You think Illinois is corrupt? Try Connecticut

So says DemfromCT in DailyKos, and I must concur. I grew up in Connecticut and Sue and I moved back there for 14 months starting Feb. 2007. (We live in the SF Bay area now.)

Um, I was appalled at the obvious level of corruption in Connecticut. It wasn’t even subtle. In California, politicians might be mobbed up, but at least they have the sense to not overtly look, act, and dress like mafioso.

Not so in Connecticut, where, for example, state senator Louis DeLuca was forced out a while back after trying to get his granddaughter’s husband beaten up for some perceived slight. He asked an indicted garbage hauler with suspected mob ties to arrange it. Way obvious, and dumb.

Now genuinely progressive Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez has turned himself in on corruption charges. Sigh. Just another in a long line of indictments of Connecticut politicians. Heck, the previous governor John Rowland went to prison.

Also, and I have to say this, politically the state political structure seems comatose. Connecticut almost always has the highest per capita income of any state (despite huge and growing income disparities) so perhaps the feeling is there’s ample money to go around so why change anything when we can snooze on, even if some politicians are corrupt.

However, the Greenwich Connecticut area is a world center of hedge funds. But hedge funds recently have been blowing up like firecrackers on the 4th of July. I’m guessing that spells massive looming revenue shortfalls for Connecticut. Not that anyone at the state level appears to be paying much attention to this.

California has huge financial problems. But at least Schwarzenegger and the rest of the state politicos are awake. Can’t say the same for Connecticut.