[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Stepfordct

Understood. We have seen big box eliminate many small m & p businesses. To witness Malloy change laws to help out of state businesses come in to do it makes you wonder. Massachusetts doesn't charge sales tax or have the huge sin tax CT does which largely accounts for cheaper pricing. Adding more hours and Sunday hours was I'm sure driven by Madd!?
Allowing owners to now own up to 6 locations where before it was 2 or 3. Who does this help?
Total Wine sells private label wines which allows them to circumvent min pricing laws. When these stores go out who will raise prices.
The liquor laws in CT we're archaic, true. But many CT families built thier business around it.
Malloy is no friend of business.

So you want to continue state-sanctioned racketeering so politically connected locals with liquor licenses can price gouge off of the rest of us.

I mostly buy my spirits in New Hampshire. It's generally cheaper than the high volume Massachusetts liquor stores for the things I buy and I can comparison shop using their web site.

Meh. I'm typically only in Connecticut a couple days per week. I never buy gasoline in the state. It's really unusual for me to buy alcohol in the state. With other retail things, the sales tax is competitive. I'll buy in tax-free New Hampshire if it's convenient but I'm not going to sweat the sales tax in the other New England states.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by LMPA

It was 32 in 2015, and dropped 11 spots to 43 in just one year.

For anyone interested in the whole report:

2015: http://www.beaconhill.org/Compete15/Compete2015.pdf

2016: http://www.beaconhill.org/Compete16/...WebVersion.pdf

So when saw that a person from TN made the above post I did a little digging on Beacon Hill.
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.ph...Hill_Institute

"SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 49 states, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. ............The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders."

The Beacon Hill Institute and the SPN are connected.

PS: Education is the key and require funding. States with the best and worst schools.
http://247wallst.com/special-report/...st-schools-4/8

CT #6
TN #35

I would like to point this out to my fellow Nutmeggers. Before we envy states with rock bottom taxes, do we really want what they have? Do we want #35 schools.

[Stepfordct]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

So you want to continue state-sanctioned racketeering so politically connected locals with liquor licenses can price gouge off of the rest of us.

I mostly buy my spirits in New Hampshire. It's generally cheaper than the high volume Massachusetts liquor stores for the things I buy and I can comparison shop using their web site.

Meh. I'm typically only in Connecticut a couple days per week. I never buy gasoline in the state. It's really unusual for me to buy alcohol in the state. With other retail things, the sales tax is competitive. I'll buy in tax-free New Hampshire if it's convenient but I'm not going to sweat the sales tax in the other New England states.

Know many liquor store owners, none of them are politically connected in the least. Many are emigrants from other countries. The connected you speak of are the owners of Total wine who donated to Malloy. If the existing owners were so powerful this discussion wouldn't exist!

[LMPA]

Originally Posted by CTartist

So when saw that a person from TN made the above post I did a little digging on Beacon Hill.
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.ph...Hill_Institute

"SPN is a web of right-wing “think tanks” and tax-exempt organizations in 49 states, Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., Canada, and the United Kingdom. ............The Powerful Right-Wing Network Helping to Hijack State Politics and Government," reveals that SPN and its member think tanks are major drivers of the right-wing, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)-backed corporate agenda in state houses nationwide, with deep ties to the Koch brothers and the national right-wing network of funders."

The Beacon Hill Institute and the SPN are connected.

PS: Education is the key and require funding. States with the best and worst schools.
States With the Best (and Worst) Schools - 24/7 Wall St.

CT #6
TN #35

I would like to point this out to my fellow Nutmeggers. Before we envy states with rock bottom taxes, do we really want what they have? Do we want #35 schools.

There are more problems then just taxes - job growth being just one of them.. and highest electricity costs, highest gas taxes, highest real estate taxes.

As stated multiple times, each person has different priorities at different stages of their life. Education is not one of mine. Criticizing another state doesn't change the problems that Connecticut has.

I have many family members that live in New England. Connecticut's success is important to me.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by LMPA

There are more problems then just taxes - job growth being just one of them.. and highest electricity costs, highest gas taxes, highest real estate taxes.

Of course we would have higher taxes. We have higher incomes and we need to pay the workers an appropriate wage commensurate with what everyone else is making.

