[seymourct]

We need to flat out not offer any new hires traditional pensions at all, 401k and IRA acts instead.

[wetnewspaper]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Massachusetts and Connecticut have similar per capita income. Connecticut has Fairfield County. Massachusetts has metro Boston. They're more similar than they are different.

New Hampshire is social Darwinism. The license plate says "Live Free or Die". What it really means is "Live Free or Move To Massachusetts and Die There". It's great if you're affluent. Not so much if you weren't born with all the advantages to become affluent.

Have you ever been to Springfield? Holyoke? Brockton? The lousy parts of Boston like Mattapan? Chelsea? Lawrence? New Bedford? Fall River? Massachusetts has the same long list of failed urban areas as Connecticut. The difference is that state government didn't make the same choices as Connecticut. Proposition 2 1/2 40 years ago limiting property taxes and a state constitution mandating a flat income tax did that.



It's more the state subsidizing single mothers, the elderly, and the disabled. Of the safety net pie, the 50% that isn't health care goes almost entirely to single mothers, the elderly, and the disabled. Before ACA which isn't paid for with state money, way more than half the health care slice of that pie also went to single mothers, the elderly, and the disabled. If you're able bodied and don't have dependent children, you aren't eligible for much.

It's great rhetoric but it simply doesn't stand up to any kind of scrutiny. Before Obamacare, if you worked a $10.10/hour Walmart job, you weren't getting Medicaid and you absolutely weren't getting subsidized housing, food stamps, or any cash benefits. The Medicaid cutoff in Connecticut before ACA was 138% of federal poverty level. $15K.

If you want to talk about the single mother problem that's the root cause of all of this, that's a completely different discussion. The Bill Clinton era TANF five year cash welfare cap and no extra cash for extra children policy was supposed to stop it and didn't help. I don't have a solution. You can't let poor children starve and freeze to death. You can't mandate Norplant for single women or mandatory abortions if there's no visible means of support. What we're doing now doesn't work.

I agree with many of your points, here. Your right to point out the failed cities in MA-but the Boston/Cambridge area makes up for their losses with incredible growth and tax revenue. CT just doesn't have that "big" city that can fuel a regional economy. In fact, I think CT is really hurt by being the little guy amidst two big cities.

Your right, it does seem like there is no easy solution. Not funding our pensions for basically 80 years was incredibly dumb.

[BPt111]

Connecticut need turn around it cities state is not doing enough to foster growth in own local industry, such as manufacturing. CT don't produce enough anymore and It like we asking the wealthy to carry us for too long.


Bridgeport--Manufacturing hub, Innovation, green technology
New Haven-Tech Hub and medical because of Yale and nearby colleges
Hartford--Insurance, medical, education hub
Waterbury/The Valley-- satellite for smaller manufacturing hub
New London/Norwich-- not sure
New Britain/Meriden/Bristol/Middletown--Startups


Stamford/Norwalk are okay

[RunD1987]

Originally Posted by BPt111

Connecticut need turn around it cities state is not doing enough to foster growth in own local industry, such as manufacturing. CT don't produce enough anymore and It like we asking the wealthy to carry us for too long.


Bridgeport--Manufacturing hub, Innovation, green technology
New Haven-Tech Hub and medical because of Yale and nearby colleges
Hartford--Insurance, medical, education hub
Waterbury/The Valley-- satellite for smaller manufacturing hub
New London/Norwich-- not sure
New Britain/Meriden/Bristol/Middletown--Startups


Stamford/Norwalk are okay

Waterbury has the best access to Danbury, Hartford, Bridgeport, Middletown, and New Haven. Has 4 to 5 college campuses. Lots of open commercial zones. Lots of undeveloped areas to turn into hiking area's. Lots of abandon buildings to convert to residential places.

Lacks attractions. Baseball team would of been a perfect addition to the City. A casino. Improve greenway access. Improve shopping options. Redesign the mall and build an outlet mall. Better transportation options rails and fast track busses.

Work towards lowering crime in the City. Waterbury is a great place to be a commuter town and a retail/entertainment town.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Uh..not exactly.

Prop 2.5 is OK but it came inspired from Prop 13 in california which totally screwed things up there. In CA that limited property tax growth so they appealed and created more sales taxes. So there's a local sales tax, county and state sometimes getting as high as 10%. If you moved in early you pay the same tax rate you did back in the day but if you are new you pay much more even for the exact same house and property.

The Property Tax Rate under Prop 13 is fixed at 1% of value at time of transfer plus a max 2% inflation factor Statewide... EVERYONE pays the same property tax for Prop 13 no matter when you bought.

Voters approval is required for additional assessments which often pass but again... everyone pays the same rate or charge.