When it comes to the Connecticut State Budget it does not matter which party the Governor is a member of if, the majority in the General Assembly can override any budget veto.  What really matters is the financial views and the political courage of the elected members of the General Assembly.

Unfortunately for two long under both Republican and Democratic Governors we have had too many members of the legislature that were either ignorant of economic reality or woefully short of character and courage to act responsibly.  Instead of dealing with a budget under generally accepted accounting practices they have turned to gimmickry with smoke and mirrors.  They have kicked the can of responsibility down the path to our future and they have gotten away with it. 

The people have been placated, with words of assurance as the financial foundation of our State has eroded and with it our employment opportunities.  The spinning of numbers and facts has confused and confounded the average voter into a false sense of security.

Today State officials tell us the job market is improving.  Should we believe it?  History is a great teacher.  In the past they told us the budgets were balanced while all the while the budgets were wrought with gimmicks and reflected more a fictional best seller than a truly accountable budget.

It is a fact that the unemployment rate in Connecticut has come down BUT and that is a big but, but it is not the end of the factual story.  There needs to be a more complete disclosure of facts so that we understand the real situation.

According to Connecticut labor statistics from March of 2011 through April 2013 the number of people working has continually decreased with Connecticut losing over 36,000 jobs.   There are now 67,700 less people working or looking for work than there were in May of 2010.  Some people have just given up looking for work, some have left the state, and some have retired without their positions being filled.

Lower unemployment should mean more employment opportunities but that is not always the case.  When you employ the smoke and mirror lessons of budgeting to unemployment numbers you hiding lost opportunities and denying reality. 

Doing business the same way we have done in the past and expecting different results is lunacy.  Kicking the can of responsibility forward will only continue to lessen opportunities and bring us closer to financial hardship.  It is time to make a change in the political balance of the General Assembly.

Being elected to the General Assembly is a government job but fooling the people should never be part of the job description.  It is time for a major change in Connecticut.  It is time to remove the agents of trickery, deception and gimmicks from office. 

It is time that Connecticut voters elected a legislature that more closely reflects the diverse opinions of our State.  A legislature constituted with a diversity of opinion that would provide for more open discussion, compromise and checks and balances.

Memorial Day has a deeper meaning for them.  They were there among the dead; they carried the bodies, of fallen brothers.  They were the defenders of freedom, the lucky ones that returned home.  Their memories were strong and clear, the times they wanted to remember were the times spent with their fellow fighters.  They could not forget the carnage and destruction left by the scars of war but their love of fallen brothers ignited traditions of remembrance.

They vowed to remember; they organized and joined together in organizations like the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Army Navy Club, the Marine League and the American Legion.  Traditions of remembrance and honor for their fallen brothers were building blocks for the next generation.  No day had more meaning than Memorial Day, a day to honor the men and memories from their time at war.

They were younger then, stronger in mind and body.  Today, time has taken most of them away.  Every year there are fewer veterans of the “greatest generation” to carry on those traditions of remembrance.  The traditions have been passed to a new generation; the sacrifices will never be forgotten.

The light of freedom shines bright upon our nation, the torch of responsibility to remember has been passed, and we must never forget.  Memorial Day is time set aside to remember the sacrifice of all our fallen brothers and sisters.  The sands of time will take away a generation but the traditions of remembrance will not pass away.

When the sun rises above our land on Monday we will be given another day to remember, we will remember those that never lived to see the light of God grace their dreams and hopes.  We will join as a nation to honor those that sacrificed their lives for each of us and for our hopes and dreams.

In the evening the light of day will slow set to the darkness of the night and we will still remember, we will remember those brothers and sisters that did not return.  We will remember because we can never forget those that served, fought and died for us.

Keith Allen Miller
5/27/48 – 9/7/67

Across America on Memorial Day weekend folks will gather to remember, honor and memorialize those that gave their lives for this great nation.  They are the men and women that sacrificed their hopes, their dreams and their future to preserve and protect the land they loved.

