[CTartist]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

CT never had and never will have any type of political power at the national level. Only reasons why CT gets any type of attention at the national level is because;


1. We send a lot of money to the US Treasury via taxation
2. We have defense contractors here that receive billions of dollars in Fed contracts.


If we didn't have these two things CT would be completely ignored like South Dakota.


The real political power at the national level is in the US Senate.


One can even argue that the Senate is unfair because population is not taken into account


WY has 300k people and two Senators and CT has 3.5 million and two US Senators.


This is also one reason IMO why rural states have a bigger voice in national politics than they probably should.


The way the US Govt is set up is probably the best we can hope for. Otherwise US politics would be dominated by the high population states like CA, NY, FL, TX.

Mr. Gompers,

Do you realize that we have two Senators for each state because of CT (The Connecticut Compromise) and Roger Sherman?

"During the summer of 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia established equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives. Called the “Great Compromise” or the “Connecticut Compromise,” the unique plan for congressional representation resolved the most controversial aspect of the drafting of the Constitution."

"As early as 1776, Connecticut’s Roger Sherman had suggested that Congress represent the people as well as the states. During the 1787 convention, Sherman proposed that House representation be based on the population, while in the Senate, the states would be equally represented. Benjamin Franklin agreed that each state should have an equal vote in the Senate except in matters concerning money. The convention’s grand committee reported his motion, with some modifications, to the delegates early in July. Madison led the debates against Franklin’s measure, believing it an injustice to the majority of Americans, while some small-state delegates were reluctant even to support proportional representation in the House. On July 16, delegates narrowly adopted the mixed representation plan giving states equal votes in the Senate within a federal system of government."
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory...ion_Senate.htm

I have an addition to the your statement in bold.
#3 Wall Street lives in Fairfield County CT and that's a biggie.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

He used the Facebook posts as an example of the bashing our state gets when something good happens. Just like this forum. Someone posts something positive and someone pouches on it and says how bad our state is. They go off on the same thing over and over: taxes, cost of living, job growth, the supposed population drop (which as I showed is not true), loss of the wealthy, etc., etc., etc. Its no more garbage than some of the negative things said here. Jay

I’m well aware of the tactics used by the author. It’s a joke to suggest Facebook bashing leads to loss of population when, in reality, taxes, cost of living, and job growth (or lack thereof), are very much the reason people are dissatisfied with the state.

And regarding this forum, for every poster that is negative, there is a biased CT cheerleader that feels CT is utopia.

The negative thing said here are not garbage. Many of the posters concerned about the state of the state love Connecticut and want to see it thrive. But ignoring or making excuses for the massive problems the state is facing helps nothing.

[BobNJ1960]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Many of the posters concerned about the state of the state love Connecticut and want to see it thrive. But ignoring or making excuses for the massive problems the state is facing helps nothing.

To accept how it is misrun as "the best it gets" infers a defeatist point of view.

We should not be an economic laggard vs other states, ranked at the bottom, for job creation. We should not be ranked 3rd likeliest to default on debt service nationally.

Those ignoring the problems, making excuses, or glossing over them, are signaling their belief we cannot do better.

If we truly are an above average state, we most certainly can do better. If we cannot, we are a below average state.

I do not buy that we can't if we elect the right leaders, who do the right things, no matter the consequences personally.

No one can do a worse job than Dan Malloy has done. This man earned his rank of America's least popular governor, at a rosy economic time where dozens have superb ratings.

[RunD1987]

See I don't know why the State can't say in 10 to 12 years
Let's create HOV Lanes on 95 and 84 then sell them and let them be toll lanes
Create tolls on bridges
Eliminate the gas tax or lowering it to 10 percent
Eliminate the Sales tax
Create a flat 4% income with tax exemption up to $30,000
Eliminate Social Security Tax, Estate Tax, Business Entity Tax, Gift Tax, and any other taxes in the State
Do away with the car tax cap
State taxes automobiles and boats at a 1 to 2 percent tax rate
$200 every 2 year automobile registration fee ($100 going to DEEP)
4% Flat business tax. With 2% taxed on businesses of 100 or more employees that goes towards homelessness services in the State and another 2% tax that goes towards rainy day fund. Then the State can offer a 1% tax break to businesses based off of yearly criteria such as hiring X amount of rehabilitated people from prison or X amount of college graduates from CT.
Excise tax of 15 to 20 percent on alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

See I don't know why the State can't say in 10 to 12 years
Let's create HOV Lanes on 95 and 84 then sell them and let them be toll lanes
Create tolls on bridges
Eliminate the gas tax or lowering it to 10 percent
Eliminate the Sales tax
Create a flat 4% income with tax exemption up to $30,000
Eliminate Social Security Tax, Estate Tax, Business Entity Tax, Gift Tax, and any other taxes in the State
Do away with the car tax cap
State taxes automobiles and boats at a 1 to 2 percent tax rate
$200 every 2 year automobile registration fee ($100 going to DEEP)
4% Flat business tax. With 2% taxed on businesses of 100 or more employees that goes towards homelessness services in the State and another 2% tax that goes towards rainy day fund. Then the State can offer a 1% tax break to businesses based off of yearly criteria such as hiring X amount of rehabilitated people from prison or X amount of college graduates from CT.
Excise tax of 15 to 20 percent on alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana.

Most of these taxes are too hard to implement, enforce, and collect and will require more Govt employees.
We already know people here and in the general public do not want more Govt employees.


Like I said before, businesses already receive tax breaks to hire ex-cons, although I do not know how much they receive.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by JayCT

He used the Facebook posts as an example of the bashing our state gets when something good happens. Just like this forum. Someone posts something positive and someone pouches on it and says how bad our state is. They go off on the same thing over and over: taxes, cost of living, job growth, the supposed population drop (which as I showed is not true), loss of the wealthy, etc., etc., etc. Its no more garbage than some of the negative things said here. Jay

I'm still trying to figure out who's buying all the houses that are being left behind by the people leaving CT ? Maybe everyone who's leaving are renters ?


When I drive thru the towns around Hartford I don't see swathes of empty unoccupied homes. With the way people complain here one would think CT has been hallowed out like some European countries were after WWII.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

I'm still trying to figure out who's buying all the houses that are being left behind by the people leaving CT ?

The number of people under 18 in CT has dropped from 827k in 2008 to 744k in 2017. Basically there are not empty houses, but there are empty bedrooms.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

The number of people under 18 in CT has dropped from 827k in 2008 to 744k in 2017. Basically there are not empty houses, but there are empty bedrooms.

I think much of that has to do with lower birth rates and smaller families than anything eslse. Jay

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Most of these taxes are too hard to implement, enforce, and collect and will require more Govt employees.
We already know people here and in the general public do not want more Govt employees.


Like I said before, businesses already receive tax breaks to hire ex-cons, although I do not know how much they receive.

I don't know how it be more Goverment employees as there will be less taxes being collected.

[brown_dog_us]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I think much of that has to do with lower birth rates and smaller families than anything eslse. Jay

lol. I was not trying to say that people under 18 were moving without their parents.