Politics & Government
An encouraging economic progress report
State Rep. Farley Santos is pleased that income taxes were trimmed; wants to have the top one percent pay a bit more
By Scott Benjamin
DANBURY – In contrast to the “polarization” in Congress, state Rep. Farley Santos (D-109) said it was “refreshing” that in the recent session of the General Assembly – his first in the Legislature – that “85 percent to 90 percent” of the bills were approved with large bipartisan majorities.
In an interview with Patch.com, the former Danbury City Council member said that the House Democratic caucus in January set priorities at the start of the session and were able to reach compromises with Republicans to trim taxes and boost municipal funding. They also renewed for at least another five years the 2017 fiscal guardrails that, among other things, direct more of the capital gains tax revenue toward paying down the state’s fiscal obligations.
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Starting with the budget for the fiscal year that started July 1, the middle class, the tax rate has been reduced from five percent down to 4.5 percent and for the lower-income taxpayers it is being slashed from three percent down to two percent.
Santos commented, “It is the largest tax cut in Connecticut history.”
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Since at least last December, shortly before he was sworn into the House, Santos has discussed the need for higher levies for the top one percent of the taxpayers.
State Rep. Bob Godfrey (D-110) of Danbury has told Patch.com that the state has more billionaires and millionaires than a decade ago.
CT Mirror budget reporter Keith Phaneuf has stated that the Office of Revenue Services, which is headed by former Danbury Republican Mayor Mark Boughton, will “examine tax impacts on the richest one-half of 1% of Connecticut households, and to report tax burdens specifically for singles, couples and families with children.”
That report is due by December 15.
“I think they [the top one percent] can contribute more taxes,” Santos explained. “They won’t leave Connecticut in droves.”
Could an increase in taxes for the wealthy occur in the shorter session of the General Assembly?
Santos acknowledged it might be difficult to accomplish during a three-month session that will start in February, but that the discussion should at least begin.
Regardless, he said that Connecticut’s economy “is in a very good place right now.” Christine Stuart of CT News Junkie has reported that the state had a $746 million budget surplus for the fiscal year that ended in June.
Santos said that he attended the recent Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce Economic Forecast breakfast and has concluded that there is a good chance of a “soft landing” instead of a recession, even though the Federal Reserve Board has increased interest rates to a 22-year high. He said the unemployment remains low and the inflation rate has been declining over recent months.
On a related topic, Santos, who is a vice president/community development manager with the Savings Bank of Danbury, said that he is “disappointed” by the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Democratic President Joe Biden’s college student loan debt executive order.
Adam Liptak of The New York Times has reported that the president’s plan, which was struck down in the 6-3 vote, would have addressed $400 billion of debt out of a total sum of $1.6 trillion that is owed by 45 million people.
There has been a pause on the payments since March 2020 that will end later this summer. Might that constrain consumer spending not just in Connecticut, but in all of the states? Republican former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst told Patch.com in 2017 that the next Great Recession would result from college student loan debt.
CT Mirror economic development reporter Erica E. Phillips has stated, “There’s no doubt that’s contributed to the economy’s resilience during COVID. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. GDP.”
Santos said a lot of college graduates are facing a steep challenge. He said that he knows an up-and-coming attorney, who has $900 in monthly payments, which makes it difficult to pay for a house or a car.
Santos, who is the House vice chairman of the General Assembly’s Banking Committee, said that the panel has had to address some “consumer issues” over the recent months, most notably ensuring that all of the accounts were addressed as a result of the recent purchase of People’s United Financial by M&T Bank.
He said that the 2010 Chris Dodd-Barney Frank banking reform has helped avert the over-leveraging that led to the 2008 Great Recession.
However, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) wrote in The Wall Street Journal in 2017 that “more than 1,700” American banks had either gone out of business or were merged into larger banks since Democratic former President Barack Obama signed Dodd-Frank in 2010.
Santos said the regulations and paper work place an “additional burden” on all banks.
