"Dare To Dream?"

Dare to Dream?”

"Dumb..."

A New York Times article (Beneath Connecticut’s Image of Affluence, Deep Fiscal Pain; June 29, 2011) says all that is needed for anyone to realize that closing the Chester/Hadlyme and Rocky Hill ferries is more than foolhardy — it is simply more of the bad economic development planning that has brought our state to the lowly economic position we now face. I hope our state and local officials read, and heed what is said in this article — surely they need to.

Our own Fred Carstenson, of the University of Connecticut, and Bill Curry both pointed out in that article that we don't need to hold the dubious distinction of having the worst job development record of any state in the union over the last 20 years. As Curry says, our leaders have chosen big corporations — and many tax and development gifts to them — and flashy big projects, when we needed to look to our own more broadly based business development.

The two ferries play a huge part in just this kind of economic development. You can look at their connection to our region’s great (and appallingly un-tapped) tourism resources, or the impacts they have as transportation essential to our small towns and small and medium sized businesses found on both sides of the Connecticut River. Killing the ferries are the wrong direction for smart economic development and will not bring us out of the economic doldrums. Saving the $350,000 a year for each of these ferries will be far offset by the lost dollars, damage to small businesses, and lost jobs in our region. The latter two losses will ripple forward many years — even after the fiscal "crisis" is over — and even after the ferries are allowed to run again.

"...& Dumber"

At the same time, the legislature — again to the blindfolded chant of "economic development" have voted to give away a piece of property which we all purchased (for a tidy $1,350,000) for our use, and for its conservation, open space, and tourism values. But, because of heavy lobbying, even lies — again, again — totally unsupported economic claims, the Clark Creek Wildlife Management Area in the Tylerville section of Haddam overlooking the Connecticut River will be given to a private development company. They will then build a large shopping center, hotel and theatre to “rescue” Haddam from itself.

Senator Eileen M. Daily claims this development will “be a great economic boon to the two towns, the region, and the state,” even though she has no information to base that on, because absolutley no economic or regional planning study was conducted — zero —zilch. Oh — she does quote nonsense from a “study” the developer’s financed. She lately also has been making claims of great “environmental” benefits for this deal—again—without any information to base that statement on. She even makes that remarkable claim for a private development project while contradicting what every environmental organization in the entire state has said. That lack of even minimal fact finding would represent appalling financial planning by anyone — but from Senator Daily, the co-chair of our state government’s “Finance, Bonding, and Revenue” committee — it is actually quite frightening. Soon, it is expected, our governor will dutifully pay back Senator Daily for her help with his budget, that will greatly increase our tax burdens, by signing this ridiculous $1.35 million give-a-way into law.

"Dumbest..the Champions"

And, closer to home… Haddam First Selectman, Paul DeStefano, has said in support of this folly: “We have to have hope,” rather than properly considering the impact on town roads, losses to existing small businesses, true impact on the tax base and larger economic development needs.

Well, I don’t want my leaders — like Daily and DeStefano — to just count on “dreams,” I expect them to be smart, and to study, and plan, and look out for all of us, not just a few “saviours”.

Again our elected officials are ignoring our own local ingenuity, small and medium businesses, and small town values — and rather count on the “home runs” and the big guys on the white horses, to come to "our rescue”. (of course, this “rescue” comes at the price of our paying them with large subisidies) Well, not only do we not need to be “rescued”— thank you anyway. But that is the same strategy, as Bill Curry and Professor Carstenson point out, that brought our state to our dubious poor job creation position. Oh—don’t get me wrong, a little help given to us locally would be welcome, and much more effective, than these gifts to our saviours from afar. But, instead of that, the governor’s budget plans seriously cut funding to towns and cities in the next few years, and to close our ferries.

"Dumb... in the Past": "Pfizer, and Downtown New London"

How many times are we going to just focus on subsidizing things like the Pfizer Research Center, the grab of private land in the center of New London, a big shopping center and theatre on public conservation land, and the many other huge tax relief and grant handouts we have generously annointed so many corporations with over the last 30 years? Are we simply going to count on big taxes on the middle class, and severe give backs from state workers to bail us out, while continuing to hand out the dough to big business and huge tax breaks to our wealthy top 1%? Are we going to continue doing business that way—only to shortly wave goodbye to these companies and see these failed ideas—and properties--- stand fallow? Do we really want to hold the distinction as the worst job development state in the U.S. for another 20 years?

"Wake up Dummys!!"

Governor Malloy, and our legislative leaders such as our own district's Senator Daily should remember an important maxim: "Learn from the past, or be condemned to repeat its failures."

 If I could say just one thing to them I would say this: Build on the great resources of our state, don't kill them off.

The essential resources of the lower Connecticut River Valley are it's rare natural beauty, habitats like no others in the world, the historic small towns, and the true Yankee ingenuity and capabilities of the local business people. Don't kill the geese that can really lay the golden eggs.

I would also expect the Haddam Planning and Zoning Commission to now be more diligent than their First Selectman and our state Senator has been concerning the business development of the wildlife area. I believe if they are, they will refuse to change the zone designation for this lot, and that land will then return to the state evironmental department to be used as it was intended—and in a fashion that will be of much greater benefit not only to the residents and businesses in Haddam and East Haddam, but to all the other towns in this region, and the state as a whole.