[LMPA]

https://www.ctpost.com/politics/arti...kgZ_0PDI1BF2js

https://ctmirror.org/category/ct-vie...avid-m-walker/

[markfromct]

Originally Posted by LMPA

https://www.ctpost.com/politics/arti...kgZ_0PDI1BF2js

https://ctmirror.org/category/ct-vie...avid-m-walker/

Thanks for posting. Can't agree more with the CT Mirror article. "After all, the number one tax concern for Connecticut residents is property taxes rather than income taxes."

We are part of that Facebook group.

[Mr_250]

For every person wanting to leave, there are 3 people wanting to move to CT. It’s all hype. CT is one of the richest states in the country with amazing schools. CT is a great place to live.

My bet is that if people do leave, they will come right back.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by markfromct

Thanks for posting. Can't agree more with the CT Mirror article. "After all, the number one tax concern for Connecticut residents is property taxes rather than income taxes."

We are part of that Facebook group.

Wait, the guy in the CT Mirror opinion piece is moving from Bridgeport, one of the poorest and highest taxed cities in our state, to Alexandria, Virginia, a very affluent and low tax suburb of Washington DC. How can anyone take this seriously? According to Sterling, the median income in Alexandria is more than double Bridgeport ($87,319 verse $41,204). The median home price in Alexandria is $519,000 while Bridgeport is $174,000. They are very different places with very different issues.

A much more fair comparison would be Stamford or Greenwich where taxes are much lower. Also note that Alexandria and many of the northern Virginia suburbs benefit greatly from the massive federal government facilities there and the benefits that come with it. Jay

Moderator cut: links removed, competitor site

[Old Dominionite]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

For every person wanting to leave, there are 3 people wanting to move to CT. It’s all hype. CT is one of the richest states in the country with amazing schools. CT is a great place to live.

My bet is that if people do leave, they will come right back.

The state's eroding population and persistently anemic economic growth are two (of many) statistics that would counter your baseless claim.

Connecticut is my home state. I moved away years ago because of a lack of economic opportunity. Count me in the ranks of those young Nutmeggers who made (and continue to make) up the state's "brain drain."

In the past 20 years, nearly all of my extended family (about 30 individuals) are gone from Connecticut. The younger ones ultimately left for brighter futures in places like Boston, Dallas, or DC. The older ones left for states that are much friendlier to retirees (e.g., Florida, Tennessee, Virginia). Nobody is coming back, even if they wanted to. Only one relative is left in West Hartford. That person retires next year and is already making arrangements to move. My personal story may be somewhat atypical in terms of the actual number of family members who left, but how many of us on this thread don't know someone who left the state for greener pastures?

The only reason Connecticut is one the richest states in the country is because of a relatively small number of uber-wealthy individuals in lower Fairfield County that skew the entire state's statistics. Take them out of the equation and you have a less impressive picture -- a picture only made worse by the fact that the state continues to bleed white collar jobs.

Connecticut is at a crossroads in this current global economy. It can make some drastic economic and political reforms that help enable it to compete more seriously for meaningful job growth and investment, or it can sentence itself to becoming an economic backwater that slowly continues to decline over time...

[Mike 75]

Originally Posted by Mr_250

For every person wanting to leave, there are 3 people wanting to move to CT. It’s all hype. CT is one of the richest states in the country with amazing schools. CT is a great place to live.

My bet is that if people do leave, they will come right back.

Its so crazy. They're lining up to get in. That's why the real estate market is through the roof. Oh wait.

If I was making a decision on where to live right now, it would not be in CT. But I'm here, my kids are in school and I'm invested in my community. But once they are off to college, all options are on the table, absent a dramatic change in the political and fiscal environment. And that seems to be the prevailing attitude of the people I know.

[MikefromCT]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

The state's eroding population and persistently anemic economic growth are two (of many) statistics that would counter your baseless claim.

Connecticut is my home state. I moved away years ago because of a lack of economic opportunity. Count me in the ranks of those young Nutmeggers who made (and continue to make) up the state's "brain drain."