In Manchester there will be a special ceremony of remembrance for a fallen native son, a brother and a friend to all that knew him.  On Saturday May 25^th there will be a re-dedication of a memorial in honor of Keith Allan Miller near the main entrance to Buckley School.  Keith began his education at Buckley as a first grader in 1954, the year it opened as his new neighborhood school.

The original memorial included a tree and plaque placed in his memory by the community after his death in Vietnam, but over time many forgot.  The plaque was covered by the sands of time and the Town had plans to remove the tree, they had forgotten, but those that will gather will never forget.  The plaque has been restored, the tree has been trimmed and the memorial has been enhanced.  It is time to re-dedicate the community memorial for Keith Miller.

Once again the community will gather in honor of Keith.  They will never forget the void in their hearts, the pain of loss, and the dreams destroyed.  They will remember a young man of courage, strength and love of country.  They will remember his eager willingness to serve his nation.

Those that grew up with Keith remember a little boy that could run like the wind, but they will remember him Saturday as a consummate Marine. A brave young man standing tall and strong in face of any foe, fighting for his country, a land he loved.

This Memorial Day would have been Keith’s 65^th birthday, a time when many of his contemporaries retire, a time when they look back at life and recall special moments of great joy.  For them Memorial Day will mean a family gathered round and grandchildren learning family traditions.  Keith never had that chance; he was only a teenager with hopes and dreams serving as a man when suddenly his life was over, but he was not forgotten.

We will never forget his sacrifice; we will never forget the void in our lives and the pain in our hearts.  We will gather together, family and friends that remember a young man full of potential with dreams and hopes.  Community members that never knew Keith will join us to honor his service and sacrifice, Keith will not be forgotten.

On Memorial Day weekend, we are all part of that one nation under God that Keith so dearly loved.  We will remember others this weekend as we do each year, we will remember their sacrifice but for many of us this will be a weekend to remember one very special Marine.  We will remember his birthday, his life and his sacrifice; we will remember Keith Allan Miller.

In 1966 Keith could have graduated high school, gone on with his life, with dreams of young love, children, and family traditions but his goal included service to his country as a young Marine in time of war.  We can never forget.

On this Memorial Day weekend, there is a time and place to express your remembrance and honor for a native son of Manchester. Keith Miller stood for you in time of war; you can stand for him in a time of remembrance.  The community is invited to remember Keith by attending the rededication.

Schedule of events:

Meet and Greet the Miller family from 10:30 – 11:30am

Rededication ceremony to begin at 11:30am

For more written in honor and memory of Keith Allen Miller use the links below:

Memorial Day Honor And Remembrance

KEITH ALLEN MILLER – He Will Never Be Forgotten

They Never Asked And We Can Never Forget

That’s right our government and elected Representatives see fit to reward the non-tax paying visitor with a larger discount than the overburdened taxpayer already supporting the parks with their tax money.  Where is the logic, where is the fairness?

In any event a visit to Bigelow Hollow is worth the money and the time if you crave a rustic natural environment.  The pictures below will provide a brief glimpse of Bigelow Hollow.

It was years ago, some would say long enough to be a lifetime.  It was a time when a young student looking for work learned the value of what today we call, networking.  Most of my friends were looking for work and jobs were hard to find.  Then suddenly, right there in gym class, opportunity knocked hard at my door, “If you want to work, I think you can work with me”.   A friend told me about an opportunity to work.

I went that day to talk with owner, nervous yet confident; I had a real chance to actually find work.  As it turned out the interview really wasn’t much more than an introduction, I was hired on the spot.  It wasn’t for big money, about a half dollar an hour and the boss said, “Call me Doug”.

Six days a week, sixteen hours every weekend and three or four hours four days a week, there was only one day off.  I learned commitment to a job and a work ethic, I never considered skipping work.  The company was small; it was run by three generations of the same family, Grandpa Fred, Doug and his son Charlie.

Three men that gave me an opportunity and each offered guidance and life lessons that became a part of who I am.  Fred may have been “over the hill” but the man was there every morning at 5:00am to open up.  Doug had long hours but took the time to go home for lunch every day and take his wife to dinner every Thursday.  Charlie, well he wasn’t that much older than the rest of us but he had experience and kept us busy.

