As state government’s fiscal challenges became increasingly daunting, politicians for years nonetheless downplayed the risk and wooed voters with unrealistic promises. Last story in a five-part series
General Electric
Posted inPolitics
Trump takes another shot at F-35 program
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump took another swipe at the F-35 program Wednesday during his first press conference since November’s election. “It’s way behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget,” Trump said. “I don’t like that.”
Posted inNews
Analyst: Trump’s idea for F-35 would be ‘a disaster for the U.S.’
WASHINGTON — While President-elect Donald Trump is unhappy about the cost of Lockheed Martin’s F-35, replacing it with a cheaper jet would face serious problems, defense analysts and Connecticut’s lawmakers say. Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, called Trump’s idea “a disaster for the United States” that would hurt the nation’s military strength.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Call it corporate welfare or investment, Malloy says it pays off
NEW HAVEN — Gov. Dannel P. Malloy gave an upbeat assessment Tuesday of what Connecticut is getting for the $256.6 million in direct state assistance he’s given to some of the world’s biggest and richest corporations, investments often made in the face of genteel blackmail — the knowledge another governor may be waiting with a competing offer.
Posted inMoney
S&P analysis: CT less prepared than most states for recession
Connecticut is “poorly poised” to handle a moderate recession when compared to other states, according to a new analysis by Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings Tuesday.
Posted inNews
GE part of a national move away from big, suburban office parks
Among other lessons, the move provides further evidence that large, isolated, one-tenant suburban office parks, such as the sleek but aging campus that GE has occupied since 1974 on 68 arboreal acres in Fairfield, have seen their day.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Quit bashing, start advocating for Connecticut
We love Connecticut! And that is why we are discouraged by the constant negativity we hear about our state. We need to stop disparaging this special place. Rather than sitting back and criticizing our current state of affairs, let’s work together to appreciate all that Connecticut offers while also taking the steps necessary to secure a promising and prosperous future.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
GE’s move muddles economic development debate
General Electric’s corporate-headquarters move from Connecticut to Boston has been inaccurately described as a decision based solely on taxes. This characterization might be understandable, given GE’s public outcry over the legislature’s adoption of a common-sense policy known as mandatory combined reporting, which requires profitable corporations to pay their fair share. On the other hand, Massachusetts has long had such a policy on the books and is also seriously considering a millionaires tax.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
General Electric’s departure not Connecticut’s fault — or loss
Has State Sen. Toni Boucher taken the blue pill? She seems a little ignorant of the most basic facts about the reality of General Electric. Ginning up a false narrative about onerous taxes and Connecticut’s anti-business climate can hardly be taken seriously at this point. These billion dollar corporations, now more powerful than governments, leverage that power to get unnecessary sweetheart deals, use tax loopholes and armies of lobbyists to rig the game to not only get out of paying their fair share in taxes, but in GE’s case actually having the Federal Government pay them or paying a nominal effective state tax rate.
Posted inPolitics
At Republican retreat, GOP senators press Kudlow to run against Blumenthal
BALTIMORE, MD. — Larry Kudlow continued to keep people guessing as to whether he’ll challenge Sen. Richard Blumenthal at the House and Senate Republican retreat in Baltimore Thursday, but the pressure was on. “I talked to quite a few senators,” Kudlow said. “They were very encouraging.”
Posted inMoney, Politics
Fight begins over lessons to draw from GE’s departure
Connecticut’s political elite raced Wednesday to frame General Electric’s decision to abandon its 1970s-era campus in suburban Fairfield for a new global headquarters in downtown Boston as everything from merely disappointing to politically cataclysmic. Business feared politicians would draw the wrong lessons.
Posted inMoney
Investing in business climate will be a tall order for CT
The challenge for state government, said economists and business leaders Wednesday, will be to find the resources to invest – in transportation, information technology and higher education – as the cost of public-sector retirement benefits spikes over the next decade to 15 years.
Posted inMoney
Connecticut’s courtship of GE goes beyond taxes
General Electric’s threat to leave Connecticut has morphed from a narrow complaint over taxes to a broader conversation with Gov. Dannel P. Malloy about economic stability in a state with a sputtering cash flow, high per-capita debt and worsening pension obligations.
Posted inMoney, Politics
There’s a near deal — but it’s not bipartisan — on state budget deficit
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and his fellow Democrats in the legislature’s majority said Thursday they believe they had reached the essence of a deal to mitigate state budget deficits and offer modest tax relief to businesses. Malloy announced he would call the General Assembly into special session on Tuesday in the hopes of adopting the package.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Deadlines nearing for state budget talks, GE decision on a move
State budget talks made little progress Wednesday but will continue for at least one more day as legislators from both sides conceded a self-imposed deadline is nearly upon them. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy also hopes to extract new business tax relief from these talks and confirmed he continues to talk with General Electric in hopes of keeping the major corporation in Connecticut.