The Permanent Crisis Continues. Barnes Seeks Ideas.

Put out more suggestion boxes. Malloy administration loyalist and budget chief Benjamin Barnes made an election eve request of legislative leaders for ideas on budget cuts. State employee salaries and benefits, according to the Barnes letter, will increase spending by $1.1 billion in the next budget year. There is no prospect, according to Barnes, of tax revenue covering this.

Here’s one suggestion: Insist the legislature vote on the contracts and reject increases the public cannot afford. Here’s another:  Negotiate contracts without salary increases. Barnes has his own team in place. Let them produce results that reflect the state of Connecticut’s stagnant economy.