The biggest problem area for taxes is education. We spend over $13,000 per pupil in Hartford and where does that money go? It is sure not educating our children. 11% of Hartford 10th Graders reached the state goal in reading. Hartford schools, like most inner city schools, fail our children. They do not get the skills they need to become successful in life. Those who cannot read, write, or have needed job skills are destined to a life of poverty. This is now a serious civil rights issue that must be addressed. All of this occurs under the watch of CT Democrats.

The problem is not money, but accountability. The establishment exists to take care of itself, not our kids. This idea that Democrats work for the little guy is no longer true. When cities ask for more money, a lot of it goes to programs that do not produce results and the bureaucrats that “run” them.

The Republicans have fought this year for fiscal accountability with Senate bill 374. This would allow the state to audit any municipality that receives more than 35% of its budget from the state. This bill is designed to ensure that taxpayer money is being used wisely and the establishment refused it. Fifty members on the appropriations committee voted on this. It died in committee with a 25-25 tie. 15 Republicans voted yes, 10 Democrats voted yes, and 25 Democrats voted no, including State Senator Joan Hartley D-Waterbury. This is a non-partisan issue and all taxpayers should be angry.

Hartford and New Haven are now using our money to provide services to illegals, not to mention creating sanctuary cities. People who work for a living have their taxes go up and up, at the state and local level, every year. This money goes to cities without accountability or results. This is a complete outrage and the ones to blame are the establishment Democrats in Hartford. This establishment consists of self-serving, mostly career politicians who leech off the system for their own personal gain and profit, at the expense of working people.

The question becomes how can we fix this problem? First, as Barrack H. Obama states, we need change. The Democrats have run both the CT House and Senate for decades. It is time to fire them. Working folks can no longer sit on the sidelines. When they do, the inmates run the asylum and the working folks pay the bill. 45% of CT voters are unaffiliated. Doing so leaves them with no party and no influence where it matters: in the primary and convention process.

When you vote in November, there will be a question on your ballot asking if there should be a Constitutional Convention, vote yes. Then we citizens must push for referendum and ballot initiatives. Getting this will allow us to vote down the bloated, income redistributing budgets. We can then take the power away from the entrenched power in Hartford. Lastly, we should implement term limits. Too many legislators make a living off the taxpayer dollars. These lifetime bureaucrats and politicians are the ones who create these income schemes.


Sean Murphy