Why does Connecticut need the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development? (aka, the “DECD”)

 

One of the best kept secrets of failure in the land of His Royal Con Man King Ned Lamont The Unaccountable is the DECD. According to the current state budget, here is a parsing of the Mission Statement as to what the DECD supposedly does: 

"Agency Purpose" "To develop and implement strategies to increase the state’s economic competitiveness. 

To foster a productive business environment that enables businesses to grow in the state and compete in the global economy. 

To advance job creation and retention. 

To set and execute strategies that will create a talent ecosystem that attracts and motivates students, career builders, and companies alike. 

To support the quality of life and economic sustainability of our local communities. 

To promote, encourage, and implement responsible growth principles and practices through brownfield redevelopment and other local initiatives. 

To brand and market Connecticut to bolster its reputation as an innovative business location and tourism destination. 

To preserve and promote Connecticut’s cultural and tourism assets in order to enhance the quality of life and economic vitality of the state. 

To coordinate the activities of all state agencies in advancing economic development opportunities."(https://portal.ct.gov/- /media/OPM/Budget/2024_2025_Biennial_Budget/Budg et_WebPage/GovBudget_2024-25_Final-WebVersion.pdf p.B-40,41) 

To show how perspicacious the DECD is in innovative future business trends, the new FY 24-25 budget provides a mere $10.5 million dollars of Connecticut Taxpayers monies to "Provide Funding for Regulation of Recreational Use of Cannabis by Adults”. Since the regulatory costs of cannabis legalization were previously omitted by this top-flight organization, this proposal explicitly provides funding to ensure implementation of this meaningful “policy initiative.” 

In addition, this expenditure of taxpayer funds is allocated to “provide positions and funding to support the “Social Equity Council” (SEC) as well as to make the Cannabis Social Equity and Innovation Fund an appropriated fund. The amount available to the SEC is based upon projected revenue." (https://portal.ct.gov/- /media/OPM/Budget/2024_2025_Biennial_Budget/Budget_WebPage/GovBudget_2024-25_Final-WebVersion.pdf p.B-40,41) That is a lot of money spent on supposed "social equity" from legal drugs. 

Leaving aside any semblance of economic realities or morality as Connecticut is often wont to do, one queries as to why the state is involved in the Cannabis business in the first instance. The long-established illegal market, unburdened by taxation and regulation, as much nimble as the state is inept, and further enabled by diluted law enforcement continues to flourish as the state Cannabis industry flounders and bears the increasing burdens of new union contracts and added costs. Any reasonably sane person wonders why this fool’s errand, continues. 

Moreover, the DECD spends a mere $825,000,000 to $900,000,000 million dollars of your taxpayer dollars (depending on how one interprets the astounding accounting methods of the state), while employing 94 people. Further as my friend and colleague Tony De Angelo has reported for many years now on 94.9’s Lee Elci Show, taxpayers have no idea how much money has been lost by the DECD in bad loan write offs and "free" money grants monies since the inception of this agency. Just the known trashing of taxpayer funds (such as by Sema4, Digital Currency Group, and UniteUs) are staggering. Never forget that Connecticut is a state that is a continual bottom feeder in all economic and business categories with $100-$150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. On many segments, Tony has pointed out the Lamont family hedge fund ties, waste, auditable offenses not resolved, “backdoor” rackets with state vendors and questionable grants this agency has contributed to over the past several years. I have discussed the horrific grants given to "Infosys" over the past two weeks. And for four years starting with the 2020 Covid-19 debacle, we still do not have any answers to Ned Lamont's family hedge fund (Oak HC/FT Partners) from associated companies relating to the Covid-19 crisis that include "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Infomatics", “Centrellis”. "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", and "VillageMD" to name several that appear to have received cash or other like favors via the DECD and its cohorts. 

Why does Connecticut need the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development? I and many others wonder why also, but one apparent purpose for it is to be a slush fund for the myriad family deals of The Unaccountable. If Connecticut could lower the horrendous regulatory burdens and excessive taxation on businesses and perhaps provide something close to a semblance of public safety, maybe, (just maybe), businesses would want to move into the state rather than move out. But then what would happen to the cash gravy train that flows between the DECD and the Lamont family? The state could actually spend $1 billion dollars less each fiscal year and see greater economic growth without the DECD just by that money saved alone. 

