[East of the River]

Originally Posted by Henry10

Here is another interesting chart -- which debunks the idea that more education attainment means less children. "Ouhlala. I am educated now. I can't be bothered with such lowly things, such as having babies." That's baloney.

More women with advanced degrees are having babies now:

Interesting, it shows that it's leveling off a bit but it still shows that higher educational attainment equals less likely to be a parent just that the split is less then it used to be. I assume this would be mostly do to more women getting higher degrees with more varied backgrounds.

You can see the same in this chart here. Again it shows an improving situation but still you have less kids the more your educated.
https://i2.wp.com/cdn.theatlantic.co...fertility4.png

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by East of the River

Interesting, it shows that it's leveling off a bit but it still shows that higher educational attainment equals less likely to be a parent just that the split is less then it used to be. I assume this would be mostly do to more women getting higher degrees with more varied backgrounds.

You can see the same in this chart here. Again it shows an improving situation but still you have less kids the more your educated.
https://i2.wp.com/cdn.theatlantic.co...fertility4.png

No question that women with just high school diploma have more babies that PhDs, but more women with PhDs and Masters have more babies now that in the past, percentage-wise.

Secondly, gap of uneducated vs educated mothers is closing. So it appears that education attainment is playing a decreasing role in motherhood.

[just_because]

Originally Posted by East of the River

Interesting, it shows that it's leveling off a bit but it still shows that higher educational attainment equals less likely to be a parent just that the split is less then it used to be. I assume this would be mostly do to more women getting higher degrees with more varied backgrounds.

You can see the same in this chart here. Again it shows an improving situation but still you have less kids the more your educated.
https://i2.wp.com/cdn.theatlantic.co...fertility4.png

Yes, I think this is due to masters and to a lesser extent PhDs becoming less exclusive. Also, many professions traditionally dominated by women are increasingly requiring or encouraging advanced degrees - e.g. Allied health professions, social work, and of course continued focus for teaching. Also, flexible and online program growth have made these degrees less exclusive to those who can pause work and/or those who are very highly 'career first' in mentality. And this flexibility is less likely to cause a delay in having the first child (and subsequently reducing the number of children).

Anyway, I think that there is a misunderstanding that correlation means cause. In many ways the completion of a bachelor degree is a strong proxy for 'middle class'. Over a huge sample size, it is a strong indication of where you've come from and the values and aspirations that you have. It's certainly not necessarily the case that getting a bachelors, masters or PhD degree CAUSES an individual to not want children or want fewer children.

[CT_Yank]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

The vast majority of these seniors still maintain their home in CT, however switch their residency to FL

I think by vast majority you mean small minority. Seriously, do you really believe most people are in a position to maintain two homes in retirement? Most are scraping whatever they can.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by CT_Yank

I think by vast majority you mean small minority. Seriously, do you really believe most people are in a position to maintain two homes in retirement? Most are scraping whatever they can.

The seniors relocating to Florida are not "scraping by".

[atlanta16]

Wow, there seems to be a lot of misinformed people here. Some of you got it right, Connecticut is in a state of continual decline and this population decrease isn't because of a bunch of "snow birds" changing their tax status. The economy will continue to drop, good high-paying jobs will continue to leave the state and there is no strategy by the government to help turn this around. The state is in so much trouble that even if they do some drastic tax cuts for the business community now, it won't do a thing. The state has a very weak government and will not tackle the major issues around gov't spending, pensions, tax reform etc. The wealthy or upper-middle-class are leaving the state and certainly not growing. There really isn't anything in the pipeline that can possibly change this trajectory. At one time Connecticut was a business friendly state, with so many companies Headquartered here, with no income tax, in between Boston and New York City. If we could have gotten our spending under control and had a government with some type of long-term vision CT would be the envy of the nation. Our real estate values would continue to increase, our young folks wouldn't have to leave the state after graduating from college because of no jobs, etc. but hey, at least You got UCONN hoops! Connecticut will always be my home however I'm glad I am no longer living there. Very sad. Your government did all of us a major disservice

[Lincolnian]

I've got to give Massachussets credit. They have been working to reduce their taxes since 2000. It shows as their unemployment rate hit 2.9% in December and many employers are now concerned about finding workers to fill positions.

Perhaps our leaders should get in their car and take a trip to Boston and have a talk with our northern neighbor.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business...oxK/story.html

They might have some ideas for how to grow our population too!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...YZK/story.html

[Henry10]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

I've got to give Massachussets credit. They have been working to reduce their taxes since 2000. It shows as their unemployment rate hit 2.9% in December and many employers are now concerned about finding workers to fill positions.

Perhaps our leaders should get in their car and take a trip to Boston and have a talk with our northern neighbor.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business...oxK/story.html

They might have some ideas for how to grow our population too!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...YZK/story.html

Very true. They have been going in the opposite direction of CT. I laugh when people still call it Taxachussets. CT is now Connectitax.

[atlanta16]

Originally Posted by Lincolnian

I've got to give Massachussets credit. They have been working to reduce their taxes since 2000. It shows as their unemployment rate hit 2.9% in December and many employers are now concerned about finding workers to fill positions.

Perhaps our leaders should get in their car and take a trip to Boston and have a talk with our northern neighbor.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business...oxK/story.html

They might have some ideas for how to grow our population too!

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...YZK/story.html

Rhode Island is also making the right moves. Their new governor is taking the lead on managing some difficult discussions around pension reform and tax reform. It used to be that Rhode Island was always the state that we could point to and say "well at least Connecticut isn't as screwed up as them". Not any more. Total role reversal. They have been growing there economy and have lured some big companies to move there. Btw, A big division of GE is moving there. Soon you will see all of GE's businesses in Stamford start pulling out. They will want to b closer to headquarters so you can expect a lot of Stamford GE business moving to providence and Boston areas.

[atlanta16]

Also keep in mind that when CT compares its high taxes to other states it's still not apples to apples. Take California for instance. Beautiful weather, professional sports teams, great tourist areas, some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, great beaches, great economy, colleges, schools etc. Although no one "likes" paying taxes you at least have a better understanding of what you are getting for those taxes. I lived in San Fran for 8 years and feel this way based on living there. Regarding Mass, Boston is a unique city delivering a lot of benefits etc. For CT, all our taxes go towards a bloated pension system. Average state/town worker puts in $600K and takes out $1.8M. Do you feel you are getting something for your taxes you pay? Taxes aren't going towards investment, improving infrastructure, etc. it's purely a suburban bedroom community. Soon the real estate values will decline so much that it will become an attractive, inexpensive way to buy a decent sized house. I guess that's the only bright side. Soon you will see house prices selling for $400K but with a property tax bill of $20K/year since the state needs its tax dollars to try to meet its obligations that it created. Even at the current levels of taxes, the state is still experiencing massive deficits. Connecticut is in a death spiral. I hate with that government did to my former state.