[Sigequinox]

Originally Posted by CTartist

Your job in SC is an anomaly if true. This figure tells me so: SC 2015 HH income: $46,360.

You can't just make a statement like that, where are the details. I was born in CT but I think like a person from MO, "show me". I don't believe that your job pays $10,000 more in SC.

Plenty of jobs pay 10k more in southern states. Especially true in STEM fields where there's not pools of qualified and over qualified people applying to them daily.

The difference becomes more profound as skill scarcity and/or experience increase. Many more variables obviously, such as how much the conpany(s) can afford, but even between start ups in south or a Goliath elsewhere, 10k isn't a break the bank difference.

[SAE72]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

This is all about labor costs. Those are four low cost of living states. If you're in a high cost of living place, the jobs have to be very high value-add or they'll eventually move to a place with lower labor costs. Connecticut, like metro Boston, is a very high value add economy. If you aren't capable of a job where you have a high value-add, you're going to struggle since you're competing for housing and services with others who have those kinds of jobs and compensation. If all you're capable of doing is bagging groceries, you're way better off doing that in TX, FL, SC, or NC than Connecticut where the cost of living is so high. The average person with no college education or a near-useless degree mill college education kind of has to move. The people who don't move are the poor trapped in the failed urban areas. Before the LBJ Great Society, the poor were very mobile. They moved to where the low skill jobs were. Connecticut doesn't have those so they're trapped in the safety net which isn't portable to a TX, FL, SC, or NC. If you want to fix that problem, you either make all those programs Federal so the poor can move or you do today's Republican thing and completely kill the safety net and roll the clock back to 1955.

" The average person with no college education or a near - useless degree mill college education kind of has to move "


This is nonsense. 65 % of the people in CT do not have a College Degree.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by ayoskillz

I disagree with this. These other states have high cost living areas also. Ct is not the only high cost place. For example Daniel island in Charleston or mt.pleasant sc. You can bag grocery and live there. Maybe living in rural areas but once you get to the city area many southern cities are on par or above ct cities. State wide ct does exceed but that because it's very small and very populated vs state like tx where you can drive 6+hours and not run into 1 city.

No job making $9 is going to move from ct thinking they can pay the same or less in Charlotte because no one will apply. Like I said before I left my job in ct for the same company in sc but pays 10k more and more days off. Jobs can pay more because taxes are low so they are still making a huge profit paying someone more money than in ct

I doubt some making $9.00 an hour can afford to live in Daniel Island or Charleston unless they are in subsidized housing (is there even subsidized housing in Daniel Island?). The median rental price is about $1,800 per month which is comparable to parts of Connecticut. Mount Pleasant is even higher ($1,950). These are in line with Milford's ($1,850) or Shelton's ($1,900) and a lot higher than say West Hartford ($1,450). Jay

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by cttransplant85

The politicians in CT just do not have the political will power to say no to constituents.

That doesn't make any sense. Do you say "no" to your employer? Especially if you're trying to get re-hired every other year?

Originally Posted by ads94

The thing with county governments is that they work perfectly for places with no other extant governments. My land in Florida is not part of any incorporated town, it is only a CDP. With no town/city to provide services, the county does an excellent job of managing fire, water, sewer, schools, pest control, ect. as you would expect from any other government. My county has a population of around 150,000. Area is about the same as New Haven County. New Haven County has a population of about 850,000. At that high of a population density, it is far more practicable for the functions currently delegated to the towns (eg, all of them) to remain that way, instead go down a path of consolidation of services.

The one argument for counties is that the consolidation that comes with them is mostly very efficient. We have had a consistent $20 million surplus out of a budget of about $600m including schools. Mill rate is just over 16 on everything. Places like Waterbury, New Haven, Hartford would do well with consolidation, might lower mill rates in those places.

Although these arguments to consolidate Govts appear logical, they are illogical because they do not take into account the nature of Govt.

Does anybody really believe that CT politicians will keep the surpluses? So far they haven't.

Originally Posted by GeoffD

If you want to fix that problem, you either make all those programs Federal so the poor can move or you do today's Republican thing and completely kill the safety net and roll the clock back to 1955.

Like to see some proof that Republicans are looking to COMPLETELY kill welfare. Regurgitating opinions of left-wing propaganda does not constitute "proof." Go ahead...

