UPDATE: "Despite these challenges, Governor Malloy is committed to…NO tax increases." - Wait, What?

"Despite these challenges, Governor Malloy is committed to…NO tax increases." - Wait, What?:

Malloy’s Blueprint for this time of economic crisis: A disproportionate cut to public higher education

by jonpelto

Faced with a $365 million budget deficit in this fiscal year, Governor Malloy and his budget chief, Ben Barnes, released a list of $170 million in cuts today.

Their list of cuts is quite a commentary on Malloy’s vision of shared sacrifice and on where cuts can actually be made.

After implementing the deepest cuts in Connecticut history to Connecticut’s public colleges and universities…Governor Malloy is now cutting another $10 million from UConn, another $14 million from CSU and the Community Colleges and $1.3 million in student financial aid. (But Malloy is only cutting the financial aid that goes to students attending public colleges; the financial aid to the students attending Connecticut’s independent 

Another day, another six figure state job goes to an out-of-state PR person

by jonpelto

Today’s double barreled lesson; (1) There is always room for one more Director of Communications on the ship of state, even in the face of a billion dollar deficit, and (2) there are simply no qualified PR people in Connecticut.

Last week came the news that UConn President Herbst had to go all the way to Iowa to get her $227,000 PR person.

Today comes news that Stefan Pryor, Governor Malloy’s Commissioner of Education, is bringing in yet another out-of-state person to help him run Connecticut’s Department of Education.

This time it is a new Communications Director, the third he has had since becoming 

“Despite these challenges, Governor Malloy is committed to…NO tax increases.”

by jonpelto

Grover Norquist  said that I can't

Oh, yeah, ah….

Except for that 4 to 8 cent gas tax increase that is already scheduled to kick in on July 1^st 2013. (And well, maybe a few other efforts to enhance revenues).

Ben Barnes, Governor Malloy’s budget chief addressed the General Assembly’s revenue and spending committees yesterday about this  fiscal year’s $365 million deficit and next year’s projected $1.2 billion shortfall.

Much of the discussion surrounded Malloy’s position on increasing taxes and the meaning of a PowerPoint presentation that Barnes’ provided that included a slide that read;

“Despite these challenges, Governor Malloy is committed to:

• Ensuring the state lives