2 November—Among 30^th District Senator Craig Miner’s many areas of expertise is mycology, the science of fungi. Mycology is primarily non-political, of course, but also entirely appropriate in the State Capitol. Obviously, Craig is truly an expert mushroom picker because he’s still alive.

So yesterday, as I was hobbling home from Town Hall, Craig took a break from scouting out mushrooms on the Litchfield Green to schmooze with me. (It’s refreshing to report that the sacrosanct Green is good for something besides yellow ribbons and useless, silly Green New Deal demonstrations like the one last weekend.) Among the things we talked about was the overpayments the state made to many unemployment recipients.

Although I had written about the myriad abuses of the ludicrous COVID-inspired Paycheck Protection Payments giveaway, I hadn’t really given much thought to the supplementary payments made to state unemployment insurance recipients. I knew the payments tended to be excessive, largely unnecessary, and counterproductive. I also knew that many were made because the state screwed up, not because the recipients submitted fraudulent claims. But, what the hell. That’s what the welfare state and vote-buying are all about, after all. Live and let live. And Republicans were every bit as guilty as Democrats.

But Senator Miner brought up an excellent point: Why shouldn’t the state claw back the unjustified payments, even those made inadvertently, through no provable fault of the recipients? Why should Connecticut taxpayers be forced to foot the bill for still more of the state’s irresponsible largess? Without doubt, many if not most of the people who received more goodies than they deserved were fully aware of their undeserved windfalls, so make them repay what amounts to their interest-free loans.

And even if the allegedly unemployed people weren’t aware, even if they assumed the state’s computers and overpaid functionaries knew precisely what they were doing (what a joke!), why shouldn’t the lucky stiffs have to pay back the excess? Ignorance of the law is no defense, after all. (Except for cops and prosecutors, of course.)

But what if those people have spent all their unearned, undeserved dollars from heaven on necessities or frivolities? What would King Solomon do? And more to the point, what will allow Connecticut Democrats to retain their incontestable power?

Screw the Democrats, I say. Get it back . . .