A bit of a heads up for folks who aren’t from this neck of the woods. Heather Somers, who ran for Lieutenant Governor in 2014 is gunning for statewide office again. You remember Heather. She was such a strong vote getter that she managed to swing exactly no districts in the Groton area to the rich guy the Republicans nominated the last time. She was just elected State Senator, thanks in part to the determined efforts of the New London Day, despite the fact that she utterly failed Dave Collins’ Trump Test.
Heather apparently things it’s a good idea to follow the John Scott playbook, only with a bit of a twist. Here are the description of two bills she recently introduced:
Proposed S.B. No. 82 SEN. SOMERS, 18th DIST. ‘AN ACT REPEALING THE ESTATE TAX’, to incentivize residents to remain in Connecticut by repealing the estate tax. REF. FINANCE, REVENUE AND BONDING
Proposed S.B. No. 83 SEN. SOMERS, 18th DIST. ‘AN ACT REPEALING THE BUSINESS ENTITY TAX’, to provide economic growth incentives by repealing the business entity tax. REF. FINANCE, REVENUE AND BONDING
I’ve written in the past about now ex-Representative John Scott, who introduced a couple of bills designed to line the pockets of insurance agents, particulary insurance agents who placed health insurance for UConn students, of whom John was one of a very few. That didn’t go over so well with his former constituents, who were well aware of it, even though the New London Day took pains not to mention it. John now has more time to spend with his family.
Heather’s proposals are not quite that targeted, but among her constituents, she’s probably one of the few that would benefit, not that she’s likely to stay in the state anyway once she’s finished doing her best to line the pockets of the rich. But these proposals are bound to go over well in Greenwich and those environs.
Somers has proposed repealing the estate tax, a tax that falls only on the under burdened rich. It’s the Republican philosophy: millions for the rich and for Heather herself, but not a penny for the rest of us. She has also proposed repealing the business entity tax, yet another way of shifting money to the rich from the rest of us.
There are two ways to pay for tax cuts for the rich. The first is to raise taxes on the rest of us. The second is to cut the services for which we pay our taxes, such as schools, roads, libraries, health services, courts, and police. Either way, Heather and the rich gain, the rest of us lose.
It truly escapes me why we should relieve the rich from paying the estate tax in order to encourage them to stay here once they grow old and gray. If they’re not going to pay their fair share of taxes, who needs them. If they move away in droves, that would make for more affordable housing in the western part of the state.
Heather clearly ran for the Senate as a springboard for yet another run for statewide office. If she wants to get nominated for a statewide office, the last people she needs to please over the course of the next few years are her own constituents, so we can’t really expect much different from her. Can’t say we shouldn’t have known. When Heather was on the Town Council, she was in favor of letting non-resident property owners vote in our town wide elections. You know, the folks who have such a stake in the quality of our schools and other services. Other than that, which she never got (thankfully) I can’t think of a single thing she ever accomplished in all her years on the counsel. With Heather, it’s all about Heather.
So watch out folks. I don’t know which office she has her eye on, but whichever it is, be sure she wants it out of ambition alone.
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