Legislative session hurt young people

As a rising junior in college, I don’t exactly know what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I do know this: The legislative majority and governor in Hartford do not care about me and only care about pandering to their base for votes. Just about every other state in the union is booming, yet we refuse to change our ways.

There are many examples of how this legislative session hurt young people. Minimum wage increases will eliminate entry-level jobs that are designed for young people, not to mention increase the cost of products that we all need or enjoy. A litany of taxes introduced in the new budget will discourage companies from entering the state, deflating job creation. Most of these taxes are head-scratchers, like a soda tax and a tax on digital downloads. The Special Transportation Fund was raided already, so any guarantee that toll money will go to transportation is out the window.

The paid family and medical leave act seems to take a small amount of income, but paired with Connecticut’s high rents, tuition costs and more, it ends up being a big blow to young professionals. Another big one for young people is the free community college program. Sounds good, right? Well, they forgot to come up with a real way to fund it. Again, that doesn’t help anyone. These policies are no different from the ones implemented by Governor Malloy in the past decade.

What Connecticut needs to do to keep young people here is simple. Stop the taxes and regulations. More businesses will come. Shrink the size of government, as all it does is stifle innovation. I hope the people of Connecticut are paying attention, especially my fellow students. Most people my age tend to lean to the left of center, but I think this can be a wake-up call. The people in power have failed our state, and we are left with the mess.

Max Turgeon, Newington