The Connecticut Republican convention is finishing up as I write this. I'm not supporting any particular candidate. I'm more interested in hearing, in detail, from both the Republican and Democrat candidates how they propose to get the state government back on track here. After all, recent Connecticut history is a cautionary tale for every state in the Union.
Fifty years ago, Connecticut had no state income tax. The state had the only locations in the New York City metropolitan region where that was true. As a result, there was a big movement of large companies from New York City to Fairfield County, mostly to Stamford and also, to a lesser extent, to Greenwich. At the time Stamford was a run down old industrial city that needed a top-to-bottom overhaul. As the corporations moved into Stamford, the central business district changed from old run-down low rise buildings to a vibrant district filled with offices, apartments and retail locations. Things got better and better. For the fifteen years between 1975 and 1990, Connecticut had the fastest growing level of personal income of any state in the country.
In 1991, Connecticut adopted an income tax which was signed into law by then governor Lowell Weiker, and former liberal Republican who became an Independent. The rate was low at first, but the state had given up the one thing that gave it a key advantage in attracting companies to locate here. No longer was this the place to be for a company that wanted to locate in the NY metro area but which also wanted to avoid the ruinous taxes that were in every other portion of that metropolitan region. It didn't take long for the income tax rate to start rising. In the last decade and a half, the rate has gotten really high as it continues to rise. And the result has also been predictable. Personal income which used to soar ahead of all the other states when there was no income tax just stopped growing much at all. In the last 15 years, Connecticut has been 48th, 49th or 50th in personal income growth each year. Stellar growth turned to stagnation.
The change in the state's economic fortunes seems to have had no impact on the legislature and the governor. Dan Malloy, who is finishing his eighth year in office signed the two biggest tax increases in state history. Meanwhile, people keep leaving the state and economic growth is a stranger. The answer from Malloy and the Democrats who have controlled the Legislature all this time is to spend more and to raise taxes more. They seem clueless. For the last week or so, Malloy has been bragging that the state's reserve fund, called the rainy day fund, now has just under a billion dollars in it while it was empty when he took office eight years ago. This proves that when it comes to economics, Malloy is brain dead. Think about it. In the last eight years, Malloy and the Democrats have raised taxes in Connecticut by more than 20 billion dollars. The economy has stayed stagnant all that time, and people have left the state in droves, but Malloy is celebrating that out of the 20 billion in taxes he managed not to spend 1 billion. It's a joke.
The people of Connecticut have started to notice. This state which has been totally Democrat for a long time is seeing elections get closer. In 2016, the Republicans won half the seats in the state senate. Of course, with the vote of the lieutenant governor, the Democrats maintained control of the chamber. In addition, Malloy, who could have run for re-election is retiring; he's seen the polls that make him the nation's governor with the lowest approval rating. He doesn't want to lose, so he's going home.
This year, the election for governor ought to be a clear choice with regard to the future of the economy in Connecticut. A candidate who promises more of the same must be defeated. We need someone who will put the state's house in order. We need someone who will get rid of unnecessary agencies, regulations and expenditures. For example, according to a local think tank, there are about 15 taxes in Connecticut for which the state spend more collecting the tax than it gets from the taxpayers. What's the point of taxing something if it costs the state money to do that. Just imagine repealing those taxes, closing the agencies that collect the tax and saving money. The same is true of all the duplicative agencies and rules that the state continues in place. I was in charge of constructing a new building for an independent school in my town. The total cost of the project was budgeted at 11 million dollars. Of that cost, roughly 35% was for compliance with state regulations governing the construction, regulations that were mostly unnecessary or extremely wasteful.
We need a new governor and legislature that will put the interests of the people in this state ahead of those of the special interests. The state government is not a vehicle for generating jobs and pensions for state workers. Connecticut is getting to the point at which something has to be done before it is too late.
Fifty years ago, Connecticut had no state income tax. The state had the only locations in the New York City metropolitan region where that was true. As a result, there was a big movement of large companies from New York City to Fairfield County, mostly to Stamford and also, to a lesser extent, to Greenwich. At the time Stamford was a run down old industrial city that needed a top-to-bottom overhaul. As the corporations moved into Stamford, the central business district changed from old run-down low rise buildings to a vibrant district filled with offices, apartments and retail locations. Things got better and better. For the fifteen years between 1975 and 1990, Connecticut had the fastest growing level of personal income of any state in the country.
In 1991, Connecticut adopted an income tax which was signed into law by then governor Lowell Weiker, and former liberal Republican who became an Independent. The rate was low at first, but the state had given up the one thing that gave it a key advantage in attracting companies to locate here. No longer was this the place to be for a company that wanted to locate in the NY metro area but which also wanted to avoid the ruinous taxes that were in every other portion of that metropolitan region. It didn't take long for the income tax rate to start rising. In the last decade and a half, the rate has gotten really high as it continues to rise. And the result has also been predictable. Personal income which used to soar ahead of all the other states when there was no income tax just stopped growing much at all. In the last 15 years, Connecticut has been 48th, 49th or 50th in personal income growth each year. Stellar growth turned to stagnation.
The change in the state's economic fortunes seems to have had no impact on the legislature and the governor. Dan Malloy, who is finishing his eighth year in office signed the two biggest tax increases in state history. Meanwhile, people keep leaving the state and economic growth is a stranger. The answer from Malloy and the Democrats who have controlled the Legislature all this time is to spend more and to raise taxes more. They seem clueless. For the last week or so, Malloy has been bragging that the state's reserve fund, called the rainy day fund, now has just under a billion dollars in it while it was empty when he took office eight years ago. This proves that when it comes to economics, Malloy is brain dead. Think about it. In the last eight years, Malloy and the Democrats have raised taxes in Connecticut by more than 20 billion dollars. The economy has stayed stagnant all that time, and people have left the state in droves, but Malloy is celebrating that out of the 20 billion in taxes he managed not to spend 1 billion. It's a joke.
The people of Connecticut have started to notice. This state which has been totally Democrat for a long time is seeing elections get closer. In 2016, the Republicans won half the seats in the state senate. Of course, with the vote of the lieutenant governor, the Democrats maintained control of the chamber. In addition, Malloy, who could have run for re-election is retiring; he's seen the polls that make him the nation's governor with the lowest approval rating. He doesn't want to lose, so he's going home.
This year, the election for governor ought to be a clear choice with regard to the future of the economy in Connecticut. A candidate who promises more of the same must be defeated. We need someone who will put the state's house in order. We need someone who will get rid of unnecessary agencies, regulations and expenditures. For example, according to a local think tank, there are about 15 taxes in Connecticut for which the state spend more collecting the tax than it gets from the taxpayers. What's the point of taxing something if it costs the state money to do that. Just imagine repealing those taxes, closing the agencies that collect the tax and saving money. The same is true of all the duplicative agencies and rules that the state continues in place. I was in charge of constructing a new building for an independent school in my town. The total cost of the project was budgeted at 11 million dollars. Of that cost, roughly 35% was for compliance with state regulations governing the construction, regulations that were mostly unnecessary or extremely wasteful.
We need a new governor and legislature that will put the interests of the people in this state ahead of those of the special interests. The state government is not a vehicle for generating jobs and pensions for state workers. Connecticut is getting to the point at which something has to be done before it is too late.
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