Gov. Rell's "Edward Scissorhands" approach to the budget

Thirty-six percent of Republican CT Governor Jodi M. Rell's proposed cuts directly target children and will cost the state another 5,000 jobs--on top of the approximately 30,000 jobs that have been lost due to previous budget cuts. At a press conference yesterday organized by District 1199/SEIU on the steps of the Capitol, members of the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) joined business, labor & education leaders and activists to decry the proposed cuts.

"The Governor's plan won't make people's lives better; it will make them worse...This is about protecting the services our mothers, our grandmothers, our sisters, our aunts and everyone we serve depend on," said District 1199/SEIU President Carmen Boudier. "We were amazed when we saw that the governor proposed cutting the LPN Training Program -- when the best social program is an opportunity to be trained for a good job," said Alex Johnson, the Chief Operating Officer for Capitol Workforce Partners.

Governor Rell's "Edward Scissorhands" approach to the budget--with cuts to funding for kids with Autism, people with AIDS, reduction in heating fuel aid, funding to nursing homes and people with Alzheimer's--is simply joining in the cycle of spending reductions, cutbacks, and layoffs. SEBAC leaders are calling on the Governor to begin a positive cycle of reinvestment and renewal, rather than a vicious cycle of cutback, despair, and decline. In November 2009 alone, Rell's proposed cuts to the tune of $337.1 million would've hammered "already weary" public health and service programs, programs for the needy and grant programs.