Found this article quite interesting...
Per NY Times: Democrats in High-Tax States Plot to Blunt Impact of New Tax Law
I found this comment particularly telling:
If the public is in clear support of maintaining various programs, then being up front about the fact that the public has to pay for them shouldn't be an issue. While some of the ideas are intriguing the bottom line appears to be that Democrats at the state level seem to recognize that their taxes are too high when no longer fully subsidized by the Federal government. If the public truly supports these programs as claimed, there shouldn't be a pressing need to figure out a way to "game the system" to try to hide the impact on a person's overall tax bill.
The same Connecticut person follows up with this:
In other words, the argument here is that it is imperative that Democrats retake Congress so that local Democrats don't have to confront their high tax policies now that they will no longer be fully subsidized by the Federal government.
Per NY Times: Democrats in High-Tax States Plot to Blunt Impact of New Tax Law
I found this comment particularly telling:
I suppose the rational response for us is to lower our taxes,” said Benjamin Barnes, who heads the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, “but we have a public that has shown again and again that they expect high levels of service.
If the public is in clear support of maintaining various programs, then being up front about the fact that the public has to pay for them shouldn't be an issue. While some of the ideas are intriguing the bottom line appears to be that Democrats at the state level seem to recognize that their taxes are too high when no longer fully subsidized by the Federal government. If the public truly supports these programs as claimed, there shouldn't be a pressing need to figure out a way to "game the system" to try to hide the impact on a person's overall tax bill.
The same Connecticut person follows up with this:
Our first line of defense,” Mr. Barnes, the Connecticut official, said, “is to take back Congress for Democrats.
In other words, the argument here is that it is imperative that Democrats retake Congress so that local Democrats don't have to confront their high tax policies now that they will no longer be fully subsidized by the Federal government.