Red/Maroon avatars: Why is CT such a mess?

[YE]

I've heard tons of moaning on Atlas from blue avtars about how Dan Malloy has been such a horrible governor, but generally, red avatars tend to stay silent and generally offer little defense. I haven't followed CT as closely as I should, so I'm more just curious. What did Malloy do wrong? Was it raising taxes on the wealthy, too much spending, or raising taxes on the poor, or corruption? Or something else? Or a combination of the four?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

CT, just like NJ, engaged in a shell game for decades with public sector unions.


Republican as well Democratic Governors, promised a bunch of goodies they couldn't afford. So what they did was they offered massive increases in retirement benefits. Which worked out great, said politicians got votes now, the budget looks good now and everything is fine until they all start to retire.

So the budget is perma-screwed.

[America Needs a 13-6 Progressive SCOTUS]

Because other states have tax rates that are way too low, giving rich people a means to unfairly cheat their way out of paying the taxes that they should be paying, by moving out.

[dead0man]

Because other states have tax rates that are way too low, giving rich people a means to unfairly cheat their way out of paying the taxes that they should be paying, by moving out.

yeah, those selfish bastards!  Thinking of their own interests.  Everyone's main concern should be the $100k/yr retirement checks for dog catchers.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Demographics is inevitably causing major problems in Connecticut.

As pointed out in an Atlantic article, Connecticut benefited greatly during the 1970s and 1980s from a wave of large companies moving into the state from New York due to the crime wave.  Now things are moving in the opposite direction.  Young people are leaving Connecticut for better opportunity elsewhere.  On top of that, the state has very low fertility, so there were fewer young people to begin with.. and a sizable bulge of 50-somethings now moving into their 60s.

The leafy, quiet streets, low crime, and bucolic suburban office parks beckoned in a time when being in the city was seen as a big negative.  The tide has turned. 

[Shameless Lefty Hack]

The entire state's revenue structure is tied to capital gains and property tax from rich people who work in NYC. As reurbanization of wealth happens, the state gets screwed over. That plus the structural deficit creates problems.