Charlie taught me there were two meanings to the word, “project”.  If you were taking too long to complete a task, you were “making a project out of it”.  On the other hand if there was a task that needed to be done in detail and would take some extra time then Charlie had “a project” for you.

When I got a nickel or dime raise, it wasn’t enough to provide a “living wage” but it sure made me appreciate the value of work and compensation.  I learned a lot on that first job, it turned out to be more of an opportunity for me than I realized at the time.  I was blessed to work with those three men, each with his own distinctive personality, and each as a teacher and all with ethical business standards.

As I reflect back today it was never as much “a job” as it was an opportunity, a classroom to learn about life, work and people skills.  Every day you interacted with customers, you did manual labor and you developed a work ethic that would become part of your being.

Today when I hear politicians talk about a “living wage” I think back to my half dollar of opportunity.  I think about three generations of honest men working together not becoming wealthy on the backs of cheap labor but working side by side with students giving them an opportunity while they too struggled to “make a living”.

The value of that first job was not in compensation but in the life lessons and doors of opportunity the experience opened up.  We all knew then it was not about a “living wage” it was more about a few bucks in our pockets.  For us, it was more about money for lunch, gas, and maybe a date to go to the movies.

We never gave much thought to the life lessons, we were young and malleable.  We were also lucky, lucky to work for Fred, Doug and Charlie.  It was another time and another place, it was Pero’s Fruit Stand on Oakland Street in Manchester and it was the way a first job should be, about life not about a “living wage”.

Remember when you used to look at the kid’s page in the newspaper and there would be a picture puzzle and the question would be what is wrong with this picture?  Well this is a picture released by Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy to announce, celebrate and commemorate the UCONN Women’s National Championship Basketball Team visiting his office.

Is there something wrong with the picture or is there something else wrong in the Governor’s office?

For starters the lamp that normally would be on the desk is on the floor and the Governor’s chair found on the right is perfectly set for gazing into outer space out the window.  Note, if the governor actually sat at the desk as it is set up all the doors and drawers of the desk would be facing the visitors to his office and not accessible to him.  On the other hand if he sits on the side of the desk with the drawers his back is to the door and his writing area is blocked by other items on the desk. 

It is obvious to even the casual observer Governor Malloy has done little or no work with this desk set up.  Is there any wonder why the Connecticut state budget and economy are in such a shamble?  

Here is some advice to the Governor:  Turn the desk around, put the chair at the desk so you can work, pick up the lamp so you can see what is happening and put note in the drawer that says debit to the left, credit to the right.

Oh there is one more item for the Governor to consider, OSHA and the State Fire Marshal would never approve of the lamp cord running across the direct path of foot placement.  It’s time for the Governor to get his act together, the State is in a financial malaise and there is work to be done.  The voters must consider we have a man in the office that can’t even set up his desk to work.   Sad isn’t it?

As a single moment in time the outcome of each game is important to the players and fans but the real reward is not found on the court in a single play or final score.  No the real value is found over a season.

Participation in high school sports is pure amateur competition.   It is the memory of the road taken together through a season that they will remember, the bonding, the thrill of victory and success they had together as a team. Win or lose the players will remember their moments of joy and the experience of the season for life. They may not recall the scores, wins and losses but 30 years from now they will remember the journey and the “brothers or sisters” they played with.  In the game of life they all won something this year; life lessons and memories.

Too often our emphasis is placed on winning and losing, too often we lose sight of the benefits of sports participation.  Too often we measure success in terms of playing time or points scored; we forget the importance and role of participation in education and life experience.  Too often we equate amateur sports participation to professional sports where winning is the only ultimate goal, where losing means coming up short and losses are never moral victories.

Soon the entire nation will turn some level of attention to “March Madness” the annual national NCAA Basketball Tournament for men and women to crown a national champion.  We will see great moments of emotion with tears of joy and tears of disappointment, but the real memory for the players will be the road traveled since October. Not all of education comes in a classroom there is much we learn about life on courts and fields.  Why would we risk losing these moments?

