Connecticut: A Compilation
by meep
I work in Hartford, CT, (as of January 2017, and have been since April 2011), so I do tend to cover CT more often than it makes the national news.
Posts are ordered chronologically within a theme. If a post fits more than one category, I make a choice and put it in only one.
PUBLIC PENSIONS
8 November 2015: A Week of Bad Pension Ideas: Guaranteeing Returns
CT gets the bright idea to have Guaranteed Retirement Accounts, having a guarantee of 3% interest at minimum. Not as bad as guaranteeing 8%, but still bad. What makes it worse is that these accounts are being proposed for all workers, not just public workers.
10 November 2015: A Week of Bad Pension Ideas: Splitting the Pension Plan to Save It
The grand idea to split the CT pensions into funded and unfunded pieces. That was the first I had heard of it. It’s not the last.
To quote myself:
I love these plans where the already accrued pension promises aren’t affordable right now will somehow magically become affordable in the future.
20 November 2015: Connecticut Pension Plans: Funding the Unfunded… or Not
More on the grand splitting plan.
15 February 2016: Math Ain’t Magic: Playing with Numbers Doesn’t Make Pensions Cheaper
Connecticut Teachers pension plan has the highest discount rate I can find in the Public Plans Database, as of 2016. The post is more about valuation assumptions in general, and how you can mess with those numbers as much as you want, but the benefits will cost what they cost when they’re actual cash flows.
14 April 2016: Pensions Watch: Non-Complete Disaster Edition
In the section titled “Lawsuit for Bigger Pension”, a Connecticut state employee bitches his pension is too damn low. CT blames the IRS. I don’t know how this lawsuit has turned out.
10 January 2017: Connecticut Pensions: Shuffling the Cards and Drawing to Ten High
A proposal to change contribution schedule to CT employee pensions, but not changing the benefits themselves, is being sold as a cost-saving move. It’s not. But don’t worry, a union leader is now speaker of the CT house of representatives.
26 January 2017: Connecticut Pensions: Pushing Off Payments Til Later Ain’t Reform
Moving forward with the “restructuring” proposal, which is just pushing off payments to later. Still anticipating large increases…. later. Sure. We’ll pay it. Eventually.
9 February 2017: Connecticut: Budget Day, Pistol Permit Fees, and Pushing Off Pensions Payments
Governor Malloy gives his budget proposal to legislature, I look at possible effect of much higher pistol permit fees, and consider complaints of towns on pension payments being pushed on them.
15 March 2017: Pensions Catch-Up Week: Connecticut Trying to Fix a Hole
Small towns push back on the governor’s proposal to have them help pay for the unfunded pension liabilities. Also, a couple in CT horns in on my hobby.
GENERAL FINANCE
29 May 2015: Public Finance Follies: When You’re Too Dependent on Very Few People
Did you know that CT keeps tabs on the most wealthy people in its state? As in, very close tabs. They watch like a hawk to see if these people dare to move to some place like income-tax-free Florida. Key factoid: “the top 5 percent of Connecticut taxpayers paid more than the bottom 95 percent combined.”
17 July 2015: Go Somewhere Cheaper, Young (and Old) Man!
Covers a variety of high tax locales. Lead off article talks about exits from CT due to the high taxes.
18 January 2016: On New York (and Chicago and Connecticut and Boston) Values
There’s a lead-in about Ted Cruz, but page down to “COMPANIES MAKE THE SAME CALCULATION”, which is about GE moving its HQ from Connecticut to Boston, and GE specifically mentioning CT’s tax regime driving them out. That’s gotta be something, given that Boston is not known for low taxes, either.
31 March 2016: Show Us the Money! From Somewhere!
I point out CT state employees are demanding money! Tax the wealthy! More! Tax Yale! (I always chuckle when they drag that one out, being an adjunct at UConn.)
3 June 2016: Connecticut Update: No Billionaire Left Behind
Connecticut using tax breaks to bribe hedge funds from moving someplace cheaper. Probably because CT is so dependent on hedge fund billionaires for their tax revenues.
2 May 2017: Let’s Turn Around Connecticut!
The CT governor points out that one can’t simply keep raising tax rates on rich people and expect higher revenues. And I’m not enjoying the prospect of higher taxes as a non-resident CT taxpayer.
11 May 2017: How About Turning Around Hartford?
The capital city of CT is considering filing for bankruptcy.
23 May 2017: Connecticut Finances: Running Out of Other People’s Money, Looking for Cuts
Update on the dismal state of CT’s finances. It’s looking bleak.
3 June 2017: Here Goes Hartford and Connecticut: Aetna HQ To Leave, State Trying to Avoid Bankruptcy
Aetna is likely to move its HQ out of Hartford, CT to elsewhere. I look at the flailing about to avoid de facto bankruptcy and default.
7 June 2017: More Hartford Woes: Too Much Property-Tax-Exempt Government
Hartford’s incipient bankruptcy gets more attention, especially the bit about too many tax-exempt state properties in the city.
12 July 2017: Here Comes the Junk: Hartford Downgraded, State Says Get It Together
S&P downgrades Hartford to junk status (pardon me, “below investment grade”) after a year’s worth of downgrades.
19 Oct 2017: Connecticut Continuing: Is There a Budget Yet?
After the governor vetoed prior state budget bill, there seems to have been a compromise budget reached. Evidently car taxes are a big thing, and teachers are asked to contribute 1 percentage point more to their pensions.
24 Oct 2017: Waiting for Hartford to Default While State Legislators Throw a Little Cash Around
Well, maybe not default, but to declare bankruptcy. It looks like the can will get kicked forward a few more months. But the debt issue is at least half pensions/retiree healthcare, which isn’t being dealt with at all.
OTHER
11 January 2017: Connecticut Day of Action for Higher Education!
I get annoyed with the union I’m forced to pay dues for, which does not align with my interests.
