[7 Wishes]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

That's the basis of the left/right debate? Are you saying that by embracing lower taxes and lower government spending we will have to work 80/100 hour weeks?

I think if I get to keep more of my own money then I will work less. Instead all my sky high taxes go to people who don't work on welfare and to Malloy who gets to choose where to sprinkle my tax dollars.

The New Britain Hartford bus line is a great example of some of the waste

Yes and no.

Getting rid of waste in general is a "different" part of the debate and I agree with you there.

But too much of that is mired in the idea that there should be little or no safety net for those who 'fall through the cracks', often through no fault of their own. Yes, I know there are people who take advantage of welfare and food stamps, but that doesn't mean we should do away with them entirely. And I certainly don't think people should be able to buy lobster with food stamps, but I don't think they should be limited to a bowl of rice either. Should health care be something only rich people can adequately get? Should there be no Social Security or Medicare for our nation's elders? Do they work until they "drop dead" (or just "drop dead", period?)

I am all for getting rid of "pork". But (as an example) I also think there should be some sort of minimum wage, many in the "Tea Party" put the 2 together and think we should have no minimum at all, saying "the market will work it out". We have over a century of history without one that proves otherwise. We also have countries like China that prove otherwise. But again, it's a balance, it's "what level prevents exploitation vs. what level discourages 'liveable jobs'", like I would agree with you that $15-20/hour is a level that does the latter, but $1 hour fails to do the former.

The key isn't lowering taxes in and of itself, but "what level provides the maximum benefit to the consumer while also giving enough to a government elected by and representing said consumer to adequately protect him or her". Same with government spending. In the 1950s the maximum Federal individual tax rate was 91%, that means you keep less than 1/10 of your money, only a real died-in-the-wool Communist would say that encourages anything. Of course that level of taxing discourages spending and investment (and ironically, it was a Democrat, JFK, who lowered it to 50%, which at losing 1/2 one's money, was still a bit too high). But that doesn't mean I think it should be 3% either, then it honestly discourages having a government at all.

And while this all sounds "political", it is related to the basis of the rankings that started this thread, so I think it is relevant.

[AntonioR]

And politics had to ruin a good thread.... AGAIN!

[Stylo]

Please stick to the topic of the thread.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by hartford_renter

We have the highest debt per capita of any state

Our economic growth was negative and dead last of any state

Malloy raised taxes by the highest amount in state history

Malloy is planning on increasing spending by 10% despite negative economic growth and no tax dollars, he borrows and creates loopholes to make this pass our mandatory spending cap

Companies are leaving the state in droves, our unemployment rate is abysmal

But we got #1 in a made up survey, I feel so much better!

Sorry but there are a few flaws in your rebuttal. We have the highest state debt per capitia because we do not have any counties in this state to take a portion of that debt away from the state statistics. Other states that have counties pass a portion of the debt we take on at the state levels so they artifically look lower. We also have the highest income so pay for that debt.

Right now our economic growth is low but that is because of how our economy works. We go into recessions later and come out later. A couple of years ago we were rated very high and many people were moving here for jobs. Also our unemployment rate is no where near the worst in the country.

And you should feel better about a survey that takes more into account than what some bean counting accountant says. Overall quality of life means a lot more than a few pennies in your pocket. Think about it. Jay