There is another road of “March Madness”, a political road that raises an ugly head in too many communities and too often in March.  Too often as budgets are formulated and adjusted we see politicians place sports on the chopping block.  While it may be an easy political move to create emotional support for higher spending it is “March Madness” at its’ worse.

Threatening students and using their emotions and enthusiasm to reach political goals is flat out wrong.  It is the wrong road for adult leadership and the wrong road for the long-term goals of education.  It is equally wrong to reach into the pockets of students to support sports participation as it would be to charge them to take a math or science course.

Have you ever wondered why students and parents are charged admission to view a student play basketball but are not charge to watch baseball, soccer or volleyball?  Ever wonder why taxpayers spend millions of dollars on education and yet when they want to view a student and evaluate their performance in a school play they are charged to view what their tax dollars have paid for to produce?  Just another form of “March Madness”

The accident was horrific news reports of the day recalled the words of state police Sgt. Harold DeSanty, “The six people were incinerated”.  Their remains had to be taken to Farmington Medical Center for positive identification through dental records.

The immediate reaction in the State Legislature was a burst of emotional outrage much like we have seen recently in response to the tragedy in Sandy Hook.   Suddenly, we were told there was no economic need for tolls on Connecticut roads and the lives of all citizens were at risk if they were not removed.

Now thirty years later we are seriously considering re-establishing tolls as a source of funding for maintenance of infrastructure.  This entire episode points out so many flaws in political thinking it is hard to include all that is wrong.

Wrong is the idea that every tragedy requires some kind of government action, some headline grabbing emotional reaction to address the actions of a single situation or person.  Yes, Connecticut took down all tolls in 1983.   Have you all read about the continued carnage in Massachusetts as the death toll piles high at toll booths along the Mass. Pike?  I didn’t think so.

Taking down the tolls may not have been a bad idea but using a tragedy as the reason was merely political opportunism.  A tragedy even of horrific proportions used for politics is opportunistic and wrong.

Putting tolls up can be a good idea as is the case with HB 6052, a proposal for tolls to finance the completion of Route 11.  This is a long stalled project that would now be completed and the tolls would be removed after paying for the completion.

Such is not the case for HB-6050 and others designed to re-establish toll roads in Connecticut.  HB-6050 provides for “Gateway Tolls” on major highways along state borders.  These are inequitable and unfair to many Connecticut taxpayers.

Take for example an Enfield resident that happens to work in nearby Springfield.  They could be paying $5.00 daily to commute only 5 miles to go to work. ($1250 annually) While a person driving from Willimantic to Hartford could drive 40 miles on Connecticut roads daily and pay nothing.

Suddenly all the political rhetoric of 30 years ago is forgotten or debunked as irrelevant and out of date and we have a new crop of politicians twisting the facts for fundraising.  Like most taxes tolls are only likely to go upward once they are in place.  Just as any trucker about his toll to cross the George Washington Bridge when he drives from New Jersey to Connecticut, and get ready for a rant when he tells you it is now $105!

Our local police will tell you to lock your car at night to protect your selves from petty thieves.  I am warning you now the thieves looking for the petty cash in your car are in Hartford sitting in the legislature.  Legislators already took the money that was supposed to be for roads and used it for other things, now they want more.

Tell your legislator, NO TO THE TOLLS!

Tim Ackert
Electrician

State Representative Tim Ackert has another career when not serving in the General Assembly; he is a licensed electrician and owner of Ackert Electric, in Coventry.  Having career experience as an electrician provides a different point of view in a legislature where a career in law is more common.

So let’s take a look at what our electrician is proposing this year.  First he wants to amend the state laws to order “that the State Building Inspector and the Codes and Standards Committee shall update the State Building Code not later than January 1, 2014, to incorporate revisions to the National Electrical Code, as adopted by the National Fire Protection Association.”  To cover future revisions Tim includes this in his proposal, “thereafter as deemed necessary, but in no event shall the State Building Code be updated more than twelve months after the date of first publication of subsequent revisions to the National Electrical Code.”

