One Connecticut, a coalition of progressive advocacy groups, gathered at the state Capitol today to present their goals for the legislative session starting next week. Called the Connecticut Economic Security Act 2006, it mainly consisted of beefed up services paid for by increased taxes.Check back tomorrow for Part Two, as the conservative Connecticut Business and Industry Association lays out their agenda.
“Nobody ever explained that there are many ways to organize a market economy,” Frances Moore LappŽ, author of the eco-classic Diet for a Small Planet, told One Connecticut today. “And we sort of absorbed the idea that there’s only one way, and that is: Highest return of existing wealth. Everything is based on how to bring the highest return to those folks.”
– Enact a state Earned Income Tax Credit, which “would bring over $50 million into the pockets of more than 160,000 lower wage” working families, they said.- Review corporate tax expenditures (a.k.a. tax breaks for big business)- Increase income taxes on high earners- Remove co-pays and premiums for families on HUSKY making between 100-150 percent of the poverty level.- Implement standards for privatization of state programs- Increase funding for rental assistance programs- Increase funding under the Education Cost Sharing formula- Make Freedom of Information laws apply to private contractors performing a state service