I have worked for $3 an hour—and sometimes less. I know what it means to work for what you have. My wife and I have owned four homes. We worked hard and sacrificed to pay off two of them. We pay our credit cards and bills every month. We save money for a rainy day. Our cars are paid off. We learned not to spend money we did not have.
So why shouldn’t government be expected to do the same? Imagine a family that earns $100,000 a year but spends $120,000. The next year, it spends $125,000, and the year after that $130,000. The family borrows money to make up the difference. Eventually someone has to pay the bill, and that is the problem with government spending. The numbers may be much bigger, but the basic principle is the same. When you continually spend more and make promises for the future, those obligations don’t disappear. They eventually come due.
Now here’s something that often gets lost in the discussion: the bill isn’t just today’s debt. In fact, Connecticut’s own financial report shows just how large those future obligations have become.
According to the Connecticut Office of the State Comptroller’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the state’s governmental activities had $81.2 billion in non-current liabilities. The report separately identifies $27.3 billion in bonded debt and another $56.4 billion in other long-term obligations. Those other obligations include $34.8 billion in net pension liabilities and $19.2 billion in net OPEB liabilities, which are promises for future retirement and retiree health benefits.
Connecticut had an estimated population of about 3.59 million people in 2025. Put simply, the $81.2 billion in non-current governmental liabilities works out to roughly $22,600 per resident. That is a number worth thinking about. For instance, what does $22,600 per person mean in household terms? Try imagining for a moment a family of four carrying roughly $90,000 in long-term obligations. That family might have a mortgage, a car loan and other debts. Some of those debts may have purchased something of lasting value—a house, a vehicle or perhaps an education.
However, what if these promises don’t necessarily come with a new asset? That distinction matters. When the state issues a bond to build a road, school or police station, there is at least a physical asset that taxpayers can point to. The debt is still a bill that must be repaid, with interest, but something tangible was built. On the other hand, with unfunded pension and retiree health obligations, there is no new road, school or police station sitting there as an asset. There is simply a promise to pay. Any responsible budget should recognize that promises made today become tomorrow’s bills.
The Comptroller’s report shows that Connecticut has made some progress. During fiscal year 2025, the state’s net pension liability fell from $37.8 billion to $34.8 billion, while its net Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) liability increased from $17.0 billion to $19.2 billion. In fact, the state’s other long-term obligations declined by about $495 million during the year. In addition, the state made significant additional pension payments. At the end of fiscal year 2025, $1.37 billion was transferred to reduce the unfunded pension liabilities of the State Employees Retirement Fund and Teachers’ Retirement System. Another $110.2 million was subsequently transferred after the final audit of the fiscal year surplus. That is progress, and it should be acknowledged. But paying down some of the obligation does not answer the bigger question:
How did we get here, and how do we prevent it from happening again?
A responsible household doesn’t celebrate because its credit-card balance went from $20,000 to $18,000 while continuing to spend more than it earns. It asks how to stop going into debt in the first place. Connecticut needs to ask the same question.
The Comptroller’s report itself warns that spending on entitlements, debt service and other fixed costs related to state pensions and retirement health care represent a growing share of the state budget. The report says fiscal restraint and responsible long-term planning remain critical to maintaining future budget stability.
When money gets tight, families make choices. We postpone the new car. We fix the old one. We cut unnecessary expenses. We eat at home. We put off the vacation. We save when we can. We live within our means. Government should have to make those same choices.
The question shouldn’t always be, “How much more can we tax?” The question should be, “What can government do without?” Connecticut doesn’t need more ways to take money from the people who earned it. It needs to learn to live within its means. That is not complicated. It is how responsible families operate every day: they live within their income, prioritize what matters most, and when the money isn’t there, they make difficult choices rather than simply reaching deeper into someone else’s pocket. Government should be held to the same standard.
The bottom line is simple: Connecticut’s bills do not disappear just because we stop talking about them. Bonded debt must be repaid—with interest—and the promises made through unfunded pensions and Other Post-Employment Benefits must eventually be paid as well.
At least with a bond, we can point to the road, school or police station we built. With unfunded obligations, there is no corresponding asset to show for the money—only a bill waiting to be paid. And when those bills come due, the money can come from only a few places: higher taxes, more borrowing, or cuts to the services people depend on.
That is the choice Connecticut faces. We cannot keep spending tomorrow’s money today and expect tomorrow’s taxpayers to pick up the tab without consequences. Connecticut needs to learn to live within its means—before the choices are no longer ours to make.
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