Sounds like Mr. Powell is describing the need for exactly what Chris Christie is doing in New Jersey:
His platform (Lamont's), such as it is, is to assure the public employee unions, which are thought to control the Democratic Party, that he’ll protect them and to tell everyone else that he’ll create jobs in the private sector, as if the latter can be done just by pressing the right button and as if, in his first few months, a new governor could foster enough job growth to alleviate the calamity.
But creating enough private-sector jobs to make a difference in Connecticut’s economy will require squeezing the bloat, exploitation, and failure out of government to improve business conditions for the long term. That would require unprecedented political struggle and even then it would be years before business gained confidence that state government wouldn’t return to its usual ways. Thus it would be years before enough jobs were created to have an effect on the economy. If this is the best Lamont can do, upon his inauguration the budget disaster would force him into big increases in taxes. One can be exuberant only if one isn’t bothered by that.
Sounds like Mr. Powell is describing the need for exactly what Chris Christie is doing in New Jersey:
ReplyDeleteHis platform (Lamont's), such as it is, is to assure the public employee unions, which are thought to control the Democratic Party, that he’ll protect them and to tell everyone else that he’ll create jobs in the private sector, as if the latter can be done just by pressing the right button and as if, in his first few months, a new governor could foster enough job growth to alleviate the calamity.
But creating enough private-sector jobs to make a difference in Connecticut’s economy will require squeezing the bloat, exploitation, and failure out of government to improve business conditions for the long term. That would require unprecedented political struggle and even then it would be years before business gained confidence that state government wouldn’t return to its usual ways. Thus it would be years before enough jobs were created to have an effect on the economy. If this is the best Lamont can do, upon his inauguration the budget disaster would force him into big increases in taxes. One can be exuberant only if one isn’t bothered by that.