Berthel says inflation is impacting gas, groceries, cars, housing

By Scott Benjamin

WOODBURY – Republican Eric Berthel points to the statistics:

“In Middlebury, gasoline has gone up 14 cents a gallon in the last week and 65 cents a gallon in the last month,” says the three-term state senator from Watertown.

“Heating oil is $6 a gallon,” added Berthel, who on November 8 faces Jeff Desmarais, also of Watertown, for the second consecutive election in the 32nd District. Bethel took more than 58 percent of ballots in 2020 in a district that hasn’t elected a Democrat since 1891. Following the recent reapportionment, it stretches through 12 towns from Seymour to Bethel.

Berthel exclaimed, “Eggs are $6 a dozen.”

“We’re seeing this incredible increase in the cost of homes in Connecticut,” Berthel declared.

“Here in Woodbury, if you are buying a half-million-dollar home with a $400,000 mortgage, you are going to have a lot more people eligible at two and half or three percent than at six or seven percent,” he said.

Berthel said one recent article indicated interest rates on cars could reach “10 to 12 percent.”

He remarked, “You’re going to see a decline in sales just as the manufacturers have increased production because they now have the electronic chips. There is going to be a glut of cars on the market.”

He contends that Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) and the Democratic majority in the General Assembly “missed an opportunity” when they approved a relatively small tax reduction, some of which didn't have immediate impact on the working class.

Berthel commented that the Republican proposal offered better relief by making the 25-cent-a-gallon gas tax holiday extend at least to the end of 2023 instead of December 1. The GOP also proposed reducing the income tax on people making $75,000 or less from the current five percent to four percent and slashing the sales tax from 6.35 percent to 5.99 percent.

Desmarais said in a September interview that the Democratic tax reduction, which Lamont signed, was the largest in Connecticut history and that there is a difference between “what we can do and doing too much.”

Berthel said he would support holding a special session after the election to extend the gas tax holiday. Desmarais said in an interview with Patch.com that he wants to extend the gas tax holiday to next spring.

What about the impact of the economy on the 42-and-under Millennials and 23-and under Generation Z voters?

“With the economy declining, young people are much more interested in what is happening,” Berthel said during a campaign stop in Woodbury.

He said they are going to college in other states and not returning here.

However, even with Yale, Wesleyan and Trinity, for generations Connecticut has exported more students than it has imported.

Berthel said the University of Connecticut at Storrs did a study two years ago that 80 percent of their in-state students that get a bachelor’s degree “leave Connecticut."

The University of Connecticut Communications Office stated that a study on the Class of Spring 2021 reported that two-thirds of the in-state graduates remain in Connecticut and 20 percent of the out-of-state graduates chose to live in the Nutmeg State.

He said that because Connecticut is unaffordable, they bypass high-paying jobs at the defense manufacturers, the insurance companies and the Fortune 500 firms in the Stamford market.

State Rep. Stephen Harding (R-107) of Brookfield has said the state’s pension debt is the second highest in the country, behind Illinois, even though the state has made strides in the last four years.

The 2018 report from the state Commission on Fiscal Stability & Economic Competitiveness stated the pensions were only 29 percent paid for the state employees. The 2021 Truth In Accounting report placed it at 43 percent.

State Rep. Harry Arora (R-151) of Greenwich, the GOP candidate for state treasurer, has said the state should invest its pension funds in more blue-chip stocks to get a better yield and spend less money on consultants who advise those investments.

Berthel said Arora would improve the management of the pension funds through his long career in investment services.

“Usually, he is one of the smartest people in the room,” he explained.

Is politics becoming more national than local?

“This cycle, yes,” said Berthel. “I think there is a very big national impact. Most people you speak to are not happy with the Biden White House and the Democratic-controlled House and Senate. I think it is definitely going to impact this election. It is not just inflation. It is open borders and the illegal immigration. It is crime. Cars are being stolen. Garages are being ransacked. We’re seeing it in Connecticut."

Resources:

Eric Berthel interview, Patch.com, November 6, 2022.

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/harding-says-he-can-capture-millennial-vote

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/can-democrats-post-their-first-win-1891

Jeff Desmarais interview, Patch.com, November 6, 2022.