In the past 20 years, nearly all of my extended family (about 30 individuals) are gone from Connecticut. The younger ones ultimately left for brighter futures in places like Boston, Dallas, or DC. The older ones left for states that are much friendlier to retirees (e.g., Florida, Tennessee, Virginia). Nobody is coming back, even if they wanted to. Only one relative is left in West Hartford. That person retires next year and is already making arrangements to move. My personal story may be somewhat atypical in terms of the actual number of family members who left, but how many of us on this thread don't know someone who left the state for greener pastures?

The only reason Connecticut is one the richest states in the country is because of a relatively small number of uber-wealthy individuals in lower Fairfield County that skew the entire state's statistics. Take them out of the equation and you have a less impressive picture -- a picture only made worse by the fact that the state continues to bleed white collar jobs.

Connecticut is at a crossroads in this current global economy. It can make some drastic economic and political reforms that help enable it to compete more seriously for meaningful job growth and investment, or it can sentence itself to becoming an economic backwater that slowly continues to decline over time...

Everything you've said is dead-on. Unfortunately, however, even with a new administration at the helm, it's business as usual. More of the same: more tax hikes, more people leaving. And for those left behind, they are expected to absorb these costs. I don't know what else has to happen to shake lawmakers out of their complacency before they realize the dire state of things here. They continue to make excuses to justify their excessive tax hikes and enactments on items that have always been exempt up till now, and they continue to spend well beyond their means. Even if they ever did get pensions under control and had a surplus, they would never cut spending and lower taxes, not even a little bit. We also have a bunch of complacent, stodgy, tired old farts in charge who refused to bend on issues like legalized pot which would create significant tax revenue, preferring instead to raid people's wallets like they always do, and these people have to go.

[WILWRadio]

I left purely for economic reasons. Between the high home prices in the most desirable areas of the state, rapidly expanding government spending and rising taxes in a near annual basis at the state level and to some degree, at local levels and then a lack of good jobs and that was enough for me to look elsewhere. As much as I would like to return to live, the economic picture in the state over the long term is bleak. Until the government stops spending so much money and and stops taking so much income from residents and businesses alike, the state will continue a slow erosion into a haven for the wealthy and lower middle class and working poor. It's called a caste system. And that is what is developing in this state.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by MikefromCT

Everything you've said is dead-on. Unfortunately, however, even with a new administration at the helm, it's business as usual. More of the same: more tax hikes, more people leaving. And for those left behind, they are expected to absorb these costs. I don't know what else has to happen to shake lawmakers out of their complacency before they realize the dire state of things here. They continue to make excuses to justify their excessive tax hikes and enactments on items that have always been exempt up till now, and they continue to spend well beyond their means. Even if they ever did get pensions under control and had a surplus, they would never cut spending and lower taxes, not even a little bit. We also have a bunch of complacent, stodgy, tired old farts in charge who refused to bend on issues like legalized pot which would create significant tax revenue, preferring instead to raid people's wallets like they always do, and these people have to go.

I saw the latest State budget is something like 43 billion. Turn back the clock to around 1985 when Mr. Potato Head was governor and the budget was around 4 billion. What's wrong with this picture?

[troutman85]

Originally Posted by Old Dominionite

The state's eroding population and persistently anemic economic growth are two (of many) statistics that would counter your baseless claim.

Connecticut is my home state. I moved away years ago because of a lack of economic opportunity. Count me in the ranks of those young Nutmeggers who made (and continue to make) up the state's "brain drain."

In the past 20 years, nearly all of my extended family (about 30 individuals) are gone from Connecticut. The younger ones ultimately left for brighter futures in places like Boston, Dallas, or DC. The older ones left for states that are much friendlier to retirees (e.g., Florida, Tennessee, Virginia). Nobody is coming back, even if they wanted to. Only one relative is left in West Hartford. That person retires next year and is already making arrangements to move. My personal story may be somewhat atypical in terms of the actual number of family members who left, but how many of us on this thread don't know someone who left the state for greener pastures?

The only reason Connecticut is one the richest states in the country is because of a relatively small number of uber-wealthy individuals in lower Fairfield County that skew the entire state's statistics. Take them out of the equation and you have a less impressive picture -- a picture only made worse by the fact that the state continues to bleed white collar jobs.

Connecticut is at a crossroads in this current global economy. It can make some drastic economic and political reforms that help enable it to compete more seriously for meaningful job growth and investment, or it can sentence itself to becoming an economic backwater that slowly continues to decline over time...

Spot on.