[JayCT]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

We have gotten used to being near worst in Business climate and job creation. Just as Marlins fans know their team owns last place.

Yet all of the facts I continuously post here show how good our economy really is. It is enviable to say the least. Growth does not have to be high when you are already at or near the top in so many key economic indicators. To cry about lack of growth is fatuous at best. Jay

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Oh come on now, in reality how many people do you know that are really considering leaving? How many do you really think are serious? I have one neighbor that for years said they were leaving as soon as their kids were out of school. Well their youngest has been out for six years now and they are still here. They no longer talk about leaving and yet, in theory they could at anytime. Jay

IF I had neighbors like that I would ask them every time I see them when are they moving ? and do they need help packing.


I'd be surprised if 1 out of 1000 complainers go thru with moving.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

I'd be surprised if 1 out of 1000 complainers go thru with moving.

Moving is costly, and it's something not everyone can do when they are living hand to mouth.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Oh come on now, in reality how many people do you know that are really considering leaving? How many do you really think are serious? I have one neighbor that for years said they were leaving as soon as their kids were out of school. Well their youngest has been out for six years now and they are still here. They no longer talk about leaving and yet, in theory they could at anytime. Talk is cheap and every time you see yet another one of those “sky is falling” clickbait articles that the media loves to lob at us “rich” nutmeggers, it just gets people more riled up.

The fact is our state’s economy is doing very well. We have 15 consecutive months of job growth. We’ve regained 106% of the private jobs loss during the recession. Our unemployment rate is virtually at the national average, is the same as Georgia and better than North Carolina and a few other so called booming states. We are No. 3 in the nation for Real Gross Domestic Product and No. 1 in Real Disposable Income. We are near the top for income, education and health. What more do you want?

Our biggest so called problem is that we do not have a lot of growth. Remember with great growth comes great problems including destruction of character, sprawl and overcrowding. We are already among the most densely populated states in the country. Do you really want more people here? Enough with the negative garbage and look objectively at what we have. It’s very clear our state is 8n pretty good shape economically. Jay

Yes, I know. I've heard the anecdotes. But many people here do not share this enthusiasm that we are like a cat and always land on our feet. This state has already lost a significant amount of character in the form of sprawl -- it just involves ugly, boxy McMansions in the suburbs as opposed to sterile office parks. Back in '07, the Courant, a paper which people here have lauded as one of the best in the nation (naturally), noted that it was Connecticut, the land of exceptionalism, that lost more open space in the last 35 years to sprawl than any other state. So the sprawl argument applies to us, just more in the form of pretentious subdivisions. I would rather stick needles in my eyes than live in such a sterile, soulless place.

For what we pay in taxes, people increasingly feel they are getting a weak bang for the buck. Of course it's easy to accuse people of taking everything in this state for granted because it isn't Arkansas. That only works for so long, though, and this is why more and more people, if given the chance, would leave. More and more, it seems, people are going to work each day not so they can contribute to society or be productive and earn a living, but just so they can have more of their money allocated to the state to fund pensions and the general fund, and people are tired of being a safety net for something so unsustainable. This is another reason people are dissatisfied with the climate of this state. They're working harder and harder, and for what? To hand money over to the state and they get nothing in return.

[Fuele]

CT has incredible upcoming financial liabilities on the horizon. Being at the bottom in New England in real income gains and economic growth will only mean more tax increases, and more new taxes down the pike.
There isn't any other way around it. Adding 21st century sweatshops , raising the minimum wage to $ 15.00 will not do the trick. As taxes increase and the COL rises , that will place more pressure on workers and employers. More people will leave, less will move in.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

For what we pay in taxes, people increasingly feel they are getting a weak bang for the buck.

That's everywhere in the high density Northeast Corridor. More than half of spending is propping up the bottom-20%. There isn't much money left for infrastructure. If you're stuck in traffic or crawling at 30 mph on commuter rail, that's not much bang.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

Yes, I know. I've heard the anecdotes. But many people here do not share this enthusiasm that we are like a cat and always land on our feet. This state has already lost a significant amount of character in the form of sprawl -- it just involves ugly, boxy McMansions in the suburbs as opposed to sterile office parks. Back in '07, the Courant, a paper which people here have lauded as one of the best in the nation (naturally), noted that it was Connecticut, the land of exceptionalism, that lost more open space in the last 35 years to sprawl than any other state. So the sprawl argument applies to us, just more in the form of pretentious subdivisions. I would rather stick needles in my eyes than live in such a sterile, soulless place.

