When there is a fire, the last thing you want is someone worrying about changing the lightbulbs. There is an emergency — the place is burning down. Sure, that very convenient light fixture could use a new LED bulb to replace the one that is no longer working. But there is a fire — maybe that should be what we worry about first, our first immediate priority. The one thing we are responding to.
The Musk administration (or Trump; hard to tell) has arrived in Washington wielding a flamethrower. Not just satisfied with razing the rule of law and several critically important agencies to the ground, they have shown a firm commitment to torching dozens of federal programs. Despite court orders demanding that funding be restored, there are reports of several Head Start providers being cut off, leaving thousands of children and parents on the brink of losing access to childcare. Senator Murphy has also highlighted how health clinics offering care to working families across the state are still cut off. Arbitrary changes to education, infrastructure, and other vital programs are soon to follow—if they are not already underway. Connecticut and its state budget are about to face an unprecedented firestorm. So we might want to get ready to respond — and do it quickly, before someone gets seriously hurt.
Governor Lamont, however, seems to be worried about replacing lightbulbs.
The Governor’s budget has, undoubtedly, some good ideas. Capping drug costs or providing free school breakfasts are fine proposals and will be a great help for many working families. The Musk/Trump administration, however, has the clear, explicit intention of tearing down any healthcare program they can think of — from CHIP to Medicaid, from Medicare to the ACA — and using that pile of money to give massive tax cuts to themselves and their billionaire friends. Making prescription costs more affordable right when the federal government might pull funding for healthcare coverage for about half the state in one shape or another is nowhere close to enough to respond to the challenge thousands of families will soon face.
This same scenario plays out, over and over, across the state budget. Better funding for Connecticut schools, colleges, and universities means little if the White House wipes out the Department of Education. Dozens of green infrastructure projects across the state that were counting on federal funding might face shortfalls. Programs like heating assistance, food stamps, scholarships, and transportation are all at risk, and a Republican-led Congress will no doubt use any “savings” to shower their wealthy friends with a windfall of tax cuts.
We must be ready for this, and we must be ready to respond to these cuts proactively. Governor Lamont has spoken, loudly and often, about Connecticut values—about taking care of each other and how we are all in this together. He has talked about creating opportunity for all and ensuring our state is the best place to raise a family in the country. He has shown, in the past, a remarkable commitment to these principles. To live up to these values, to this vision of Connecticut, we need a much better response to the current crisis than a few tweaks and fixes on the margins. We need bigger ideas.
For starters, we are going to need more revenue. Connecticut might not be able to cover every single federal cut, but we must protect working families. For every dollar Congress gives away in tax cuts to the wealthy in our state, we should be ready and willing to raise enough revenue to protect our own. Considering Connecticut pays vastly more to the federal government than it receives in return (blue states like ours heavily subsidize red states), they might even come out ahead.
Second, and equally important, we must revise the budget guardrails — and do it as soon as possible. Right now, a series of self-imposed fiscal rules bar our state from raising enough funds to meet this moment. Fiscal responsibility, in this hour, means having enough funds to defend our values, not trying to hit some arbitrary spending target. We must be willing to move forward with a budget that is sustainable, balanced, and does everything possible to ensure that everyone in Connecticut can prosper and thrive.
I am well aware that nothing scares politicians away like the words “bold” or “ambitious.” Our General Assembly, as a body, is cautious by nature. The words “an orderly and decent government” (from the Fundamental Orders of 1639, our first constitution) are carved in gold in that building for a reason — this is a proudly boring government, and that has served us well for many years. Today, however, we are facing an unprecedented crisis, and our old roadmap is well out of date.
This is not a time for half-solutions. There is a fire. Act accordingly.