“However, at the end of the day, it provides a safeguard for the people who are customers at the banks,” he remarked.
Santos said since he has a good rapport with military veterans in his district, he was pleased to be appointed to the Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.
News-Times reporter Kaitlin Lyle has stated that Santos was part of a group of legislators that $230,000 included in the state budget for the fiscal year that started on July 1 to build Connecticut’s first Afghanistan/Iraq monument. He said it will be located near t he War Memorial in Danbury.
“Farley was one of the primary drivers for that,” said Roberto Alves, the former Danbury City Council member who was the Democratic Party’s nominee for mayor in 2021. He lost to Republican Mayor Dean Esposito by just 290 votes out of 14,096 that were cast.
“He has worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever known for the betterment of the community,” Alves said of Santos in a phone interview with Patch.com
Esposito had pledged to again seek state funding for a charter school in Danbury for sixth to 12th grade students. Santos has told CT Mirror that he did not receive one comment from residents regarding a charter school as he canvassed his district in last year’s election.
Esposito said in an interview with Patch.com that residents want a charter school to provide another option for students.
However, are the traditional public schools providing enough education?
Should the United States adopt a 197-day academic year as Democratic former President Barack Obama proposed in 2010? Obama said America trails other developed countries by a month per year.
Commented Santos, “My question is what kind of cost is that going to have?”
He said the Danbury public schools have been underfunded for at least 20 years.
Santos said that if it was fiscally feasible, he “would love’ to have the extended academic year, since not only students would learn more, but if they were in school for more weeks there would be less burden on families in the summer for child care.
Who knows the most people in Danbury: Mayor Esposito or Mr. Haddad?
“Definitely, Mr. Art Haddad,” said Santos.
Haddad, who was a teacher, guidance counselor and coach at Henry Abbott Tech from 1973 to 2007, is in the Hall of Fame there as well as the Danbury High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He has been a volunteer assistant baseball coach at Immaculate High School, has coached numerous youth sports teams, mowed lawns in every neighborhood in the city’s 41 square miles, is an avid golfer and is Danbury’s leading raconteur.
He was featured giving an endorsement to Santos, an Abbott Tech graduate, in a web video during Santos’ 2022 campaign.
“To have his kind of endorsement was really moving to me; that you have the trust of a valued and honored community member,” Santos commented. “He has such a tremendous impact on people.”
Haddad said during the Eriquez Administration that he knew more people in Danbury than anyone other than the mayor. He said the same thing during the Boughton Administration.
So it is not just that Haddad was once a Marked Man; that years ago Haddad had a yellow GTO Sports Coupe with mag wheels, that blindfolded he could get to go 110 miles an hour on the highway; and he knew that if he was going 48 miles an hour in a 40 mile-an-hour zone that a police officer was going to stop him.
We are at the point where Haddad is no longer in second place, but first place? Haddad even knows more people in Danbury than the mayor?
Said Santos, “Mr. Haddad is a Danbury legend.”
He said that he is about to start an effort to honor Haddad’s legacy in Danbury.
However, why are the Democrats running Alves for mayor, if Haddad is the most recognized person in the city?
Santos remarked, “We have tried to get Mr. Haddad to run for office many, many times. He probably does a lot more politicking at the Richter golf course than many of us candidates.”
Resources:
Interview with Farley Santos, Patch.com, Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Phone interview with Roberto Alves, Patch.com, Friday, July 28, 2023.
Interview with Dean Esposito, Patch.com, Wednesday, July 19, 2023.
https://www.wfsb.com/2023/02/2...
https://mailchi.mp/ctmirror/on-balance-july-11?e=[UNIQID]
https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/ct-afghanistan-iraq-war-memorial-danbury-funds-18137493.php
https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/herbst-insists-college-debt-will-trigger-gre
https://www.andalusiastarnews.com/2010/09/28/obama-presses-for-longer-school-year/at-recession