The elimination of the DECD would be a dream come true for many thus it will never happen. Connecticut Taxpayers must continue to toil as indentured servants to support monolithic and economically incoherent agencies such as the DECD so that other politically aligned giants can profit. It is just more of the same failures economically that define the vast economic wasteland know as One-Party Democrat Rule Connecticut. 

In closing, I propose that the new motto for Connecticut should now be the "unconstitutional" state (or the “waste management state”) as a much more accurate reflection as to how business is done in 2023.

The Continuing Scam of Ned-O-Nomics: The Infosys Economic Giveaway (Part 2)

In my second part of my analysis of the debacle of the  Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (aka “DECD”) providing an $18 million dollar contract of taxpayer money to purportedly bring 1,200 jobs to Connecticut over an either six- or eight-year period (depending on clarifications to this secret agreement), along with a $20 million dollar contract for supposed maintenance and support services to the Office of Early Childhood and Connecticut’s Health Insurance Exchange known as “Access Health CT”,  we will look at several more highly questionable situations with respect to Infosys Systems (aka “Infosys”) and their dealings with other cities and states and employees in our country.As my friend and colleague Tony De Angelo is fond of saying on 94.9 “Lee Elci Show,” if you like peanut butter, you are going to love Skippy once you review these debacles.

Recently Indianapolis, Indiana is wondering where $56 million in grant monies have gone for supposedly "3,000 new jobs".  The following news report speaks volumes: "In 2018, India-based Infosys, a technology information service provider, announced to great fanfare that it was going to build a $245 million campus near the site of the former Indianapolis International Airport terminal on South High School Road just off Sam Jones Expressway and I-465.  A potential $100 million in state and local incentives, grants and tax breaks helped seal the deal."  "Three thousand people by the end of 2023, according to a $56 million grant contract signed with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation." "City County Councilor Jared Evans is still waiting for that new day to dawn on Indianapolis’ westside.” I’d like to know where the three thousand jobs are at,” he said. “I don’t think all of them are at One America Tower, and they’re certainly not out there, so, where are they?” "Infosys has a headquarters in downtown Indianapolis and has completed construction on a training center as the centerpiece of its proposed campus that on most days appears nearly empty judging by the number of vehicles in the parking lot." "Evans and westside business leaders tell Fox 59 News that Infosys has rejected attempts to participate in community events and organizations despite promises to be a good neighbor."  (https://fox59.com/indiana-news/city-and-state-await-payback-from-infosys-expansion). Again, please remember that Connecticut is giving $18 million dollars to Infosys for supposedly 1200 "new jobs".

Or how about this issue with California? "Infosys will pay California $800,000 to resolve allegations that between 2006 and 2017, approximately 500 Infosys employees were working in the State on Infosys-sponsored B-1 visas rather than H-1B visas, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said. This misclassification resulted in Infosys avoiding California payroll taxes such as the unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and employment training taxes." (https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/infosys-fined-800-000-for-worker-misclassification-tax-fraud-in-us-119121800136_1.html)

In trying to find any information as to the actual amount of jobs Infosys has created in our country, regrettably, one is unable to get any information with regards to this critical information.  Instead, we see the company has been fined millions for violating Visa laws.  Infosys paid a record $34 million dollar penalty for immigration fraud in 2013, per the following news report: "Infosys, a Bangalore-based outsourcing company, agreed to pay a civic settlement of $34 million for “systematic visa fraud and abuse” as announced by Texas prosecutors after two years of investigation. This serious offense constitutes the largest fine in history for an immigration law violation. Misuse of B-1 visas was not the only serious and blatant violation of immigration law, Infosys also had other less obvious, but equally significant infractions in regard to I-9 compliance. It turns out that Infosys failed to maintain I-9 records for many of its foreign nationals in the United States in 2010 and 2011 as required by law; 80% of all I-9s from Infosys contained substantive violations." (https://visawolf.com/infosys-pays-34-million-for-abuses-of-immigration-law)

