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44 Hartford Business Journal • October 19, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com EDITORIAL Economic summit: good idea, but lasting impact unlikely C onnecticut's leading business, union and municipal lobbying groups deserve credit for announcing their intentions to hold a summit next month to discuss ways to combat the fiscal and economic challenges facing the state. The political rivals' attempt at bipartisan talks on key issues should serve as a les- son to state and federal lawmakers who too often let political gamesmanship get in the way of good governance. However, those expecting the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, Con- necticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) and state AFL-CIO to agree on anything substantial shouldn't hold their breath. While all three groups share a core mission to improve the state of Connecticut, their views and interests converge on fundamental issues, particularly state finances. Each group represents powerful interests who stand to gain or lose the most with any types of reforms or budget cuts or tax increases. Municipalities, for example, receive billions of dollars annually in state aid, while unions represent state workers and retirees whose salaries and benefits make up more than 30 percent of the state budget. Businesses, on the other hand, are the state's main revenue generators, either directly through taxes and fees they pay, or indirectly by employing people who pay the state income, property and other personal taxes. At a time of continuing fiscal crisis, it's hard to see how these three diverging interest groups can come together to shape policy that puts the state on a more stable footing. In the end, it appears someone's ox will need to be gored. Tax increases or funding cuts seem to be the only alternatives for policymakers who lack the political will, or intellect, to reform government in ways that improves services and lowers costs. The CBIA has been fighting tax increases and increased government spending for years, and lately, have been at the losing end of the debate. After being hit with the larg- est tax increase in state history in 2011, the legislature approved another significant wave of tax hikes earlier this year. Meanwhile, CCM has been fighting — largely successfully — to maintain municipal aid spending levels. Unions were forced to make some concessions in 2011, including a two-year wage freeze, but have been able to avoid major layoffs keeping their ranks relatively unscathed. Businesses, however, may have public sentiment on their side. Last week, a new Quinnipiac Poll found Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's approval rating plummeted to 32 percent, close to the historic 24-percent low hit by former Gov. John G. Rowland, when he was engulfed in a corruption scandal. Voters gave Malloy a thumbs down on key issues related to taxes, the budget, economy and jobs. Residents' tolerance for further tax increases appears to have run its course and they clearly aren't happy with the way Malloy and the legislature have handled the state bud- get. What is clear is that there needs to be fundamental changes in how state government operates. Every state dollar allocated must be reviewed and put through a "needs" test. Some funding must be reallocated, while other wasteful or luxury spending must be cut. And all of this can be done without forcing layoffs down the throat of state unions. State government's workforce, like the rest of Connecticut, is aging, so as employees increasingly head toward retirement we can shrink the state's bureaucratic largesse and move employ- ees to positions most critical for the state to carry out its core mission. This is where state government must take a page out of the private-sector playbook. The CBIA, CCM and AFL-CIO aren't promising to concoct a blueprint to solve all of Connecticut's ills, but they do think they can find some common ground on issues related to transportation, energy and health care. We credit all three sides for sitting down and talking about the issues because expanding the marketplace of ideas can only be helpful. We're just a bit skeptical of there being any Kumbuya moment. n OTHER VOICES Time to regulate fantasy sports By Roxanne Jones "J ones, who you got this week? What do you know? We know you got some- thing good, so give it up." I got used to my teammates taunting me on our weekly Fan- tasy Football confer- ence calls. And I knew we were in first place in our fantasy football league, so this seemed no time to hold back the "insider" infor- mation I had on NFL players. In the fantasy sports game, if you have information that gives you an edge over your competition, you use it. It's not exactly cheating or "insider trading" — using every bit of data you come across is the whole point of the game. Because in the multibillion- dollar online fantasy sports business, where par- ticipants can assemble a fantasy team of actual professional athletes and compete with millions of other online players, your performance depends on how your players perform. You pay to play fantasy sports, with entry fees ranging from 25 cents to $1,000. And with cash prizes up to $2 million, there is huge incen- tive to win. But when you're talking about that kind of money, people are going to take it seri- ously — really seriously. This week, allegations of