It’s Only Money

Here in Connecticut — the Nutmeg State, the Land of Steady Habits, the Constitution State, the Provisions State, the Blue Law State, the Freestone, and Brownstone State, the Land of the Uptight Pilgrim, the State with More Nicknames Than You Can Shake a Stick At, and the Bring Your Checkbook State — I happened to watch a gubernatorial debate last Tuesday evening. The candidates are the incumbent, Democrat Uncle Ned “Promise ‘Em an Elevator and Give ‘Em the Shaft” Lamont; the independent, Rob “I’m the Operations Guy” Hotaling; and the Republican, Bob “Stop the Bleeding” Stefanowski.

The debate was covered by the local ABC affiliate, WTHN-TV, out of New Haven, along with its sister station, WCTX-TV. If you want to know how important the debate was, check this out: It preempted Jeopardy on WTNH-TV and Judge Judy on WCTX-TV. In a land of habits as steady as Connecticut’s, that, as then-Vice-President Joe Biden said of Obamacare’s passing, was a big f*$@#!& deal.

It was also an absolute joke. It was a joke because the majority of Connecticut voters, perennial gluttons for punishment, will do what the majority of Connecticut voters always do: They’ll fall for the most popular, most absurd, most transparently false narratives. They’ll re-elect the guy who promises the most, spends the most, and changes the status quo the least. They’ll pucker up and buckle down to ensure the pain of staying the same and hemorrhaging cash will never, ever, exceed their fear of change.

On the positive side, one thing you have to say about Connecticut residents is that they never complain. They complain so little it’s easy to overlook the fact that they don’t complain because they just don’t care. They’ll let the state and its government bleed cash, jobs, residents, opportunity, truth, and credibility. And they’ll go about their business (if they have a business left to go about) as if nothing in the world is wrong, as if they jettisoned their conceptions of right and wrong — and their ability to do simple math — when they abandoned their faith in their own senses.

And if you think Uncle Ned is delusional (he is), take a look at Uncle Sam.

But what am I beefing about? It’s only money.

Originally Published on https://www.bizcatalyst360.com/category/lifecolumns/notes-to-self/

Mark O'Brien Writer, Blogger

I'm the founder and principal of O'Brien Communications Group (obriencg.com) and the co-founder and President of EinSource (einsource.com). I'm a lifelong writer. My wife, Anne, and I have two married sons and four grandchildren. I'm having the time of my life.