Hamden state representatives address Quinnipiac students.
Hamden State Sen. Jorge Cabrera and State Rep. Josh Elliott presented critiques from the left of Gov. Ned Lamont’s marijuana and minimum wage policies as they spoke to a group of student Democrats at Quinnipiac University.
Cabrera and Elliott spoke at a webinar called “The Future of Connecticut” hosted by the QU Democrats on Friday night along with State Rep. Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk. The discussion touched on small business development, the legalization of marijuana, the minimum wage and voting rights.
On the issue of marijuana, Elliott and Cabrera criticized Lamont’s proposal for legalization that was being debated in Hartford during the webinar.
While they agree with Lamont’s push to legalize, both men said that his bill “SB888” lacks a focus on equity.
“The governor’s bill is just terrible,” Elliott said. “It is just awful. He basically ignored everything that advocates have been pushing for for the last few years. He put together a task force which I was on and promptly ignored everything that we said to him.”
Specifically, Elliott critiqued Lamont’s decision to devote 50 percent rather than 90 percent of tax revenue raised on marijuana sales to addressing the lasting effects of the War on Drugs, by making entrepreneurship opportunities available to ex-offenders, for instance. He also disagreed with the failure to mention “home grow,” which would be a provision allowing for people to grow recreationally at home.
“There is a lot wrong with that bill. That said, he does not understand the legislative process, not being elected before,” Elliott said. “Just because his bill is bad, it is still the vehicle that legalization is going to come through.”
The bill still has to go through the committee hearing process, so according to Elliott, it still has chances to improve.
“The bill will change,” Elliott said. “It is going to be up to leaders in both caucuses — the Democratic caucus in both the House and the Senate — to determine what their members want.”
Elliott and New Haven/Hamden State Rep. Robyn Porter have been advocating for modifications to Lamont’s bill. Porter introduced a bill of her own in the Labor Committee in early February, to ensure communities hardest-hit by the drug war get opportunities to benefit from the industry, and to erase records of some people incarcerated under prior drug laws. At a hearing for SB888, Lamont signaled Friday he would be willing to incorporate some of those ideas into his own bill.
Cabrera, a member of the legislature’s Labor Committee, said that a legalization bill must include provisions for a market with a level playing field that supports entrepreneurs who normally wouldn’t be able to enter the industry. He also said he would support a provision to expunge the records of those previously charged with marijuana-related crimes.
“This is going to be a big market in Connecticut, and if we are going to get serious about attempting, not just talking about legalization, but actually doing something to address the injustices that are a result of the War on Drugs that we are looking at today, that are being passed on generation to generation, we need to hammer out a better bill on equity,” Cabrera said.
“$15 Not Enough”
Under a law passed in 2019, the minimum wage will increase to $15 by 2023. Elliott and Cabrera said that while this legislation will be beneficial, both agreed this is not a livable wage.
“I don’t think $15 is enough,” Elliott said. “When we started the $15 an hour fight, it was about a decade before we actually passed it. If you think about what inflation does in a decade’s time, it really should have been $17 or more.”
According to the AFL-CIO, if the minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, the minimum wage would be $24 per hour.
Elliott discussed the differences between livable wages and a base wage, but he said that the minimum wage should be the same as the livable wage. However, Elliott said this is easier said than done.
“A dollar in Uncasville is not the same as a dollar in Hamden,” Elliott said. “That said, you need to have a base somewhere.”
The current minimum wage bill will get to $15 by 2023 and then keep up with inflation in years after that. Elliott said that raising the minimum wage has none of the negative effects that conservatives fear. He said that bringing the floor up just means it is important to also tax the wealthy to “compress” wages.
“If we tax the ultra-wealthy to bring the ceiling down, we don’t have these wide disparities, because that is when you have extreme social discord, which we are kind of seeing right now,” Elliott said.
Lamont has refused to consider proposals to raise marginal tax rates on the wealthy.
“The cost of living has far outpaced wages in this country,” Cabrera said. “The federal minimum wage is even worse. We have to be able to find policies to level the playing field to give people the ability to support their families, pay their bills and to also plan for the future.”
“We need to make sure the wealthy are paying their fair share of taxes so we have the funds to invest in all of the things that create opportunity and a safety net,” Cabrera said. “That is at the heart of the work I do.”