|
|
|
Governor Rell: A job to do
|
|
Written by Gov. M. Jodi Rell
|
via Wilton Bulletin
© Copyright 2010 Gov. M. Jodi Rell. All Rights Reserved.
Published On February 19, 2010
|
Few of us have been spared by the economic maelstrom that has swirled around our state — and our nation — for the last 22 months. Homeowners, breadwinners and business owners have endured a financial crisis unlike any since the Great Depression.
Housing prices are down; unemployment is up. The value of savings and retirement accounts are down; mortgage foreclosures are up. The amount of debt at all levels of government is up. People are anxious and uncertain — and looking to their elected leaders for action and assistance, not partisan politics or posturing.
In my State of the State speech ..., I issued a renewed call for an end to the bickering and gamesmanship that tainted — and ultimately spoiled — efforts to make the needed spending cuts and achieve lasting budget reforms last year. None of us in Hartford are blameless in this regard, and all of us must accept our responsibilities to treat one another with respect and to truly listen to differing views or proposals.
For we have much to do — and at the top of our list must be putting the people of Connecticut back to work. In my address, I offered a number of new proposals that will allow us to spur job creation now and chart a course of economic vitality and growth for years to come.
The most critical problem facing businesses today, particularly the small and medium businesses that are our main engines of growth, is credit availability. Employers need loans and financing to buy equipment and inventory, expand space or just to meet daily cash flow demands. I am proposing a $500 million public-private loan pool: The state would cancel $100 million in old bond authorizations and instead use the funds to establish the pool, allocating $75 million for loan guarantees — which would, in turn, leverage $400 million in private capital for loans to businesses.
The remaining $25 million would be used to make direct “microloans” that some traditional banks have been reluctant to service during the current credit crisis. These microloans, sometimes for as little as $10,000, can spell the difference for smaller employers that are the backbone of our economy. A local shop may simply need a modest loan to buy inventory or bring on a single employee — not much in the scheme of a multibillion dollar economy, but very nearly a matter of life and death for that one employer or that new employee.
I am also proposing to let small businesses take advantage of the existing — but little-used — job creation tax credit, and a $2,500-per-year tuition loan forgiveness opportunity for recent college graduates in certain key industries who spend up to five years after graduation working in our state. The program would apply to graduates in fields such as “green collar” jobs, the life sciences and health information technology.
We must also get state government’s fiscal house in order. I am proposing a wide range of measures - some immediate, some with longer-term implications — to pare down our budget and put permanent controls on runaway state spending. There will be a “new normal” when the recovery does take full effect — and state governments need a “new normal” as well, because the budget has outgrown the ability of our citizens to pay for it.
We have one of the highest debt rates in the country. That is why I am proposing that any bond authorization that has been on the books for five years or more without being allocated by the State Bond Commission automatically be canceled.
I am also offering a proposal that contains an automatic requirement that half of any budget surplus declared by the Comptroller in her January or May report be automatically deposited into the state’s Rainy Day Fund. When I took office, the Rainy Day Fund had a zero balance — zero! — And I am proud that in four years we built it back up to $1.4 billion, the highest amount ever. We are living our “rainy day” now — and just think where we would be if we had not made a point of rebuilding our savings.
Finally, I am proposing a 24-member commission — modeled on the successful federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission — to conduct a top-to-bottom review of state government, identify potential savings and recommend ways to permanently reduce its size and cost.
The panel would be called PERFORM (Plan to Effectively Reorganize the Functions, Operations, Responsibilities and Mission of state agencies) and would represent all three branches of government and both political parties. The panel would deliver its proposals to a second, smaller body that would deliberate on them and make final recommendations to the next governor and legislature, which will be required to consider them — without amendment — within 45 days of the next legislative session.
Every institution, every structure, service, program and delivery mechanism will be evaluated. And it will be done in a non-partisan manner involving the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches working together. We are taking taken politics out of the process and — equally importantly — pushing toward a definite result: an up-or-down vote on concrete cost-cutting measures.
Our foundations are strong, our commitment resolute. I foresee a bright future for our state, but we must first meet the many challenges of today. We will rebuild our economy. We will create jobs. And we will put our state back on firm financial footing if we work hard and confront our problems with courage and common sense.
|
|
|
|
