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If I could invoke the spirit of the great “60 Minutes” commentator Andy Rooney. I can ask this question: "Did you ever wonder why they call it a State Legislature?”
Do you wonder? For after all, what in fact is a Legislature?
A Legislature is supposed to be the group of elected officials in a state who make, amend, or repeal laws. The term comes from Latin—lex for law, and latus meaning carried or proposed. A legislature passes bills in accordance with the will of the people, sets budgets, and handles state-level policies.
That is what a legislature is supposed to be. And then, we have Connecticut.
And we have the Connecticut State Legislature. Such legislature being a body of individuals so out of tune and touch with the citizens they represent that the far corners of the Grand Canyon are closer in proximity.
In that connection, it is amazing to watch the Connecticut State House of Representatives and State Senate when they are in session. The State House consists of 102 Democrats and 49 Republicans, while in the State Senate there are 25 Democrats and 11 Republicans. As one can see, the Connecticut Democrat Party has an iron grip on Connecticut's State Legislature. And when Democrats rule the roost, your money flows like water without any regard to you. The costs of this Legislature are excessively high for the pitiful results it gives Connecticut Taxpayers. As just one 2024 example, $9,890,000 was spent for "Legislative Management", whatever that is, (not counting the operations budget) according to Open Payroll. This would be hysterically funny, if it were not so sad and so sick.
However, undeterred, legislators gave themselves a large raise to somehow attract a wider mix of individuals who would be willing to serve in the Legislature. So far nothing has changed other than the Connecticut Democrat Party further tightening their grip on power. It is also interesting to note the Connecticut's State payroll for 2024 was $5.8 billion dollars, while the state budget for 2025 is a mere $25.2 billion dollars. The "fiscal moderate" Governor Lamont has proposed a FY 2026-27 budget that increases spending to a $55.2 billion dollars for both years. Included in this proposal is to loosen and lessen Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails, start a major early childhood development initiative spending even more money in this area, (with little result), and more pork type spending projects.
But always keep in mind that your elected officials are there to serve you! And here is what YOU get for this $25.2 billion dollar investment according to a new study by the American Legislative Exchange Council (alec.org) in their 18th Edition of "Rich States, Poor States". Based upon equal weighting of each state’s rank in fifteen policy variables, Connecticut ranks #44 out of 50 states, after it has shown a constant drop in its ranking over the past six years.
If one looks at Economic performance rankings based on the period of 2013 to 2023, Connecticut ranks #48 out of fifty states. This ranking is: "A backward-looking measure based on the state’s performance (equal-weighted average) in the three important performance variables. These variables are highly influenced by state policy." The three performance variables include State Gross Domestic Product, Absolute Domestic Migration, and Non-Farm Payroll Employment. Each area shows continual decline for the state. Contrary to biased and state-fabricated reports, Connecticut has lost over 171,000 citizens who have moved out of the state since 2013. Connecticut also has one of the highest property tax burdens in the country ranked at #45 out of fifty states and one the highest minimum wages in the country ranked #48 out of 50 states. High property taxes and excessively high minimum wages have greatly contributed to the state's economic decline.
But chilling news such as this is lost with Connecticut's Democrat Legislative Super majority. There never can be enough spending and funds freely given out with no strings attached to satisfy their unquenchable need to spend Connecticut Taxpayers monies. This lack of thinking is evident by the free cash to the increasing amount of "nonprofit" groups who hold massive sums of money in their assets and seem never enough to solve the problems they supposedly are taking care of. We view this as well with the powerful state labor unions whose raises, benefits and pensions are never good enough for them. We see the political patronage positions that State Representatives and State Senators yearn for to help boost their state funded pensions to infinity. We see this with the hidden monies and 2% interest-only loans given away to politically connected businesses especially those affiliated with the Lamont Oak HC/FT hedge fund; Sema-4, Digital Currency Group and its affiliates, ADVANCECT, 4-CT, Boston Consulting Group, UNITE US, Mt. Sinai Genomics, “The Horsebarn Hill Investment Fund”, Tidal River Fund, McKinsey, and the Lamont-based Cayman Islands shell companies to name a few of many. The list of economic "freebies" and "giveaways" is endless, and arrogantly continues in the open, again, citizen, be damned.
Thanks to the Connecticut Democrat Party, years of economic decline have nurtured $100 to $150 billion dollars of short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities, to a point of economic Armageddon, a point of economic ruin and a point of true economic failure. Why has this been allowed? This Legislative session has not been any different than any other year (except as of the time of this writing no legislator has flipped over a car, drunk, on the way home). Connecticut Democrat Legislators want even more spending especially for social services of any type, more taxes especially on the "wealthy" (whatever their current moveable definition of it is), and most importantly less personal freedom for those who must toil daily in their command economy.
But let us remember the hardworking and decent taxpaying of Connecticut. He or she does not want more government. He or she wants to see lesser government and lower taxes. Many of these disaffected souls have cried for a Connecticut DOGE to rip and tear at the wreckage of the Connecticut fiscal morass and root out waste, fraud, and abuse. Many of these disaffected souls are correct in that neither the Legislature nor those in Connecticut government are capable of such an endeavor as most are well past being part of the solution and have become part of the problem over time. Therefore, the only type of DOGE that could work would be one done by capable individuals with no financial ties to government.
To this end, my good friend Tony De Angelo has outlined to Senator Rob Sampson exactly the type of DOGE on X that is necessary in Connecticut in order to fix things once, and for all, in my view:
In order for a #Connecticut @DOGE to be the useful at all, it minimally has to be.
- 5-10 NON politically connected individuals of stature and acumen, serving as volunteers.
- 60 days of "no-holds barred" access to any item or record requested to be delivered in no less than 72 hours.
- Remove every (read that as EVERY) restriction on records and state-connected nonprofits, agencies, and "quasi-publics" (whatever in the hell a "quasi-public", is).
- Full access to all travel and other records from all offices including that of UConn Foundation, Advance CT, and the office of Gov Ned Lamont.
- Real-time access to the retirement plan and treasury. If we have at least that, it would be a very meaningful exercise.
If we have at least that, it would be a very meaningful exercise. If we have an "inspector general" type of corrupted shop-steward thing like Vincent Candelora has suggested, #Connecticut @DOGE will be a joke.
Your ball.
In order for a #Connecticut @DOGE to be the useful at all, it minimally has to be.
— Tony De Angelo (@TonyDeAngelo7) April 22, 2025
1) 5-10 NON politically connected individuals of stature and acumen, serving as volunteers.
2) 60 days of "no-holds barred" access to any item or record requested to be delivered in no less than…
Tony De Angelo summarizes what is needed to finally end the economic decline of what was once a vibrant and robust economic state. For Connecticut to have any chance of economic survival, it must weed out the corruption of theft, waste, and fraud that Connecticut's government has evolved into.
Connecticut is on track to be #50 out of fifty states next years in the American Legislative Exchange Council (alec.org) in their 19th Edition of "Rich States, Poor States". But who cares in government? I guess nothing really matters any more to the deluded leaders of the Connecticut Democrat Party who the authors of this morass are. They have to be proud of the economic quagmire they have created and truly own.
