[JayCT]

Originally Posted by beerbeer

Very few Connecticut businesses are investing in Connecticut. Almost every economic measure is trending down. The system needs to flushed.

UTC has invested more than $500 million here for Pratt & Whitney, UTC Research and UTC Aerospace expansions. Electric Boat has invested $850 million in Groton. Charter Communications is building a massive new headquarters in Stamford. Cocoa Cola of New England is building a $42 million service center in South Windsor and a $26 million bottling plant expansion in East Hartford. Infosys has taken a couple floors in the Goodwin Building in downtown Hartford to house a projected 1,000 employees. Amazon just built a $250 million fulfillment center in North Haven adding to its centers in Wallingford and Windsor. Lockheed Martin has been making investments at its Sikorsky Aircraft division in Stratford. FedEx just built a new $220 million hub in Middletown. Aisha Q in Colchester is expanding. Ideaonomics is building a $400 million fintech village in West Hartford. Emerson Electric is building a new $53 million facility in Brookfield. The $300 million SoNo Collection is one of the very few new shopping malls being built in this country. I could go on but the list is already pretty long for a small state. Jay

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by JayCT

UTC has invested more than $500 million here for Pratt & Whitney, UTC Research and UTC Aerospace expansions. Electric Boat has invested $850 million in Groton. Charter Communications is building a massive new headquarters in Stamford. Cocoa Cola of New England is building a $42 million service center in South Windsor and a $26 million bottling plant expansion in East Hartford. Infosys has taken a couple floors in the Goodwin Building in downtown Hartford to house a projected 1,000 employees. Amazon just built a $250 million fulfillment center in North Haven adding to its centers in Wallingford and Windsor. Lockheed Martin has been making investments at its Sikorsky Aircraft division in Stratford. FedEx just built a new $220 million hub in Middletown. Aisha Q in Colchester is expanding. Ideaonomics is building a $400 million fintech village in West Hartford. Emerson Electric is building a new $53 million facility in Brookfield. The $300 million SoNo Collection is one of the very few new shopping malls being built in this country. I could go on but the list is already pretty long for a small state. Jay

This is not a done deal yet, just an FYI. Lately this company has been on VERY shaky financial ground and this has caught the attention of many residents. Yes, we know stock earnings fluctuate all the time, but this company has been struggling for a while now, and this has raised concern as to whether it is worth investing in a company with such poor financial health.


On a broader note, despite the list you provided, it has not deterred people from leaving or wanting to leave the state, nor has it led to a reversal of steep tax hikes. I guarantee that even if Ideanomics comes to town that any tax decrease will be tiny. The unions still run this state, and that's never going to change.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by CTartist

You know what......there is a wealth gap but when I go into Bridgeport a lot of the people have nicer cars than me. We think of Bridgeport as poor but it really isn't that poor.

I kind of think like Bloomberg on this topic. I don't think having a lot of people with wealth is a negative. But I am an Independent (like him). Go down south and see poverty there and then tell me Bridgeport it is so terrible. Especially now that the minimum wage will go up to $15 in CT. The poor people in CT will probably be some of the richest poor people in the country.

New York's billionaire mayor said Friday it would be "a godsend" if the world's other billionaires all moved to the city because it would increase the tax base.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/loca...224592951.html

The immigrants* from other countries LOVE Bridgeport. If two people in the house are working they can buy their own house/condo. I can't think of any immigrant I have met who lives in Bridgeport who doesn't sing it's praises and that of CT. It is all a matter of perspective. They work hard and could care less about an income gap.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fa...t,US/SEX255218

Bridgeport Stats:
Median House Value: $170,300
Median Household Income: $44,841
Per Capita Income: $22,806

US Average (from Google)
Median House Value: $193,500
Median Household Income: $57,652
Per Capita Income: $31,177

Poverty Threshold in the US
Family of Four: $24,858

Bridgeport doesn't look so poor now does it?

*They don't either don't know, don't care and don't obsess about a wealth gap like Americans.

You should realize that, in the poorer urban neighborhoods, it’s very common for people to put a lot more into their vehicles than homes, because they can’t afford (or won’t qualify for) a mortgage. Just because you see a 2007 Mercedes S Class in Bridgeport’s east end doesn’t mean it “really isn’t that poor”. High end cars are common nationwide in urban ghettos.

Bridgeport is one of the poorest cities in the country. 23% of residents live below the poverty level. Of that, 10% live below 50% of the poverty level. That means 1 in 10 people live in extreme poverty. 2-3 of 10 people live in poverty. Sorry but that is pretty darned poor regardless of what kind of cars you see in the city.

To suggest the city doesn’t suffer from high poverty does a disservice to those living with it. Ignoring it is not a good thing.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Bridgeport is one of the poorest cities in the country.

20% is not ideal but it is far from one of the poorest cities in the country.

Here is a list of the top 100 poorest cities in the US and Bridgeport isn't even on there.

Hartford and New Haven makes the list of the poorest cities while Bridgeport does not. I will tell you what Bridgeport does have is a corruption and PERCEPTION of being one of the poorest cities in the US........... while New Haven DOES NOT have that perception even though they make the list.
https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...ies+in+USA.pdf

Even Stamford the richest city in CT and one of the richest in the country has a poverty rate of 9.3%. I bet you would never guess that.

