Connecticut Mirror: Lamont budget ignites debate on wealth inequality in CT

While Gov. Ned Lamont insists his new state budget proposal would reduce inequality statewide, legislators and interest groups raised a counter-question Wednesday:

Will it reduce inequality enough?

Lamont became the first governor this week to propose a new state budget that includes an analysis on what provisions it offers to close the gaps in education, health care, housing, economic opportunity and other vital services that radically separate Connecticut’s wealthy suburbs from its poor urban centers.

Legislators mandated this focus last spring, directing the governor to particularly address how his plan to direct billions of dollars in state resources would address inequities along racial and socio-economic lines.

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The School and State Finance Project, a nonprofit education advocacy group, says Lamont’s plan to bolster the Education Cost Sharing program falls short, particularly given the financial strain put on school districts during the worst years of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Students are struggling to recover from the pandemic’s impacts on their learning and mental health,” said Lisa Hammersley, the project’s executive director. “School districts are on the edge of a catastrophic fiscal cliff that may require them to lay off teachers, counselors and paraprofessionals. Businesses are having difficulties finding skilled applicants to staff over 100,000 unfilled jobs.”

Read the full article at https://ctmirror.org/2023/02/08/ct-budget-wealth-inequality-ned-lamont/