It would seem that keeping the State Building Code in compliance with national standards should be a matter of standard practice, unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be case here in Connecticut.  No problem, Tim has his eye on it, with HB-6301, but what else is he doing?

Representative Ackert has also proposed HB-5611 calling for repealing the federal, state or municipal license exemption for certain trades.  (Electrical licenses would be impacted by this)  Under current law federal, state and municipal workers can perform work that is required to have a licensed professional in other situations.

In many cases the State requires that employees meet the requirement of the license professional to be considered for employment.  This may not always hold true for non-state positions.  In practice, municipalities often contract with licensed professionals for services allowing in house personal to perform less complex tasks and regular maintenance.

Tim has offered no examples of problems due to the present system and admits on the surface, “This may look self-serving”.  In referring to the license requirements Ackert makes his case for changes with a series of questions.  “If this is for safety reasons why is the town, state or federal government exempt?  Are the individuals that use these facilities less deserving?  Do we want children going to our schools where untrained maintenance workers are doing plumbing, electrical and heating work?”

How you view that proposal may reflect more about your own view of government, safety and trust than the content of HB-5611.  According to Representative Ackert, “All of the work I do in Hartford is based on the ideas, thoughts and views I gather from the people I serve in the 8th district”.

This posting is the last in a six part series, “An Eye On Ackert”.  The series is not a complete coverage of all bills proposed by Tim but is provided to give readers an idea of some activities going on in State government by their elected Representative.

Rep. Ackert has urged all of his constituents to contact him at his office for any questions or input on any issue saying, “If you have any questions or ideas you would like to share, please do not hesitate to contact me at my office.”  You may reach Representative Akert via email at tim.ackert@housegop.ct.gov or by phone at 1-800-842-1423.

Emboldened with a sense of power and self-assurance the legislature has continually piled more unfunded mandates on local budgets requiring taxpayers to fund requirements unsupported by State resources.  State Representative (R) Tim Ackert has never been fond of bullies in the school yard and he is not too happy about the unfunded State mandates.

The State has mandated a “prevailing wage” be paid on municipal projects which has discouraged some contractors from bidding on work and requires taxpayers to pay more for the work than would be paid for the same labor on another job.  This creates an artificial market with limited competition and hence unnecessarily increases add to the cost of construction projects paid for with local tax funds.

Representative Ackert is taking action calling for some changes.  He has propose two measures, the first being HB-5962, An Act Concerning State Contributions To Municipalities And The Prevailing Wage.  The proposal would exempt municipalities from the prevailing wage laws unless the state contributes twenty-five per cent or more of the total cost of the municipal project.

While a better solution would be to remove the mandate or at least require the State to fund more than half, this is a first step in the right direction.  The reality is with so many Democratic Legislators beholden to the special interest of union labor even this small step would be a huge win for the taxpayers of Connecticut.

The second proposal being offered by Rep. Tim Ackert is, An Act Increasing The Prevailing Wage Threshold known as HB-5964.  This proposal would increase the threshold amount for construction projects to require prevailing wage to five million dollars for new construction and on million for remodeling.  The current requirements call for $400,000 and $100,000 respectively.

Once again Ackert is stepping in the right direction attempting to find an island of common ground with recalcitrant Representatives willing to put the wants of a special interest above the welfare of the taxpayers.  Finding an island of commonality however, could prove to be more difficult than holding back high tide on Long Island Sound.

Doing the right thing for your constituents can be difficult when facing a political majority willing to protect their political supporters with public tax dollars.  When a majority of our legislators are will to openly and proudly destroy an open and free market while instituting higher taxes to pay for prevailing wages and unfunded mandates they are not serving their constituents they are oppressing them.

These two proposals like the Boston Tea Party of 1773 are sending a message; it is time to fight back in the name of the taxpayers.  If he keeps marching in this direction Mr. Ackert could become known as “Tea Party Tim”.