Originally Posted by LMPA

As stated multiple times, each person has different priorities at different stages of their life. Education is not one of mine.

Education is ALWAYS important at every stage of life. I had a good education in CT and as I grow older I want the generations after me to get good educations no matter where I go. The kids EVERYWHERE are the future of our country, not to mention they are going to be paying for our retirement. Don't you want all the children in the country to have good educations and good incomes in the future?

[LMPA]

Originally Posted by CTartist

Of course we would have higher taxes. We have higher incomes and we need to pay the workers an appropriate wage commensurate with what everyone else is making.




Education is ALWAYS important at every stage of life. I had a good education in CT and as I grow older I want the generations after me to get good educations no matter where I go. The kids EVERYWHERE are the future of our country, not to mention they are going to be paying for our retirement. Don't you want all the children in the country to have good educations and good incomes in the future?

It's obvious you want to nitpick and Connecticut is perfect and we should not have dialogue about things that are hindering growth. You act as if I am personally insulting a family member!

Of course education is important, my point was I would not be picking my state/town or district based on school systems. My priorities have shifted in my 50's. Paying high taxes on essentially everything isn't making businesses or people move to CT, and it is not improving job growth! There are hundred of statistics that show CT is not growing at the same pace as other areas of the country.

All states have their strengths and weaknesses, and your inability to see the issues CT is facing is part of the problem.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by LMPA

There are more problems then just taxes - job growth being just one of them.. and highest electricity costs, highest gas taxes, highest real estate taxes.

As stated multiple times, each person has different priorities at different stages of their life. Education is not one of mine. Criticizing another state doesn't change the problems that Connecticut has.

I have many family members that live in New England. Connecticut's success is important to me.

Connecticut no longer has the highest gas taxes. Many states have upped their taxes to increase revenue. It is No. 6 (it may be even lower since I can't find a 2018 list) which is not bad considering we do not have tolls. Jay

https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/p...tml/?a=viewall

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by LMPA

There are more problems then just taxes - job growth being just one of them.. and highest electricity costs, highest gas taxes, highest real estate taxes.

I will give you big problem, crime.

The lower the score the safer the state.
https://wallethub.com/edu/safest-states-to-live-in/4566

#7 CT
#35 TN

That all comes back to education spending.


Job Growth. I would measure that with incomes. Do we want low income jobs or high income jobs. If TN is having job growth in minimum wage jobs what is so good about that?

Median HH income.
https://www.advisorperspectives.com/...ok-at-the-data

CT $72,889 (unemployment rate 4.6%)
TN $47,330 (unemployment rate 3.1%)

I believe that full employment is considered 5%

Once again it comes back to education spending.

To my fellow Nutmeggers...before we envy the states with very low taxes let us consider what that brings.

[Scottamemnon]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Connecticut no longer has the highest gas taxes. Many states have upped their taxes to increase revenue. It is No. 6 (it may be even lower since I can't find a 2018 list) which is not bad considering we do not have tolls. Jay

https://www.cheatsheet.com/culture/p...tml/?a=viewall

That no toll road thing is a biggie. The south has some GREAT roads... but they are almost all toll roads. Tolls that never seem to go away, even when the bonds are paid off. That is because they let private companies build roads and then get the right to put tolls on it forever.. they are not controlled by the government instead.

Look at Dallas for an example of a toll system gone mad. To live in those great suburbs, you often need to take these toll roads, which adds quite a bit to your monthly budget. Of course they have no income tax which offsets it, but the amount it offsets seems to be shrinking each year as more fees, tolls, and property tax increases hit.

This is saying a lot, because I have been a bit of a Texas cheerleader in the past, but its starting to show some major flaws in the affordability side.

[CTartist]

The most/least educated states.
https://wallethub.com/edu/most-educated-states/31075

The most educated is #1 (which is high tax MA btw)

#4 CT
#43 TN

So my fellow Nutmeggers, do we want to emulate low tax state TN and end up as one of the least educated states?.....Be careful what you wish for, you may get it.

PS: scroll further down and look at the chart that compares education to incomes. CT, MA and MD is tops for education/income is there was any doubt in anyone's mind. And of course TN is at the other end of the spectrum.

I am thinking about all of these metrics I am finding and I am almost convincing myself to become a Democrat lol.