[RonaldusMagnus]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

When is the WSJ going to do their analysis of the state of Kansas tax experiment ? LOL if progressive/ liberal and regressive/conservative tax polices don't work, what polices do work?

I'm sure the WSJ will get right on that.

They also had the nerve to say that Malloy raised the top tier tax rate from 6.5% to 6.99%. LOL what are the high income earners going to do now ? Holy cow how will they survive a .49% increase. Maybe they will have to go pick up cans on the side of the road to make ends meet. I feel sorry for them.

P.S. when is everyone going to leave CT ? Should be any day now. Can't wait to have the place to myself with traffic free roads. Maybe I can finally drive from Hartford to NYC in 2 hours.

WSJ has done many pieces on Kansas (it truly amazes me how often Kansas is the comp to CT on these forums for some). But this is a CT forum. If you feel the article does not fit with your reality that is your right, but your case would be stronger if you could counter with some facts instead of snark. You know the old saying, "don't believe your lying eyes"...

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

When is the WSJ going to do their analysis of the state of Kansas tax experiment ? LOL if progressive/ liberal and regressive/conservative tax polices don't work, what polices do work?

I'm sure the WSJ will get right on that.

They also had the nerve to say that Malloy raised the top tier tax rate from 6.5% to 6.99%. LOL what are the high income earners going to do now ? Holy cow how will they survive a .49% increase. Maybe they will have to go pick up cans on the side of the road to make ends meet. I feel sorry for them.

P.S. when is everyone going to leave CT ? Should be any day now. Can't wait to have the place to myself with traffic free roads. Maybe I can finally drive from Hartford to NYC in 2 hours.

I don't see anyone advocating for CT to become Kansas, but rather for CT to be more like the other economically thriving states. There is a happy medium somewhere in the middle of the extremes of KS and CT.

[RonaldusMagnus]

Someone linked the CT only page of this study earlier in the thread.

Here is CT within context of all the states from the same study: Ranking the States by Fiscal Condition 2016 Edition | Mercatus

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Vandy-bound

I think the Mercatus data analysis is pretty compelling. And the results across the country seem to jive fairly well with what others have already said. Long-term solvency is a critical issue in CT (and IL--which surprisingly to me came in ahead of IL). The only category in which CT was ranked average is in service level solvency.

Quote from Mercatus: "Service-level solvency measures how high taxes, revenues, and spending are when compared to state personal income. Do states have enough “fiscal slack”? If spending commitments demand more revenues, are states in a good position to increase taxes without harming the economy? Is spending high or low relative to the tax base? (Connecticut ranks 27th.)"

And that's the highest ranking CT has in the categories ranked by Mercatus. When you look across the state at overall population trends (not just move in/move out, but age demographics too), it seems to me that CT will continue to have solvency issues for the foreseeable future. While I appreciate several of the good things about CT, the financial climate is not one of them.

The one thing that the Mercatus data does not take into account is that Connecticut does not have a county level of government like other states. The state assumes all county-level duties so of course on the state level our burden is higher and looks worse. To do a true comparison, they should be looking at a combined finances. I have actually emailed the authors of this article to point this out and ask if they gave this any consideration. It will be interesting to see if they respond. Jay

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by Henry10

Sound fiscal, and pro-growth policies work.

Secondly, don't join the echo-chamber of left-wing useful idiots, who keep repeating the same thing on Kansas like drones.

Here is another point of view -- Cutting Taxes has helped, not hurt, Kansas | The Maine Heritage Policy Center

And I'll stop because this is off-topic, but not too off-topic since CT is on the other spectrum from Kansas. Comparing Kansas to CT is as relevant as comparing a ballerina to a sumo wrestler.

Kansas is the perfect comparison because it is the Republican party's wet dream of a business and business owner's (job creators) tax free wet dream. If it worked every state in the country would emulate them.

They would also have an influx of people and business due to the low taxes. Every one here says people and businesses are leaving because of high taxes. So, if taxes are so important why don' they move to KS ?

It's also strange that you would cite an organization (Maine Heritage Policy Center) that is aligned with the Koch Bros et al. These state level organizations have infiltrated many state politics such as NC, KS, FL, TX, WI to name just a few.

