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Closing Remarks from the Wilton Library Q&A session
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Written by Gail Lavielle
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This is a very serious time. Everyone is worried about the future in Connecticut. In fact, many people have told me that they are just plain scared.
Seniors fear they can't afford to stay here. College graduates can't find jobs. Parents plan to leave when their children finish school. Experienced professionals are unemployed or fear losing their jobs. Business owners are struggling to stay afloat and sometimes don't even take a salary, just to keep their businesses alive.
Connecticut is experiencing the worst financial crisis in its history. The state faces almost $3.5 billion in annual deficits for the foreseeable future, and its tens of billions of dollars of unfunded liabilities are staggering. We have one of the highest tax burdens in the country, the highest per capita state debt, runaway unemployment, a record number of business closings, an exodus of talented people, and a climate of terrible uncertainty that has lasted way too long.
You don't fix this with politics. It's not about politics, not about who's right or who's loudest. It's about math. You can't spend money you don't have, and you mustn't borrow what you can't pay back.
It's also about staring reality in the face and acting with urgency to turn this state around. We need to reduce tax pressure on people, businesses, and towns, and make life more affordable. We need to make our state more business-friendly. And we need to free up resources to invest in fundamental education and transportation improvements so crucial to the economy and our quality of life. This evening, I've suggested a number of ways to cut spending and to make the state a more attractive place to do business.
In our district, we pay a lot for the privilege of living in this beautiful state. And in any efforts to reverse the negative trend, your voice needs to be heard loud and clear.
It's important to remember that we are talking about representative government. The boss here is not me, and it's not the party I belong to. It's you. If you elect me, I will be your representative, not your arbiter.
Your representative owes it to you to push hard to change the status quo, to produce and support ideas for making state government less costly and more efficient, and to fight to take the tax pressure off our people, our businesses, and our towns and cities. It's not enough to vote against things. Voting against your own party's budget adjustment and then, the same day, voting against the other party's proposal as well serves no purpose, unless you then propose something yourself. Your representative must champion measures that will create opportunities and restart Connecticut's economic engine.
There is no time to waste. It's going to take real leadership to fight the fight for our future.
I am ready to stand up for our district, both on the floor of the House, and here at home, and to be your vocal advocate. I am ready to make sure you know what I'm doing and how I'm voting on your behalf, without waiting for you to ask. And above all, I am ready, always, to listen and to make sure the issues that are important to Norwalk and Wilton are front and center in Hartford.
You're not going to relinquish your future - nor should you - and if you can't have it here, you'll find it somewhere else. I won't stand by and let Connecticut lose its finest natural resource, its people. I will do everything I can, on your behalf, to help make Connecticut once again the best place to live, work, raise a family, and retire.
Gail Lavielle is a candidate for state representative, 143rd Assembly District (Wilton and Norwalk).
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