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A Novel Idea

In the May 7 edition of this paper, State Senator Ted Kennedy, Jr., wrote an opinion article supporting a bill that would require Connecticut students to receive financial literacy education in school [“We Must Allow Connecticut Students to Receive an Education in Financial Literacy”]. At the best, this position is laughable. At worst, it is very sad. He starts the article speaking of the recent April 15 tax filing day. What he doesn’t speak of is the fact that Tax Freedom Day in Connecticut (the day you and I stop working to pay for the government’s penchant to spend money, and we begin working to keep the money for our families) is actually May 13.

The politicians (mainly Democrats like Senator Kennedy) are the ones who need financial literacy education. They can’t balance a budget to save their lives. A perfect example of this occurred at the end of April when the Democratic majority of the Appropriations Committee in Hartford passed a budget package that recommended removing, from under the state constitutional spending cap, more than $2 billion per year in contributions to pension plans and other retirement benefit programs—items that never have been exempted from the cap. These expenses still exist, yet they will pretend like they don’t. It would be like me pretending my car payment doesn’t exist within my personal budget. They are spending addicts, and can’t help themselves.

How about this for a novel idea (for both politicians and students): Don’t spend more than you earn. Pretty common sense, so now politicians don’t need to waste their time passing a bill. They can concentrate on reining in spending.

Matt Weidman

Guilford