Saturday, March 23, 2019

Connecticut's New Tax Reality-A Scene From The Future

As Connecticut leaps to a even more socialist/liberal tax and spend state with massive tolls and taxes with a rapidly rising debt load that becomes unsustainable let us look at a possible scenario in the not too distant future.
You are driving to work at your job that takes you on I-91 and I-95.  Because of your hours of employment you must drive during rush hours.  These rush hours due to the set up of the 53 tolling gallantries on all state roads encompass congestion pricing that charge commuters double the fares than off peak hours.  Your 42 mile round trip commute daily costs you an addition $40 a week to get to work due to the close proximity of the new tolls on the highway.  You have read that these tolls are going to be going up July 1 since the revenues that were expected to taken in from the tolls have fallen short of projections.  Connecticut has the highest cost per mile administrative fees in the country for road maintenance and now the highest cost per mile in toll administration in the country.
You stopped on the way home from work to pick up a few items from the grocery store.  You notice that prices have gone up in the store literally week to week.  The canned cat food that you paid 65 cents a can last week is now 72 cents a can.  The bottle of soda has gone up 15 cents for the bottle due to the new soda tax that was passed.  The store manager states to you that due to the tolls all costs of shipping goods has increased dramatically and the store has no choice but to increase their costs.  He also recommends stocking up on items since on July 1 a higher sales tax will go into effect and that will further increase costs.
When you get home that night you have received bills that shock you due to the increases in them.  Your electric bill due to the new one mill tax on each kilowatt hour you use has gone up roughly 12% since last month.  Your heating oil that was delivered yesterday cost you $28 more due to the new 14 cent per gallon heating oil tax on the 200 gallons that were delivered. The visit to vet for your cats now is being charged sales tax.
You get to work the next day after a nightmare morning commute to find out that two workers were let go due to the new $15 minimum wage bill that was passed.  The owner of your company states that he can no longer to afford to pay $600 a week plus the new .05% Family Leave tax plus all the other payroll taxes and unemployment taxes for both workers who just place items in boxes for delivery.  The costs of this new higher minimum wage have cut into the small profit margin he has thus beginning today, the owner will be forced to box the orders.  The owner says he will be looking at working 12 hours a day six days a week for himself to try to stay open and remain competitive in Connecticut.  He asks you to help with the orders if you have any free time during your work day.
A month passes and you and your wife are seeing that you will be spending $3000 more a year due to the higher taxes and tolls.  You also find out that the business you are working for is shutting down since he can no longer remain competitive due to the excessively high business and individual taxes in the state.  He thanks you for the 15 years you worked for him and can offer no severance package to you since he has run out of money due to these high taxes.
A few more months pass and you are still on unemployment compensation from the state.  Connecticut's unemployment rate has jumped dramatically in the past six months due to more businesses going bankrupt and or moving out of state.  You have sent out many resumes and applied for many minimum wage jobs just to try to get work.  You and your family have cut all expenses to the bare minimum to try to survive.   You are fast running out of money to pay the highest taxes in the country on a local and state level along with the highest costs in the country now for electricity, heating oil and food.
A state election is held in November that year and the Democrat Governor wins reelection by 3000 votes after weeks of counting and recounting the votes and the Democrats barely take the State House and Senate with a majority of only one in each case.  It is discovered in many House and Senate races that individuals were given wrong District ballots and were unable to in most cases vote for the candidate of their own choosing which was Republican.  In Bridgeport and New Haven polls remained open way past legal closing time and individuals who still were not registered to vote were allowed to vote.  Ballots in these two towns were found later discarded in dumpsters that had votes for Republican candidates.  Adding all these votes would have brought in a new fiscally conservative Republican Governor and under ticket along with majorities in both the House and Senate.  The election turns out to be a scam and your vote did not count.
When the dust settles and your unemployment has run you and your family decide to put your house up for sale.  You now take any single day employment you can find.  Your wife's employer states they will be closing at the end of the year thus you both decide to put your house up for sale and will move out of state.  You have been applying to companies in Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee and have had some promising results.  The realtor states it may take up to one year to sell your house since there are so many houses for sale.
Nine months later both you and your have accepted employment in South Carolina, your house finally sells in ten months at a price that you have lost about $15,000 on it due to property values plummeting in Connecticut along with your real estate commissions, closing costs and the new real estate sales tax that is in effect.  Your life savings is completely gone now.  You and your wife were four generations of Connecticut residents that are now finally gone and all your ties have been cut from the state.  You are starting new and will hopefully become economically prosperous in a low tax state that values legal citizens who are productive in their work and lives.
You and your family have escaped the socialist and liberal nightmare known as Connecticut. 
Connecticut's new tax reality.  This is a scene from the future.

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