[Mr_250]

Just throwing it out there. CT does owe many many monies to pension funds of retirees and it seems like the only job growth in CT is government workers which we will owe pensions too. What is find funny is also many (not all) of the retirees take CT pension fund and move to FL which has no income tax. I hope CT can turn it around.

I don't think an "investment" in rail will do it. I work with Amtrak and they said they can't even fill one train car on the run from New Haven to Springfield, however it does get busy as you get closer to NYC.

Government translation of "investment" - spending money we don't have. I heard that from someone and it laughed.

[Stylo]

Detroit Unemployment Rate 16.0%
Connecticut Unemployment Rate 8.0%

Detroit Deficit as of Jan 2013 $327M out of a $1.1B budget - or 30%
Connecticut Deficit as of Jan 2013 $64.4M (high estimates at $138.6M from OFA) out of a $20.5B budget - or 6.7% at the high estimate

Yeah, not so much.

[KaoCT]

I think Connecticut's unfunded pension liability is cause for concern though.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by KaoCT

I think Connecticut's unfunded pension liability is cause for concern though.

Definitely, same with many states. But Detroit is on another level.

[Mr_250]

Originally Posted by Stylo

Definitely, same with many states. But Detroit is on another level.

Detroit would be an extreme situation. Maybe comparable to CA. I think manufacturing is the key to making CT a viable again. My favorite quote reminds me of CT.

The saying goes: If you play cards with 4 people and everyone has $5. The total max pot that anyone could win is $20. No matter how long you play or how many times the money switches hands it will only be max of $20. This would change if you add another person into the mix and now it's $25 max pot. To me this rings true what CT brings. True, we might have the insurance capital of the world, but none of those companies (not trying to offend anyone) are bringing in "another player" from the outside. You could say that CT companies do business all of the world and that is bringing in money, which is true, but in order to grow you don't need more than desk jobs and Vice Presidents. You need "hard goods" in which others pay direct to the company making them. Insurance companies run many offices all over the Country so all that money from outside sources is coming back to CT just to be paid to CT workers and then paid to the government. So essentially no capital growth is coming from the companies it might come from in the form of consumers but to me "the hard goods manufacturing" is what is needed.

[Stylo]

The US in general has to make more real goods, that's not just a CT problem.

PS: comparing to CA:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-deb...ebt-clock.html
http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-deb...ebt-clock.html

And big surprise, Texas' debt to GDP ratio is higher than CT's.

http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-deb...ebt-clock.html

As well as Florida's:

http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-deb...ebt-clock.html

[Mr_250]

Those are pretty cool sites. I never saw those before.

[jaydez]

What i found more surprising is that TX had 15.7% of their poulation on food stamps while CT only has 12.1% on food stamps. Looks like TX is building its shell economy on low paying jobs.

[DarkWolf]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

Just throwing it out there. CT does owe many many monies to pension funds of retirees and it seems like the only job growth in CT is government workers which we will owe pensions too. What is find funny is also many (not all) of the retirees take CT pension fund and move to FL which has no income tax. I hope CT can turn it around.

I don't think an "investment" in rail will do it. I work with Amtrak and they said they can't even fill one train car on the run from New Haven to Springfield, however it does get busy as you get closer to NYC.

Government translation of "investment" - spending money we don't have. I heard that from someone and it laughed.

Amtrak has been bursting at the seems on the shuttles and Vermonter...it would be higher if they ran Metro North style service with distance based fares and not pre-booked fares. Most Dual Corridors in the Northeast that Amtrak services , the Regional Rail that services more towns and comes every 20-45mins all day gets 50% more ridership then Amtrak. The Knowledge Corridor plan shifts the Vermonter to more populated cities in Western Mass and year round tourist areas to say it would flop would be wrong. There also adding 6 daily trips and a Regional Rail service which will service the small and large towns along the I-91 corridor which will have a huge impact..

[BPt111]

Bridgeport = Baby Detroit