[CTartist]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

CT is 33.
https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

CT has a 4.5% unemployment rate. An unemployment rate under 5% is considered full employment by the federal government. Wow, that looks good to me. I did not know it was that low.

"The Federal Reserve considers a base unemployment rate (the U-3 rate) of 5.0 to 5.2 percent as "full employment" in the economy."
https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

I would say the problem in CT is pretty simple, spending more than their income. I wish I was the Governor, I would just cut everything (including salaries and benefits) equally across the board until spending comes into line with income. Everybody getting a paycheck courtesy of the CT taxpayers needs to feel the pain equally. Just like households all over CT have to do.

[NCOriolesfan]

Originally Posted by BobNJ1960

I agree, however the gap between an above average national economy and a putrid Ct economy seems at its peak now. Under Malloy.

True. Malloy inherited a screwed up situation and failed at fixing it. I don't believe the U.S. economy is anywhere near as strong as is reported. I worked for a major tire manufacturer back in the early 2000's. I had recruiters cold calling me asking if I was interested in changing companies. I haven't heard of that happening since.

[ads94]

Originally Posted by CTartist

I wish I was the Governor, I would just cut everything (including salaries and benefits) equally across the board until spending comes into line with income. Everybody getting a paycheck courtesy of the CT taxpayers needs to feel the pain equally. Just like households all over CT have to do.

About ~50% of the budget cannot legally be cut. Another ~30% is Medicaid and aid to the towns. You can cut those but they are similar to a third rail. This is why balancing the budget is so hard. There's things that simply cannot be touched.

[murk mags]

How do you get out of something like this? People and businesses are fleeing... the people that put into the state coffers via taxes. The ones that collect welfare seem to stay and obviously they put very little, if anything into the system. If we keep raising taxes, more people will keep moving out. We keep cutting funding, people will find another place to live.
Property taxes in the Waterbury area are insane... 10.5K/year. The same sized house in Texas with 20 acres and you're paying like 1000/year.
How do you entice somebody to stay in the state when there are other options? There are many "For Sale" signs about. Many people I have talked to either say they are def moving or would like to move. It's very sad because this state back years ago was a great place to live. The scenery is awesome here too, and the proximity to NYC and Boston make it great for businesses.
The main thing is, how do you entice people to stay here? How do you keep businesses in the state? It's true that going to live elsewhere, especially the south, you'll probably make less. However, this is made up easily by saving on taxes. I did a quick cost of living calculator here on Citydata. I compared Waterbury and Tyler, TX. If I made 60k here, I'd only have to make 35k in Tyler to continue to live at my current standard. Another calculator I did on nerd wallet, I compared Hartford to Tyler. I'd need to make 45k in Tyler to continue to live my current lifestyle on 60k in Hartford.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-l...haven-vs-tyler

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by murk mags

How do you get out of something like this? People and businesses are fleeing... the people that put into the state coffers via taxes. The ones that collect welfare seem to stay and obviously they put very little, if anything into the system. If we keep raising taxes, more people will keep moving out. We keep cutting funding, people will find another place to live.
Property taxes in the Waterbury area are insane... 10.5K/year. The same sized house in Texas with 20 acres and you're paying like 1000/year.
How do you entice somebody to stay in the state when there are other options? There are many "For Sale" signs about. Many people I have talked to either say they are def moving or would like to move. It's very sad because this state back years ago was a great place to live. The scenery is awesome here too, and the proximity to NYC and Boston make it great for businesses.
The main thing is, how do you entice people to stay here? How do you keep businesses in the state? It's true that going to live elsewhere, especially the south, you'll probably make less. However, this is made up easily by saving on taxes. I did a quick cost of living calculator here on Citydata. I compared Waterbury and Tyler, TX. If I made 60k here, I'd only have to make 35k in Tyler to continue to live at my current standard. Another calculator I did on nerd wallet, I compared Hartford to Tyler. I'd need to make 45k in Tyler to continue to live my current lifestyle on 60k in Hartford.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-l...haven-vs-tyler

Then leave. There is a reason things here are expensive and things in rural Texas are so cheap. If you do not understand that, then you should educate yourself and/or do something about it more than just complain. Jay

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by ads94

About ~50% of the budget cannot legally be cut. Another ~30% is Medicaid and aid to the towns. You can cut those but they are similar to a third rail. This is why balancing the budget is so hard. There's things that simply cannot be touched.

I am an Independent, we don't have a third rail. Cut aid to the towns the same percentage as everything else. Like I said everyone feels the pain. Then some the employees in those towns get pay cuts too. I would have to study the medicaid situation before I can comment on it. But here is one thing I would do. Change the look back time a person can give their children money or a house an entire lifetime. I know too many wealthy people who make themselves "poor" and their children are retaining the assets for them and the truly needy to not get help.



