Tax and Spend Republicans
By Bill Shortell | Democratic Party Chairman at September 14, 2023 | 4:00 pm | Print
We hear a lot from New Britain Republicans these days about how they brought our financial house in order. First, remember that for 12 out of the last 14 years we have had a Republican mayor. The two years when we had a Democrat, there was No Tax Increase. Our opposition told everyone that we had raised taxes. When we called people before that election, we had the tax book in front of us. A lot of people thought their taxes had gone up, but we looked it up, and They Hadn’t. There was so much false information out there.
Make no mistake, however, this current mayor has raised taxes in both her terms, plus water fees. Here’s the numbers:
City Budget 2013 $228 million 43 mills
2017 $241 million 50.5 mills
We have nearly the highest taxes in the state, And we spend the almost the Least on our students. “She has put additional money into our schools” say the Republicans. Actually this year the school budget was flat funded…given the same amount as last year.
What About The Debt?
Even with the tax increases we have had trouble paying our debts. Instead of paying them, the mayor Renegotiated them. Instead of paying now, we pay More, later. She kicked the can down the road, a bigger can.
There is no surplus. And even if there was a surplus, is that the reason to raise taxes, to have money in a city account, not in Your personal account?
Donald Trump And New Britain Republicans
Often people vote Republican because they think government should be smaller, and people should take care of themselves. As you can see by the numbers, government in New Britain is not getting smaller. Many people voted for Trump because they thought he would bring back manufacturing, and stop foreign wars. No sign of that, yet. What DO we see? Shameful confusion in government. Growing number of hate groups.
We Democrats have taken a stand. Here’s the press release of Merrill Gay, our candidate for mayor, the rest of our slate of candidates, and the Democratic Town Committee:
“Last weekend’s horrific events in Charlottesville, VA were a wake-up call for our country. We can longer ignore the fact that racism has a longstanding, deep-rooted history in our nation. In his campaign, President Trump appealed to that racism and empowered white supremacists. What happened in Charlottesville, VA was the predictable result of that encouragement from the top of the Republican Party. The violence and racial hatred we saw in Charlottesville can happen anywhere in America.
As the Democratic slate, we will not stand idly by. We will stand up for what is right and just. Our Republican opponents in New Britain, some of whom have been quite vocal in their support of Donald Trump, must do so as well. When the leader of their party referrers to “Fine people” among the white supremacists marching with torches, it is time for local Republicans to repudiate their president.
We must not fool ourselves that this only a problem in the South. Racism exists here in New Britain, from the institutional racism that leaves our children in underfunded, segregated schools, to the bias in appointing members of boards and commissions to open incidents at the Water and Fire Departments. The people of New Britain deserve leaders who represent them and will stand up for justice. The New Britain Democrats wholeheartedly condemn the violent display of hate, bigotry and racism that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia. Together, we will stand up against racism in our country, but most importantly right here in New Britain.”