[ayoskillz]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I doubt some making $9.00 an hour can afford to live in Daniel Island or Charleston unless they are in subsidized housing (is there even subsidized housing in Daniel Island?). The median rental price is about $1,800 per month which is comparable to parts of Connecticut. Mount Pleasant is even higher ($1,950). These are in line with Milford's ($1,850) or Shelton's ($1,900) and a lot higher than say West Hartford ($1,450). Jay

Yes ment to say you "can't" but wouldnt let me edit it

[GoHuskies]

Originally Posted by Henry10

Like to see some proof that Republicans are looking to COMPLETELY kill welfare. Regurgitating opinions of left-wing propaganda does not constitute "proof." Go ahead...

Compartmentalize.

Keep the wealthy town tax dollars in house spending on things like fancy parks. Keep the poor town tax dollars in house trying desperately to support local welfare and crappy school systems. This is what the south does and it's why southern cities look like shining beacons of prosperity. The state of TN has plenty of poverty but it's kept outside the affluent burbs where the rich residents don't have to pay for it.

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by GoHuskies

Compartmentalize.

Keep the wealthy town tax dollars in house spending on things like fancy parks.

Who says that we're supposed to do wealth re-distribution? Who said that's a premise? If so, how is that working out for CT?

Originally Posted by GoHuskies

Keep the poor town tax dollars in house trying desperately to support local welfare and crappy school systems.

It's like that because Democrats like it that way. They've been running CT cities for decades. But of course, blaming others works...

Originally Posted by GoHuskies

This is what the south does and it's why southern cities look like shining beacons of prosperity. The state of TN has plenty of poverty but it's kept outside the affluent burbs where the rich residents don't have to pay for it.

Rich cities and poor villages -- that started 5000 years ago.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by Henry10

Who says that we're supposed to do wealth re-distribution? Who said that's a premise? If so, how is that working out for CT?

It's not, what it does is completely kill labor mobility for the bottom 25% of the population. The safety net is administered at the state level. If you're in Section 8 housing with Medicaid and food stamps in Connecticut, you can't move out of state or those benefits will vaporize. For the most part, that permanent socioeconomic underclass population moved to Connecticut for unskilled labor jobs 60 years ago. The jobs vanished and they didn't move to the places that still have unskilled labor jobs.

Originally Posted by Henry10

Rich cities and poor villages -- that started 5000 years ago.

These days, that's largely inverted. Poor people live in cities where there's cheap and available housing. There are some exceptions but they're vastly outnumbered by poor cities.

[hvexpatinct]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

This is all about labor costs. Those are four low cost of living states. If you're in a high cost of living place, the jobs have to be very high value-add or they'll eventually move to a place with lower labor costs. Connecticut, like metro Boston, is a very high value add economy. If you aren't capable of a job where you have a high value-add, you're going to struggle since you're competing for housing and services with others who have those kinds of jobs and compensation. If all you're capable of doing is bagging groceries, you're way better off doing that in TX, FL, SC, or NC than Connecticut where the cost of living is so high. The average person with no college education or a near-useless degree mill college education kind of has to move. The people who don't move are the poor trapped in the failed urban areas. Before the LBJ Great Society, the poor were very mobile. They moved to where the low skill jobs were. Connecticut doesn't have those so they're trapped in the safety net which isn't portable to a TX, FL, SC, or NC. If you want to fix that problem, you either make all those programs Federal so the poor can move or you do today's Republican thing and completely kill the safety net and roll the clock back to 1955.

Great post. And it is true for the most part. I feel like everyone I know who hasn't left is either a municipal employee, in allied health, or either highly skilled or highly educated (attorneys, actuaries, certain types of tech). Anyone who got a humanities degree at Western or Central and works a standard individual contributor job was outta here for NC 10 years ago.

[RunD1987]

You can't really place blame on anyone for CT's financial disaster. CT was riding a wave of a strong economy in the 80's and then CT was hit hard in the early 90s. Never really recovered since. Add in expansion of power in the State and too many hands in the pot trying to fix CT's financial state. Add in incone tax Government thought it was the solution didn't curtail any spending.

Issue is CT doesn't address where it's budget is spent. Doesn't make reforms to pensions & is afraid of Union. Unions have too much influence in CT's Government. State makes cuts but cuts to vital services in the State that are akready stretched thin. Doesn't do much to help growth of businesses. Raises taxes to temporarily fix States budget woes, but has a negative impact on State residents.

Tough to lure large corporations to the State or set up your own niche with jobs in the State due to being surrounded by Boston and NYC.