Gov. William A. O’Neill’s official state portrait
In his Jan. 5, 2011 inaugural and State of the State addresses, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy praised the late former Gov. William A. O’Neill. Mr. O’Neill, who served from Dec. 31, 1980 through Jan. 9, 1991, was Connecticut’s last Democratic chief executive before Gov. Malloy took office. (He was succeeded by independent Lowell P. Weicker, who was followed by Republicans John G. Rowland and M. Jodi Rell.) Gov. Malloy seemed to imply that he would follow in Mr. O’Neill’s footsteps.
More than four years later, it is clear Gov. Malloy has taken a very un-O’Neill approach to Connecticut’s economy. For that, the state is paying a steep price.
Gov. Malloy has been quick to lend support to anti-business government policies. His minimum-wage increases and paid-sick-leave mandate tie the hands of employers in a tough economy. His messy budgets and goodies for public employees – union and non-union alike – have sown seeds of uncertainty that are anathema to business people. If, as expected, the governor signs the 2015-17 budget approved yesterday (June 3) by the legislature, the costs of doing business in Connecticut will increase further.
As I argued in several previous posts, it hardly seems coincidental that Connecticut lags most of the country in recovering jobs lost during the Great Recession; has trouble adding jobs outside of the public sector or state government’s chosen industries; and suffers from anemic gross domestic product growth.
By contrast, Mr. O’Neill grasped intuitively that a business-friendly environment is essential for economic success. In a piece published upon the former governor’s 2007 death, The Hartford Courant news staff highlighted Gov. O’Neill’s opposition to a bill that would have required managers of closing plants to provide workers with advance notice. “I certainly don’t want to send a signal to those that are here and to those that we hope to attract here that the business climate in Connecticut is anti-plant and we’re anti-business,” he said. Also featured was Gov. O’Neill’s belief that an income tax would devastate Connecticut’s economy. In light of what happened after Gov. Weicker and the legislature implemented an income tax in the summer of 1991, it is fair to call Mr. O’Neill a prophet.
One can hope Gov. Malloy will have an epiphany and start governing like the man he dubbed “the late great Gov. O’Neill.” However, I’m not betting on it.