insider trading exploded in the online fantasy sports commu- nity following a New York Times report. Now, New York Attorney General Eric Schneider- man has launched an investigation into prac- tices at DraftKings after one of its mid-level employees, Ethan Haskell, won $350,000 at a rival site, FanDuel. DraftKings has admitted to accidentally releasing nonpublic information before all the bets were placed. But at issue is whether its employee had access to that information before placing his bet at FanDuel that week. It's a tricky question because the high stakes business of online fantasy sports is largely unregulated. But that may soon end. In my case, I was playing fantasy sports the old school way — on a team, not online. The prize: bragging rights and a fancy steak dinner. But to me, it wasn't about the actual prize. I was NFL senior editor, a first for a woman at ESPN. So I felt like I had a lot to prove, and decided early on that no one was going to know more about the players' lives — on or off the field — than me. For years, I spent most of my days on the road with players, coaches and sports agents attending weddings, funerals, family reunions and even baptisms. Not to mention, the never- ending parties, the occasional seedy strip joints and more football camps and workout sessions than I care to recall. Mostly, I got to know a lot of good people who treated me like family, fed me and looked out for me on the road. But spend enough time with a person and you're bound to meet some of their demons along the way. So, yes, my fantasy teammates were right. I did have insider information. And I'm not talk- ing about your standard injury and statistical analysis reports. Every week, I knew exactly which players were likely to perform best men- tally and physically on game day. The problem was, most days it just didn't feel right to share publicly the very private things I learned. Play- ing fantasy sports quickly became a conflict of interest for me. And I quit after three years, even though my teams won each year I played. Every week, I had to ask myself whether I should I share with my teammates snippets of information such as that our favorite receiver probably won't be very focused Sunday because his girlfriend is pregnant — and he just had to tell his wife. Or that our top running back would be playing distracted because his jeal- ous boyfriend showed up at the club last night and now he's afraid he'll be outed — or worse — by his teammates. Then, there was the time one of my top quarterbacks discovered before a Monday night game that his agent had bilked him out of tens of millions — no way would he have his head in the game. In fact, he'd be a fan- tasy bust probably for the rest of the season. And if we were smart, we'd trade him. I can't say I wasn't tempted to share all of these juicy details — bragging rights are a big thing for a gal. And I'd be lying if I said I never shared some of the tawdry tales I learned about players along the way, although I mostly kept these tidbits private unless it was relevant to an article the magazine was working on at the time. But what if $350,000 was at stake? I'm sure I would have used any and all the info I had to get an edge and win the jackpot. It's too early to know how the investigation into DraftKings and FanDuel will end. But one thing I do know is that in fantasy sports, the best strategy will always be to seek out "secret" infor- mation and use it to your advantage. And for those of us who work in the sports industry, like Ethan Haskell, it is just too tempting to capital- ize on the information you come upon at work. It becomes an unnecessary conflict of interest. What needs to happen now? Well, DraftKings has temporarily sus- pended their employees from betting on fan- tasy sports pending the investigation. That's a good start, and it should be standard practice throughout the industry. Fantasy sports is a rapidly growing business. And it is not going away (unless, of course, users start to feel the game is fixed against them, with the advan- tage going to industry insiders). But it's time to regulate the business and protect the integrity of the games for the mil- lions of paying online fantasy players who will never have the type of insider information that those of us in the sports industry encounter. After all, who are we kidding? With billions on the line, believing you can completely trust people to play fair on their own and resist any insider trading is the biggest fantasy of all. n Roxanne Jones, a founding editor of ESPN Magazine and former vice president at ESPN, has worked as a producer and as a reporter at the New York Daily News and The Phila- delphia Inquirer. This column originally appeared on CNNMoney.com. HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM POLL Who is most to blame for the Dillon Stadium development debacle? ● Segarra administration ● City council ● The developer To vote, go online to HartfordBusiness.com. Last week's poll results: Should lawmakers ask state workers for salary and benefit concessions to help balance the budget? 86.5% Yes 13.5% No OPINION & COMMENTARY Roxanne Jones Send Us Your Letters The Hartford Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and guest commentaries for our opinion pages. Electronic submissions are preferred and welcome at: editor@HartfordBusiness. com. Or you may fax submissions to Editor, Hartford Business Journal, at (860) 570-2493.