Harding insists 'execution is everything' for Biden

Brookfield CT

04 February, 2021

12:34 PM

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By Scott Benjamin Eleven months into a pandemic that has temporarily reshaped American culture, state Rep. Stephen Harding (R-107) says for Democratic President Joe Biden "execution is everything" as he tries to vaccinate up to 1.5 million people a day so that schools, restaurants, movie theaters and a raft of other venues can return to normal. "This is such a new venture," the Brookfield legislator related in a phone interview. "I think it will become more effective as time moves on," he added. "I have confidence in our leadership. We know that we can't get back to normal until we get to the other side of the vaccine." Wall Street Journal columnist William Galston stated recently that his Brookings Institute colleague Elaine Kamarck wrote in her 2016 book, "Why Presidents Fail," that "management failures can make or break presidencies." Former Democratic President Jimmy Carter's failed 1980 mission to rescue the American hostages in Iran was cited as an example. Remarked Harding, "We probably won't see a major change until there is a significant reduction in the number of cases." He said he expects that the impact of the pandemic will be felt through the remainder of 2021. The White House and 10 Republican senators are now quibbling over whether another round of stimulus should be $1.9 trillion or $600 billion – on top of what Galston stated is $3.5 trillion that already has been appropriated since last March. Harding said, "I don't know that the right amount is or whether it should be done in segments, but we do need more stimulus." He has largely praised the performance of Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) during the pandemic, but wishes he would be "more collaborative" in seeking input before issuing executive orders. Harding said some industries have struggled throughout the pandemic. "The restaurants have been very impacted during this pandemic," he exclaimed. "Some of them have limited financial resources and either don't have indoor dining or limited in-door dining. Some have done a lot of take-out business, but ultimately they need to get back to having their dining areas fully open." He said the closure to the pandemic would provide some parents "with the ability to go back to work" since their children would return to school on a regular basis. Most public schools in Connecticut have been on a completely remote or hybrid format since mid-March of last year. Harding said based on varied feedback online learning appears to have been more effective with older students. "It hasn't been as much an issue with the high school students from the teachers, parents and students that I have spoken with," he explained. The Sloan C study of 2012 reported that 77 percent of higher education academic leaders surveyed said that online education was the same or superior to face to face learning at America's colleges. Harding exclaimed, "I think the results for high school students are probably similar to what you have in college. However, the elementary students need more personal, hands-on attention." Regarding some of the proposals being considered this session in General Assembly, Harding said "from what I've read, I support" the child tax credit proposal that has been offered by state Rep. Sean Scanlon (D-98) of Guilford, the House chairman of the Finance Committee. CT Mirror reported that, "The new child tax credit proposed by Rep. Sean Scanlon, D-Guilford, would pump between $150 and $450 into households that earn about $203,000 or less during its first year, depending on the number of children each family has. It" would be gradually increased over the next three years, sending between $600 and $1,800 into households from the same income group once fully implemented in the fourth year," according to CT Mirror. "The middle class has to pay too significant a share of the state's budget," Harding declared. "We need to address that." Lamont has indicated that he wants to wait to see if the Biden Administration enacts similar legislation at the federal level. The Washington Post has reported that U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) is providing bipartisan support for the president's proposed $3,000 per family child care tax credit. However, a November 1 Wall Street Journal editorial stated that Fitch Ratings has reported that Connecticut has a pension liability for its workers that equals 25.9 percent of personal income – the second highest in the nation, behind Illinois. Fitch indicated that anything above 20 percent is considered to be "elevated." Shouldn't that issue be addressed before any further state tax credits are enacted? "I think we can do both at the same time and it can be a collaborative effort," said Harding, whose district includes all of Brookfield, the Stony Hill section of Bethel and a slice of northern Danbury. He said the state government could reduce some of its bonding appropriations – Lamont announced a debt diet in 2019, his first year in office - and also seek concessions from the state employee collective bargaining units. The "no layoffs" clause for state employees expires on June 30. "It would not be beneficial to lay people off," Harding declared. "I want to avoid layoffs." As for not replacing the large number of state workers set to retire in the next two years, he said the state should "be smart" at the "management level. Some of these departments have only a small amount of staff." On another topic, Harding said he opposes the mansion tax that has been proposed by state Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-11) of New Haven. NBC Connecticut reported that Looney wants to increase the property tax by one mill on every home valued at $430,000 or more. His proposal would redistribute the money back to some cities and towns that are struggling. Harding exclaimed, "Instead, I think that we should find ways to decrease taxes across the board." "There are many relatively modest homes in my district that would be in that range," Harding remarked. "We're not comparable to wealthy lower Fairfield County, such as New Canaan or Darien, and you would have a number of homeowners that would be impacted." Brookfield Democratic First Selectman Steve Dunn recently told Brookfield Patch that in his town the starter homes, for example. range from $280,000 to $380,000. On a separate subject, Harding said he supports Lamont's efforts to increase broadband capability in Connecticut. CTNewsJunkie recently reported that "Lamont hopes to pressure Connecticut telecommunication companies to build out the state's broadband capacity." The governor recently told a meeting of the Connecticut Organization of Small Towns that "the improvements would make the state more attractive to young families." In an interview with Patch.com, Dunn said, "I think that expanding broadband and increasing the completion between providers can only help our residents. Broadband access for all is now a basic need so that people can work from home, children can be educated and everyone can be on an equal footing in accessing the internet.