Legislative errors

I have lived in Connecticut for over 60 years and have seen our legislators make many errors in judgment, but there are three blunders that have cost and will cost the citizens of Connecticut a fortune.

The first was a futile effort to clean our air by forcing utilities to burn low sulfur fuel — a noble idea that ran up our electric bills. However, the prevailing winds are from west to east and this effort was of minimal effect since most of our pollution came from large states to our west.

The second major blunder is also related to power costs. Our utilities were forced to sell off their generating plants. The argument was that competition would save consumers lots of money. What really happened was that other profit-making entities were inserted between the producers and the users. Instead of reducing rates it helped force them up to some of the highest in the country. I have service in Florida and Connecticut — kilowatt-hour costs in Connecticut are 300 percent higher than those in Florida. The high cost helps drive industry and individuals out of the state.

The third colossal mistake is the latest “police accountability” bill. It is apparent that we need some type of reform and oversight but the unintended consequences of this legislation is certain to create a whole new frivolous lawsuit industry. This will cost towns, cities and individual officers a fortune as well as forcing many good officers into early retirement.

The net effect of these three huge errors will continue Connecticut's slide into oblivion and more big mistakes in the future. Edward Cowern

North Haven