Issue Position: Quarters Plan

Issue Position

Merit based government spending reduction plan

Flat world geniuses would argue that increasing a State's revenue through taxation is sound fiscal policy. What is probably never taken into consideration is the indirect impact on the reduced velocity of the money (the usage and buying power) on the local economy. Hence we have the current issue of having our taxed money taken out of local economies in the form of reduced ability to pay bills, buy food, or just go out to have a good time. On the other side of the equation is the government taking in the taxes and immediately turning around and spending the money on large public expenditures which in turn never gives the chance of the money to be used by all us lowly taxed citizens and is probably forever lost into that great void of the insatiable government coffers. What has come to the realization of those placed in a position of authority is that there is no simple way to just blink and undo this travesty of a taxation system which on all levels of public consumption has gotten out of control. But I feel there is a way to reduce the ever increasing yearly impact that the State's expenditures have and will have on the budget thereby eliminating the constant threat of tax increases which further put us into this inescapable hole. My idea is easy to grasp, simple to implement, and only moderately difficult to track. The savings to the State on a whole and the incentive created to the individual and groups working in the public sector will reduce the overall current budget of various publicly funded industries and over a short period of time allow these various agencies and institution the ability to work at peak efficiency. There are numerous aspects and complexities associated with the implementation of this plan of which I will only share enough information as to peak your interest and maybe start a debate. The centerpiece of the Quarters Plan is the built-in incentive to actively seek out and eliminate wasteful spending in all levels of the government. How it works is there will be a reporting structure and review process for wasteful spending. Basically, the individual or group that works within these sectors would document what the waste is, how to correct the inefficiency, and how much money would be saved by the state. These inefficiencies cannot affect pay, salaries, benefits, or the overall effectiveness of the industry. The amount saved is placed into a separate State account which earns interest while the claim is being verified. The amount saved is broken into 25% increments… hence the Quarters Plan.

​One increment is immediately returned to the general fund along with all the previously mentioned interest. The second increment is added as a temporary increase to the industries next annual or bi-annual budget, this ensures that all levels of management are on board and the temporary increase in proceeding budgets could be used for large necessary purchases in the future. The third quarter is used to reduce the States unfunded liabilities and create a tax deferment program for new businesses. This accomplishes several things most importantly being the reduction in the backlog of pensioners, and an incentive for a renewed entrepreneurial spirit in Connecticut. The last increment is the incentive that will make all this work and possible, it will first be split into a 15% and 10%. The 15% will be given as a bonus to the individual that found the inefficiency, came up with a viable solution, and reported it properly through a means that I will keep to myself for the time being. The other 10% will be distributed evenly to the co-workers which will have several psychological and social benefits for all the individuals involved. At the end of the fiscal year awards and recognition will be showered on those that saved the state the highest percentage in their industry and the highest total gross.

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