BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
HARTFORD (January 4, 2017): In response to Governor Malloy’s State of the State address, the following remarks may be attributed to National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Connecticut state director, Andrew Markowski:
Expressly acknowledging that predictability and certainty are paramount for the business community, and hearing that making state government leaner and more efficient is a priority for 2017 is music to the small business community’s ears. While it took some time to begin to enact some of the reforms that we have been seeking for years, Governor Malloy is continuing the conversation and encouraging a further reduction in state spending without increased revenues, and this is exactly the kind of long-term thinking that will empower our economy and provide certainty for small business owners.
Fixed costs, including pension payments, are overwhelming our budget. Our generation of leaders has been burdened with paying for the mistakes of the past, but they must also be emboldened by this knowledge and not perpetuate the bad habit of borrowing from or burdening future generations to pay for the present. The time has come for state retirement benefits to more closely mirror that of the private sector. Simply put, our pension system is outdated, and everyone involved must come to the table this year and beyond, to accept the immediate concessions and long term changes necessary to allow our economic condition to improve.
Small business has been doing more with less since the great recession and the Governor’s acknowledgment that we can no longer afford to “do it all” at the state level displays a fiscal understanding of our stark reality that we hope all legislators will adopt. It is imperative that lawmakers not be distracted by anti-business policies like increasing the minimum wage or mandating paid leave. They must heed Governor Malloy’s warning and address the complicated issues in a way that will allow for improved growth, and increased jobs, especially for the state’s overall largest employer, small business.