BTW, let's see what happens to the poverty levels in Bridgeport and other cities when the $15 hourly wage comes to pass. Let's keep an eye on this. it will be interesting. The raising of the minimum wage should really help the income disparity.

"Connecticut’s governor on Tuesday signed a bill into law that will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023."
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/conn...age-to-15.html

In 2023 the income disparity and poverty rates should be much better. I also think that the Bridgeport Household Income comes close to the US average by 2023.

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by CTartist

BTW, let's see what happens to the poverty levels in Bridgeport and other cities when the $15 hourly wage comes to pass. Let's keep an eye on this. it will be interesting. The raising of the minimum wage should really help the income disparity.

"Connecticut’s governor on Tuesday signed a bill into law that will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023."
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/conn...age-to-15.html

In 2023 the income disparity and poverty rates should be much better. I also think that the Bridgeport Household Income comes close to the US average by 2023.

Sorry, but I disagree. It's going to impact small business, and may even impact larger businesses with lower income employees.

You know how companies cut hours so they didn't have to pay benefits? Well now they'll cut people to make up for being forced to pay a higher wage.

Just like with health insurance, WE will all pay that higher wage some way or another.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by CTartist

20% is not ideal but it is far from one of the poorest cities in the country.

Here is a list of the top 100 poorest cities in the US and Bridgeport isn't even on there.

Hartford and New Haven makes the list of the poorest cities while Bridgeport does not. I will tell you what Bridgeport does have is a corruption and PERCEPTION of being one of the poorest cities in the US........... while New Haven DOES NOT have that perception even though they make the list.
https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...ies+in+USA.pdf

Even Stamford the richest city in CT and one of the richest in the country has a poverty rate of 9.3%. I bet you would never guess that.

BTW, let's see what happens to the poverty levels in Bridgeport and other cities when the $15 hourly wage comes to pass. Let's keep an eye on this. it will be interesting. The raising of the minimum wage should really help the income disparity.

"Connecticut’s governor on Tuesday signed a bill into law that will increase the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023."
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/28/conn...age-to-15.html

In 2023 the income disparity and poverty rates should be much better. I also think that the Bridgeport Household Income comes close to the US average by 2023.

Your previous post noted the nice cars in Bridgeport and further stated because of that, the city wasn’t “that poor”.

Sorry, yes it is.

[MrGompers]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

This is not a done deal yet, just an FYI. Lately this company has been on VERY shaky financial ground and this has caught the attention of many residents. Yes, we know stock earnings fluctuate all the time, but this company has been struggling for a while now, and this has raised concern as to whether it is worth investing in a company with such poor financial health.


On a broader note, despite the list you provided, it has not deterred people from leaving or wanting to leave the state, nor has it led to a reversal of steep tax hikes. I guarantee that even if Ideanomics comes to town that any tax decrease will be tiny. The unions still run this state, and that's never going to change.

And all they got for that was 2,800 lay offs. You would think they could have gotten a better deal with all their supposed power.

[CTartist]

Originally Posted by WouldLoveTo

Sorry, but I disagree. It's going to impact small business, and may even impact larger businesses with lower income employees.

You know how companies cut hours so they didn't have to pay benefits? Well now they'll cut people to make up for being forced to pay a higher wage.

Just like with health insurance, WE will all pay that higher wage some way or another.

I am not saying that the minimum wage should be $15 across the entire state but it does need to probably be $15 in Fairfield County. Or maybe $15 in the state with manufacturing zones and farming lower.

I am not among the wealthy of Fairfield County (but the struggling middle class) and I think the minimum wage needs to be higher. So are we to have permanent low wage ghetto in Bridgeport because the wealthy don't want to pay a few more pesos for a cup of coffee or meal.

People* complain on here about the income inequality but when it comes to try to make things fair it is a big NIMBY.

*I am not saying you are necessarily complaining about income inequality but it is often pointed out on this board. The flip side we also have the push back against the minimum wage. Why don't we see what happens instead of keeping these poor CT cities in a permanent state of poverty.


"You know how companies cut hours so they didn't have to pay benefits? Well now they'll cut people to make up for being forced to pay a higher wage."

Or maybe the companies will just have a little less profit and instead of being billionaires they have to maybe have a billion less (boo hoo hoo). The only states that have worse income inequality is NY and ironically FL (see below). So the poor in CT need a desperate raise.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Sorry, yes it is.

A few select parts namely East Side/East End and the Gardens.

There are far more blue-collar and wealthy residents and areas of Bridgeport than there are destitute. But those poor people are in extreme dire straights as is.

[Beeker2211]

Originally Posted by MrGompers

And all they got for that was 2,800 lay offs. You would think they could have gotten a better deal with all their supposed power.

And Malloy put them over the coals and tiered out the benefit system, froze pay increases for 4 years, and put more power to operational managers all to the chagrin of the Unions. Yet no Republicans lauded that absolute power move even though it was their platform on reform for almost 25 years.