Infosys was also the subject of a massive discrimination lawsuit.  "The plaintiffs, four IT workers from around the U.S., brought their discrimination lawsuit against the India-based IT services giant in 2013. This week, they filed a motion seeking class-action certification from 2009 and say the potential pool of plaintiffs may be as large as 125,000." "The lawsuit alleges that the India-based firm was engaged in "ongoing national origin and race discrimination," and claimed, at the time the lawsuit was filed, that the Infosys U.S. workforce was roughly 90% South Asian. One plaintiff was hired by Infosys to work on a $49.5 million Affordable Care Act, government-funded development project for the District of Columbia. There were about one hundred Infosys employees working on the healthcare project, but only three were American, the lawsuit claimed. The plaintiff alleged harassment, and was denied promotion, the complaint said. Neumark brought a statistical analysis to the discrimination claim. Specifically, the economist wrote, "from 2009 through 2015, 89.39% of Infosys' United States workforce was South Asian while only 11.45% of the United States' Computer Systems Design and Related Services industry was South Asian."(https://www.computerworld.com/article/3137500/infosys-u-s-workforce-is-mostly-south-asian-and-no-accident-plaintiffs-allege.html)

The Biblical premise of finding out if information is true is the law of this information being repeated “in the mouth of two or three witnesses.”  To this end, we have viewed several examples of this worldwide company and how it apparently operates in the United States.  From an economics perspective I do not see how Connecticut Taxpayers benefit from two separate taxpayer funded contracts to Infosys that will transfer $38 million dollars to them.  For what?  Mythical job creation?  Mythical upgrades to a computer system and program? Another profit source for the Lamont's family hedge fund Oak HC/FT based upon the documented common investments between Oak HC/FT and Infosys? More state crony-based DECD “economic development training?”  To help eliminate more jobs for United States born and raised Information Technology workers? Another "throw your money in the street DECD/Ned Deal" just to show how fast taxpayer money can disappear and how inept people can be? All of this puts one at a complete loss.

Please consider the following: It has been four years starting with the 2020 Covid-19 debacle and we still do not have any answers to Ned Lamont's family hedge fund (Oak HC/FT Partners) investments to Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-service provider and Unqork, both having documented common-investment ties to Infosys.  Nor are any answers forthcoming from associated companies relating to the Covid-19 crisis that include "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Infomatics", “Centrellis”. "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", and "VillageMD" to name several.   

Thus, the rip off of Connecticut Taxpayers and many other Taxpayers throughout our country continues with the economic grants given freely to Infosys.  Many more examples exist as to why Infosys (and the DECD) should not be funded any more, at all. Yet, poor vassal taxpayers’ monies are freely given in the rhetoric and drivel that is defined as "economic development" which is a game that government likes to play with taxpayer substance, especially in the non-transparent state of Connecticut. 

Since there has been scant government outcry to this egregious situation, one only prays that there will be a chorus of taxpayers who will first call for the breaking of ties with Infosys, followed by the defunding of the DECD.  Jobs are not being created especially for Connecticut Information Technology workers.  This is a sham and a shame and should be called out as such.  But with Annie Lamont of Oak HC/FT spouse of the stalwart Connecticut Governor His Royal Con-Man, King Ned Lamont the Unaccountable, aided by the corrupted Democrat Party in an iron grip control of the state and bankrolled by an economically irrational DECD calling the shots, it is business as usual in the state.  Connecticut Information Technology workers be damned.  Connecticut Taxpayers be damned. And any reasonable economic fairness and decency in Connecticut can go to hell as well. Nothing changes in a state that is a bottom feeder in all economic categories with $100-$150 billion dollars in short- and long-term debt along with unfunded liabilities. 

Connecticut will soon be accelerating its trip into the economic and social gutter with the help of this horrendous and illogical Infosys economic grant. Its up to you, my reader, to cry out and finally put a stop to this mess.

