While Democratic officials met news of Connecticut’s boosted credit rating effusively on Tuesday, Republicans drew attention to new survey results showing on-the-ground feelings about the economy overall aren’t so rosy.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P), a major New York City-based credit-rating agency, assigned the state’s general obligation bonds a “positive” outlook; before, the rating was merely “stable.” S&P attributed its upgrade to the state projecting it will accumulate a $3.31-billion fund balance in the next fiscal year, amounting to 15 percent of appropriations.
“Credit rating upgrades aren’t that jazzy,” Governor Ned Lamont (D) tweeted in response to the news. “However, we’ve received five rating increases since early 2021 – worth pointing out … . We’re transforming CT’s narrative from ‘fiscal crisis’ to ‘fiscal turnaround,’ and doing it while still investing in our kids, families, and economy.”
State Representative Matt Blumenthal (D-Stamford) was equally elated about the rating jump.
“Our responsible budgeting has led to yet another credit-rating upgrade,” the legislator proclaimed in a Twitter post. “This is not just a vote of confidence in our finances — it will save taxpayers money. Great news for CT!”
The same day, State Senate Republicans were lamenting other revelations — namely, that ordinary residents’ finances don’t feel nearly so secure.
The caucus cited a poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA) which revealed that 57 percent of 500 surveyed voters said they considered their state’s economy to be fair or poor versus 40 percent who deem it excellent or good. The difference was even more pronounced along party lines, with 74 percent of Republicans describing the economy negatively and 65 percent of Democrats describing it favorably. Sixty-nine percent of independents, meanwhile, described the Connecticut economy as fair or poor.
The survey also found that 65 percent of Nutmeggers regarded the high cost of living, exacerbated by raging inflation, as one of the two most pressing issues that political candidates should address this year. Living costs were followed by state taxes and spending at 48 percent. Jobs and labor economics came in third at 27 percent, followed by healthcare affordability at 27 percent, and transportation and other infrastructure at 18 percent. Public education came in last among the listed categories at 11 percent.
Poll respondents reported that taxation was a major component of their overall financial burdens. And this actually didn’t vary much according to political affiliation: Seventy-nine percent of Democratic voters complained Connecticut taxes were too high; 88 percent of independents registered the same concern as did 91 percent of Republicans.
The Fiscal Year 2022-23 state budget Lamont recently signed contained $600 million in tax cuts, yet $330 million of those reductions are temporary, including the gas-tax holiday. While all of Connecticut’s state lawmakers supported suspending the 25 cent-per-gallon levy, independent observers like the pro-free-market Yankee Institute observe that savings to motorists appear to be fleeting.
“While any tax relief is welcome, less than half of what was in the budget package is recurring, so there are questions about the long-term impact beyond this year,” CBIA President Chris DiPentima said in a statement. “It’s clear from this poll that voters want structural changes to both the state’s tax system and to the way state government operates. They want government to be more efficient and effective and they want a better return on their taxpayer dollars.”
According to the nonprofit Tax Foundation, Connecticut’s combined state and local tax burden is the second-highest among all states, sucking nearly 13 percent of residents’ earnings into government coffers.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Connecticut Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ned Lamont” by Ned Lamont. Background Photo “Connecticut Capitol” by Ragesoss. CC BY-SA 2.0.