At least most people in CT are smart enough to make the connections and these types of organizations backed by the Koch Bros. et al will never gain traction here.

[BPt111]

CT News Junkie | Stubborn Deficit Remains In This Year’s Budget

[RonaldusMagnus]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Kansas is the perfect comparison because it is the Republican party's wet dream of a business and business owner's (job creators) tax free wet dream. If it worked every state in the country would emulate them.

They would also have an influx of people and business due to the low taxes. Every one here says people and businesses are leaving because of high taxes. So, if taxes are so important why don' they move to KS ?

It's also strange that you would cite an organization (Maine Heritage Policy Center) that is aligned with the Koch Bros et al. These state level organizations have infiltrated many state politics such as NC, KS, FL, TX, WI to name just a few.

At least most people in CT are smart enough to make the connections and these types of organizations backed by the Koch Bros. et al will never gain traction here.

Not "everyone on here". Facts say that. Choosing to ignore the facts bc they make you uncomfortable doesnt make the fact any less true.

It makes no logical sense that people should move from CT to KS--first of all the state income tax difference is not very much compared to the allure of say FL. When studies are done to determine how taxation affects populations they are usually done when two states share a border. For example, gas stations on the New Jersey/ New York border near Mahwah NJ. Cigarette taxes between Illinois/Missouri. Those studies show without question that yes indeed, taxes affect behavior.

Or in this case Kansas shares a border with Missouri so lets look at state income tax and its recent effects:
On Kansas side of the divide, the top personal income-tax rate is now 4.9%, beginning at $15,000 for single filers; in Missouri the top 6% rate starts at $9,000.

The results? Over the past two calendar years, private-sector jobs increased by 5.6% on the Kansas side and only 2.2% on the Missouri. In the same period hourly wages grew $1.22 on the Kansas side, compared with $0.61 on the Missouri side.

I'm a living example of a person who lives in NY now about to make the decision of where to move my family and raise kids. CT has some lure bc lower relative property taxes (hmm, i thought taxes didnt matter), but without question and doubt if CT had ZERO income tax the decision would be made in a heartbeat--on one side of border 6.7% and the other 0%? Seriously? You think that has no sway? Anecdotal, yes, but indicative of the thought process of upwardly mobile people states WANT coming to them. My peers represent the demographic that fuel prosperity in states.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

The one thing that the Mercatus data does not take into account is that Connecticut does not have a county level of government like other states. The state assumes all county-level duties so of course on the state level our burden is higher and looks worse. To do a true comparison, they should be looking at a combined finances. I have actually emailed the authors of this article to point this out and ask if they gave this any consideration. It will be interesting to see if they respond. Jay

Wow, this was fast! As I noted, I emailed the authors of the Mercatus comparison and I got an email back from one of them, Eileen Norcross, finding it "interesting" that our state has no county level of government and "will give some thought". As I said, this could make a difference or at least should be noted in their study. Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

Kansas is the perfect comparison because it is the Republican party's wet dream of a business and business owner's (job creators) tax free wet dream. If it worked every state in the country would emulate them.

They would also have an influx of people and business due to the low taxes. Every one here says people and businesses are leaving because of high taxes. So, if taxes are so important why don' they move to KS ?

It's also strange that you would cite an organization (Maine Heritage Policy Center) that is aligned with the Koch Bros et al. These state level organizations have infiltrated many state politics such as NC, KS, FL, TX, WI to name just a few.

At least most people in CT are smart enough to make the connections and these types of organizations backed by the Koch Bros. et al will never gain traction here.

I have a new coworker that moved here to Connecticut because "Kansas is a mess". Her words, not mine. She could not find a job there, just like nep321 could not find a job in the supposedly booming Columbus, Ohio area. Jay

[RonaldusMagnus]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I have a new coworker that moved here to Connecticut because "Kansas is a mess". Her words, not mine. She could not find a job there, just like nep321 could not find a job in the supposedly booming Columbus, Ohio area. Jay

Unemployment rates:

CT: 5.7%
KS: 3.8%