Danbury Senator Michael McLachlan says Governor Malloy's tax and budget proposals show that he has tunnel vision when it comes to Connecticut's fiscal problems.  He likened the proposals to Groundhogs Day because they include cuts to the Medicare Savings Plan, which lawmakers just restored.  

McLachlan noted that balancing the budget won’t be easy, and there will be hard choices, but he says trying to squeeze more money out of an overtaxed populous didn’t work before and won't work now. 

Wilton Senator Toni Boucher called the Governor's proposals the same old policies, and added that everything old is not new again.  If it didn’t work before, she questioned why anyone would think it will work now.  Boucher says Governor Malloy's policies and ideas have only gotten Connecticut deeper into fiscal crisis. 

She said Malloy can try to dress it up more, put on brighter lipstick, but underneath – it’s still a pig. 

The state budget approved in October incldued the creation of a Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth.  Most of its members are top executives of major corporations, professional firms, and nonprofits.  Redding State Representative Adam Dunsby says he is usually skeptical of study groups, but is impressed so far by the commission.  Their final analysis report is due to the legislature on March 1st.