For what we pay in taxes, people increasingly feel they are getting a weak bang for the buck. Of course it's easy to accuse people of taking everything in this state for granted because it isn't Arkansas. That only works for so long, though, and this is why more and more people, if given the chance, would leave. More and more, it seems, people are going to work each day not so they can contribute to society or be productive and earn a living, but just so they can have more of their money allocated to the state to fund pensions and the general fund, and people are tired of being a safety net for something so unsustainable. This is another reason people are dissatisfied with the climate of this state. They're working harder and harder, and for what? To hand money over to the state and they get nothing in return.

And I have heard the endless complaints from people who want their cake and eat it too. People want good schools but don’t want to pay for it. They want quality healthcare but don’t want to pay for it. They want strong police and fire protection but don’t want to pay for it. They want good parks but don’t want to pay for it. They want good highways but don’t want to pay for it. They want mass transit but again, don’t want to pay for it. All of these things cost money and it’s not cheap. We have all of these so guess what, you have to pay for it. Nothing is free, despite what people think.

2007 was 12 years ago. Aren’t people complaining about how we have not had any growth since then? That’s good. We are saving what little open space we have left while saving our character and charm. Jay

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

And I have heard the endless complaints from people who want their cake and eat it too. People want good schools but don’t want to pay for it. They want quality healthcare but don’t want to pay for it. They want strong police and fire protection but don’t want to pay for it. They want good parks but don’t want to pay for it. They want good highways but don’t want to pay for it. They want mass transit but again, don’t want to pay for it. All of these things cost money and it’s not cheap. We have all of these so guess what, you have to pay for it. Nothing is free, despite what people think.

2007 was 12 years ago. Aren’t people complaining about how we have not had any growth since then? That’s good. We are saving what little open space we have left while saving our character and charm. Jay

I never said that I wanted to have amenities and not want to pay for them. I am not even implying that. I do not know where that came from. There is a difference between paying for something where you get your money's worth, and getting gouged, and that is where we are now. Everything we pride ourselves on having funded through tax dollars seems to be better in so many neighboring states -- at lower cost. Instead of responding that people like myself should move, it would be more productive to ask what we are doing differently -- and wrong.

[Fuele]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

I never said that I wanted to have amenities and not want to pay for them. I am not even implying that. I do not know where that came from. There is a difference between paying for something where you get your money's worth, and getting gouged, and that is where we are now. Everything we pride ourselves on having funded through tax dollars seems to be better in so many neighboring states -- at lower cost. Instead of responding that people like myself should move, it would be more productive to ask what we are doing differently -- and wrong.

We have been getting " gouged" since the Income tax was added


"Oddly enough, with the increase in state spending from the income tax, Connecticut’s spending on education has actually declined. Before the income tax, education funding accounted for 31 percent of the state budget. Following the income tax, education spending dropped to 24 percent, where it has remained ever since.

Prior to the income tax, Connecticut relied on its state sales tax and the capital gains tax to fund all state government spending. Now, the income tax makes up 42 percent of state tax revenue, according to the OFA."



https://yankeeinstitute.org/2018/08/...-the-money-go/

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

I never said that I wanted to have amenities and not want to pay for them. I am not even implying that. I do not know where that came from. There is a difference between paying for something where you get your money's worth, and getting gouged, and that is where we are now. Everything we pride ourselves on having funded through tax dollars seems to be better in so many neighboring states -- at lower cost. Instead of responding that people like myself should move, it would be more productive to ask what we are doing differently -- and wrong.

That came from multiple posters coming here complaining about the taxes here over and over and pointing to lower cost states and saying they are better.

What neighboring states have the same amenities we have for less? New York? Massachusetts? Sorry but taxes in those states aren’t really significantly lower than here. Rhode Island? Services aren’t the same and taxes aren’t lower.

You say we are getting gouged yet even the Republicans have admitted the budget has been cut to the bone.

So what exactly should we be doing differently? Do we stop our pension obligations? Sorry but the courts will certainly side with the retirees and require our state to pay no matter what. Do we cut transportation spending? We haven’t raised the gas tax in more than 20 years. Do we end social programs? That doesn’t work since the state will still be obligated to provide some services so cuts will be minor at best. Do we cut our legal services? With crime down it has been lowered a lot already. Do you want less state police? Less DMV workers? It’s easy to say we need to cut, the hard part is figuring out where. Jay