[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by clutchrider

25% on pension and welfare is crazy.

And another 30% on healthcare. All in, that's over 50% of the budget!

[RunD1987]

Hope I don't come off condescending and mean. I feel XT should let the cities fall if they run out of money. With that said the State should figure ways to help the cities return to a stable economic state.

I will sound like a broken record need to cut spending and less services. Did CT really need a 6 or 8 baseball stadium?

Need to be innovative in regards to welfare and possibly be the first State to increase living wage. Work on ways to increase funding to law enforcement work on lowering crime in CT cities.

Work with local colleges to lower out of state tuition rates to attract out of state students.

Create a county tax that goes to the county. Taxes are capped at 45% and distributedo based off of population. Car taxes will continue to remain capped at 35%. In addition to, cities/towns can include a 10% or less school tax. Cities with 80K or more people can add a 2% monthly tax on renters rental payments. A 5% tax on Police and EMS services for the City. Lower sales tax and do away or create a flat income tax.

Second need to do away with the bitter rivalries between the Parties in the State.

Need to think and come up with innovative ways to attract tourism and money to this State.

[clutchrider]

One issue is that you will never get towns to go along with a "county tax". Personally it's why I DON'T live in a city. They cannot manager their own resources because of welfare and other social programs so why should I pay into their pockets, because you know the money will not be distributed appropriately. I look at it as the cities dug their own holes and continue to spend and handout without trying to reign in and cutback where they should, lesson learned or possibly not.

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by clutchrider

One issue is that you will never get towns to go along with a "county tax". Personally it's why I DON'T live in a city. They cannot manager their own resources because of welfare and other social programs so why should I pay into their pockets, because you know the money will not be distributed appropriately. I look at it as the cities dug their own holes and continue to spend and handout without trying to reign in and cutback where they should, lesson learned or possibly not.

We have this already. Its called the state income tax.

[GoHuskies]

Originally Posted by clutchrider

One issue is that you will never get towns to go along with a "county tax". Personally it's why I DON'T live in a city. They cannot manager their own resources because of welfare and other social programs so why should I pay into their pockets, because you know the money will not be distributed appropriately. I look at it as the cities dug their own holes and continue to spend and handout without trying to reign in and cutback where they should, lesson learned or possibly not.

Unless we start hunger games style force labor camps there will always be a permanent underclass. Someone has to pay for them or they start to starve and turn to crime. Something like 15% of America lives below the Federal poverty line so couple that with millions barely above poverty and that is a huge angry mob.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by ayoskillz

Thats what i dont understand. Ct is one of the most richest states in the u.s but yet broke. Everybody know its a spending problem. Cut back on all these bonuses these top politicians are getting, lay off on doing highway construction and those two things alone alot will save so much money.

Highway construction is mostly funded by the Highway Fund (gas tax) and much of it is funded by federal money. It creates thousands of jobs and thus income taxes. I also is very much needed. The last time we cheaped out on highways we had a bridge fall down. We don't want that do we? Jay

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by RunD1987

Hope I don't come off condescending and mean. I feel XT should let the cities fall if they run out of money. With that said the State should figure ways to help the cities return to a stable economic state.

I will sound like a broken record need to cut spending and less services. Did CT really need a 6 or 8 baseball stadium?

Need to be innovative in regards to welfare and possibly be the first State to increase living wage. Work on ways to increase funding to law enforcement work on lowering crime in CT cities.

Work with local colleges to lower out of state tuition rates to attract out of state students.

Create a county tax that goes to the county. Taxes are capped at 45% and distributedo based off of population. Car taxes will continue to remain capped at 35%. In addition to, cities/towns can include a 10% or less school tax. Cities with 80K or more people can add a 2% monthly tax on renters rental payments. A 5% tax on Police and EMS services for the City. Lower sales tax and do away or create a flat income tax.

Second need to do away with the bitter rivalries between the Parties in the State.

Need to think and come up with innovative ways to attract tourism and money to this State.

The absolute LAST thing we need is a county level of government. That only costs more taxes, not less. Jay

[RunD1987]

Actually cost less for us living in the cities in CT

[hartford_renter]

Originally Posted by GoHuskies

Unless we start hunger games style force labor camps there will always be a permanent underclass. Someone has to pay for them or they start to starve and turn to crime. Something like 15% of America lives below the Federal poverty line so couple that with millions barely above poverty and that is a huge angry mob.

No actually if we took away their welfare check they would just move and get a job

This is the thing no one seems to get when we started welfare under LBJ in 1966 the poverty rate was the same that it is now. Welfare hasn't shrunk poverty it only increases it by creating government dependency.

We didn't have hunger games before 1966 for all of human history. People worked and got jobs and didn't live on a welfare check. GET IT??

Complete bunk. Liberals want to control all the money so they raise taxes through the roof. Its another government failure to add to the list.

[RunD1987]

Off topic...I agree we should change health insurance that encourages people to work via a open health insurance set up by the State. Put 3 yr term limit on welfare and then transition to SSI via a Doctors approval. Can reapply for welfare after a 36 month period when it expires. Create a living minimum state wage that adjust accordingly if one adult, single parent, and so forth.

http://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/09003