My first Selectman Tim Herbst fixed our pension mess in Trumbull. Now all of the employees put in their own money to the pensions. That was considered a third rail that could not be touched/changed. Tim Herbst is running for Governor.

[ads94]

Originally Posted by CTartist

I am an Independent, we don't have a third rail. Cut aid to the towns the same percentage as everything else. Like I said everyone feels the pain. Then some the employees in those towns get pay cuts too. I would have to study the medicaid situation before I can comment on it. But here is one thing I would do. Change the look back time a person can give their children money or a house an entire lifetime. I know too many wealthy people who make themselves "poor" and their children are retaining the assets for them and the truly needy to not get help.



My first Selectman Tim Herbst fixed our pension mess in Trumbull. Now all of the employees put in their own money to the pensions. That was considered a third rail that could not be touched/changed. Tim Herbst is running for Governor.

That's not how budget cuts work. The majority of state aid to towns goes towards schools. When the state cuts this, the only thing the towns will do is... raise taxes, making our already high property taxes even worse.

It is my understanding that most, if not all, state and town employees of any note (e.g. salaried ones) are covered by contracts, union or otherwise. These are not things you can just say "we are cutting!" and then go to town on them.

There is no way to make "everyone feel the pain." SEBAC has an ironclad agreement that we cannot just toss out. By slashing everything else without making any revenue increases, you will get to the point where Connecticut's budget is 80% employee benefits, 10% debt payments, and 10% "other," to make qualify of life in the state miserable.

Trumbull's pension issue, something I do not know much about, may or may not be comparable to the problem Connecticut is in. State employees already contribute to their pensions. The issue is that we haven't been saving for 80 years. I'm not exactly sure one man who fixed one town can magic away the problems of four generations.

[hvexpatinct]

Originally Posted by murk mags

How do you get out of something like this? People and businesses are fleeing... the people that put into the state coffers via taxes. The ones that collect welfare seem to stay and obviously they put very little, if anything into the system. If we keep raising taxes, more people will keep moving out. We keep cutting funding, people will find another place to live.
Property taxes in the Waterbury area are insane... 10.5K/year. The same sized house in Texas with 20 acres and you're paying like 1000/year.
How do you entice somebody to stay in the state when there are other options? There are many "For Sale" signs about. Many people I have talked to either say they are def moving or would like to move. It's very sad because this state back years ago was a great place to live. The scenery is awesome here too, and the proximity to NYC and Boston make it great for businesses.
The main thing is, how do you entice people to stay here? How do you keep businesses in the state? It's true that going to live elsewhere, especially the south, you'll probably make less. However, this is made up easily by saving on taxes. I did a quick cost of living calculator here on Citydata. I compared Waterbury and Tyler, TX. If I made 60k here, I'd only have to make 35k in Tyler to continue to live at my current standard. Another calculator I did on nerd wallet, I compared Hartford to Tyler. I'd need to make 45k in Tyler to continue to live my current lifestyle on 60k in Hartford.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/cost-of-l...haven-vs-tyler

I'm pretty familiar with east Texas, and I would say the COL calculator is only a small piece of the entire story of living there. The healthcare and school infrastructure are in shambles, it is culturally a different planet, and the lack of state regulation does not have a protective effect on that part of TX. You truly do get what you pay for.

There are far better places to live in CT than Waterbury and the quality of life vs COL is not exponentially different either.

[murk mags]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Then leave. There is a reason things here are expensive and things in rural Texas are so cheap. If you do not understand that, then you should educate yourself and/or do something about it more than just complain. Jay

I am leaving, actively looking for property there. I wouldn't call Tyler Texas a "rural area", as it has the population of Waterbury. There are also many other populated areas where property tax is cheap. Don't see the point in paying 10x on property taxes here than I would elsewhere. I don't feel like I get anything for my tax dollars. There is a saying: "To each their own." Even culturally, I'd fit in much better in TX than I do here.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hvexpatinct

I'm pretty familiar with east Texas, and I would say the COL calculator is only a small piece of the entire story of living there. The healthcare and school infrastructure are in shambles, it is culturally a different planet, and the lack of state regulation does not have a protective effect on that part of TX. You truly do get what you pay for.

There are far better places to live in CT than Waterbury and the quality of life vs COL is not exponentially different either.

I agree. And yes, there are better places to live in Connecticut with lower taxes than Waterbury. But people seem to think it is strictly black and white which is just not true. Jay