Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell was in the City of Brotherly Love yesterday to meet President-elect Barack Obama for the first time.  More than just saying hello, though, the Governor went to ask the 44th President for federal dollars to help ease the state budget crisis.  Talking about infrastructure and Medicaid payments, the Governor commented: “That kind of stimulus package, if it is structured right, would be very helpful to states.”

While Rell and many other Governors – Republican and Democrat – were in Philadelphia seeking federal handouts, many rank-and-file Republicans have been feeling dismay over the actions and wondering why Washington should subsidize our own bad habits.  The jaded among us could be forgiven for wondering how Republican Governors – many of whom are at the forefront of the “we need to return to our principles” mantra – could go begging right next to their Democratic counterparts. 

One of the few GOP Governors who resisted this approach, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, articulated it this way: “I find myself in a lonely position. While many states and local governments are lining up for a bailout from Congress, I went to Washington recently to oppose such bailouts. I may be the only governor to do so (Wall Street Journal, Nov. 15, 2008).”

The font of all knowledge that most of us know as the Hartford Courant had an editorial today that, in the midst of some naked gushing over the new President-Elect, contained one decent point: “Connecticut was generous in sharing its good fortune with the federal government in the past. It could use federal mercy now (Hartford Courant, Dec. 3, 2008).” 

Our need – or lack thereof – for “mercy” aside, it is a fair point that Connecticut is the highest taxed state per capita in the nation, and we send an incredible amount of money to Washington each year.  According to the Tax Foundation, Connecticut gets $0.69 cents of every dollar we send to the federal government each year.  While progressives would point out that the reason for this disparity is Connecticut’s higher than average per capita income, it doesn’t properly account for Connecticut’s higher than average cost of living. 

It is perfectly fair for us to ask for our money back when we need it.  Though never a popular argument, Sen. Joe Lieberman famously made this case in his 2006 primary debate with Ned Lamont in regard to earmarks.  The earmark process was one way that Connecticut legislators, like Lieberman, could return some of our money back to us. 

The great fear for Republicans is and should continue to be that instead of meaningful reform, the state will take the federal dollars, spend every penny, and then be looking for more in the future if the economy stays lousy.  The Governor, from the Courant article, seems to have the right message on this.  But given the performance of the General Assembly when asked to trim $300 million from the budget (they only cut $75 million), one has to be fearful of putting more money into their hands.