Klarides, Candelora Host Budget Forum in Woodbridge

WOODBRIDGE — There’s a reason why young people leave the state. That was one of the subjects here tonight as Rep. Themis Klarides talked to residents about Connecticut’s budget and economy. This state is just too expensive for too many students entering the workforce, said Klarides, talking about taxes, home prices and the legislative policies that make it tough for entrepreneurs to start businesses. One audience member at Amity High School described his struggles in starting a boating-related business here because of red tape thrown at him by state agencies. It was a scenario all too familiar to Klarides, who was joined by Rep. Vin Candelora, ranking member on the legislature’s Finance Committee. Together, the two lawmakers described the legislature’s anti-business tendencies and its voracious appetite for spending that dramatically outpaces population growth in the state. Consider this: population has grown by 6.8 percent since 1998, but Connecticut spending increased by 270 percent over the same period. From there, Klarides and Candelora talked about staggering unemployment figures (8.4 percent) and the more than 20,000 businesses that have closed within the last two years. Even worse, the two-year budget adopted by the majority party at August’s end contains structural holes that will likely force legislators to tackle yet another whopping budget deficit in the near future. Already, analysts say the budget adopted a few weeks ago is in deficit.