Town leaders are beginning to fret about Connecticut's growing budget problems, raising concerns that the growing deficit - now projected to balloon to more than $1 billion next year - could mean reductions in town aid that the state makes each year to Connecticut's 169 towns.
In a meeting Thursday of the Housatonic Valley Council of towns, municipal leaders learned that the measures being considered by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to balance the budget could bring steep cuts in state municipal aid, according to the News Times of Danbury.
Most towns in Connecticut each get tens of millions in education and road funds from the state each year and town leaders for years have complained that cutbacks in that aid have already strained local budgets and have forced higher local property taxes. Any additional cuts would be devastating to local communities and could result in layoffs in local school systems, the News Times quoted local leaders as saying.
Taxes paid by residents as pct. of income: 12.3% > Total state and local taxes collected: $21.41 billion (19th highest) > Pct. of total taxes paid by residents: 80.7% (4th highest) > Pct. of total taxes paid by non-residents: 19.3% (4th lowest) The 12.3% of resident income paid in taxes was up from 12% in 2009, although Connecticut was ranked the third highest in both years. Connecticut residents paid just under $7,000 per person in 2010, the highest amount in the country. However, in 2011 the legislature enacted a higher sales tax, cigarette tax and corporate income surcharge, and instituted a luxury goods tax. Although the effects aren’t yet clear, the changes are expected to bring in an additional $2.5 billion in a two-year time span. The cost of living in Connecticut was higher than in all but five states and property taxes were the second- highest in the country per person.
Where were you when your 401k was doing great and the stock market was just fine. Now that it crashed and your retirement is not what it used to be you have to blame somebody. Try looking at the Wall Street People that caused your pain not the hard working people who serve you. Look at the government and the deals that they give to each other The Govenor just knows how to spend and not cut back. He brings in his people with $100,000 plus salaries and makes up new jobs that adds up.
They live in la-la land. Many of them even complain about Obama & Malloy being socialists......what a joke.
State jobs = Nice gig.
Vinny the problem was caused on MAIN STREET and not wall street. The people that bought houses they could not afford, was the same person who bought the house they could not afford. How a Wall Street banker is responsible for another poor home buyers decision is beyond me. Follow the money, the majority of it was made by people in the Real Estate Transaction business. Yes local RE agents, mortgage brokers, appraisers, lawyers, and various functionaries of the process.
You can only shuffle money from the producers and wealth creators over to the takers and leeches for so long. This con can't go on much longer and then the truth will be told, that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Marxism is a guide to action not a myth. You could of said the same in 1765 America a "A republic is impossible because look what happened with the 1649 English Republic." Or how about this in say 1845 America, "Slavery is an evil but it will always be with us. Look what happened to Rome?"