The Continuing Scam of Ned-O-Nomics: The Infosys Economic Giveaway (Part 1)

Just about all poor vassal taxpayers in the State of Connecticut are aware of the saga of Sema4, a flagship equity investment promoted by Oak HC/FT, Oak HC/FT being the hedge-fund partnership partially owned by Annie Lamont, spouse of the stalwart Connecticut Governor His Royal Con-Man, King Ned Lamont The Unaccountable. We followed Sema4 through its journey from "no-bid" Covid testing and documented its personal data theft of children to the “pump” of its IPO in 2021, down through the aftermath of its subsequent “dump” leading to the withdrawal of its in-state presence in 2022. During this time, the Lamont-related ownership interests greatly benefited by leveraging millions of incredibly cheap “economic assistance” dollars to a backdrop of almost total political silence and a concerted corporate media effort to look the other way.

If we lived in any sort of a rational world instead of Connecticut, the picture we would be seeing today would be far different than the one now existing. That said, my review of a “responsive information” disclosure this past week concerning the same players but a different equity made it quite clear that other shifty “Ned Deals” were occurring during the identical time frame of Sema4, and unfortunately, no one was the wiser.

To this end, Infosys Limited (aka "Infosys”) is a worldwide company that over the past five years has been able to and will acquire, a mere $38 million dollars of Connecticut Taxpayers monies. How, you ask? From the generosity of the (should-be abolished) Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (“DECD”) via an $18 million dollar contract to bring 1,200 jobs to Connecticut over an either six- or eight-year period (depending on clarifications to this secret agreement). $2 million dollars of this grant was purportedly used for "job training", however that is defined and what actual job training was provided is a mystery also according to the disclosure. These 1,200 jobs cost Connecticut Taxpayers $15,000 for each job.

Whom Infosys can hire to meet this nebulous quota is also confusing to many. Apparently "green card" permanent residents can be hired and will qualify for meeting this jobs quota. Jobs can be done remotely from home and apparently from out-of-state employees so long as they in theory somehow pay a Connecticut State Income Tax on their wages. Salaries that need to be paid qualifying to meet this quota are equally hazy. Further, there is no study in the disclosure to exactly ascertain how much tax revenue Connecticut will get back from this $18 million investment. Regrettably, a review of these documents tells us it will take many years for the state to get back this massive amount of money given freely to this out-of-state worldwide company, if anything ever gets returned at all.

That said, if we feel the above is bad, things become much worse: In 2022, Infosys also received a "sweetheart" $20 million dollar Connecticut Taxpayer- funded contract for maintenance and support services to the Office of Early Childhood and Connecticut’s Health Insurance Exchange known as “Access Health CT”. This ostensibly undeserved gift, along with the proviso of additional services for the Department of Social Services were a part of this contract. It seems like this was a pre-planned contract even though it went through a state bidding process and amazingly enough was awarded to this foreign company that uses "green card" permanent residents and out-of-state employees in what has been publicly represented to corporate media as a “local” economic development program.

Trying to understand the complexities of this worldwide company is made to be intentionally difficult. And why this company was given this money is questionable. For example, the global revenue of Infosys amounted to about $18.2 billion U.S. dollars for Fiscal Year 2023. (https://www.statista.com/statistics/900303/india-infosys-revenue). It looks on paper as a highly profitable company worldwide. The operative question then becomes as to why a company that has this type of revenue need this $18 million dollar pittance of Connecticut taxpayers' monies? We still do not see nor understand how this grant benefits the state at large. But regrettably, (or thankfully) those of us that have dutifully followed the saga of The Unaccountable and his spouse in this state discovered the inevitable tie-in food chain between Oak HC/FT and Infosys.

As just several examples:
• In 2019 Rapyd, a global Fintech-as-a-service provider, received $100 million dollars in financing that was led by Oak HC/FT. Rapyd and Infosys partnered together to create and enable a functioning local payment system and methods for their global clients.

• In 2020 Infosys partnered with a company called Unqork. Unqork creates "Codeless Architecture". Unqork received funding from Oak HC/FT.

These are just a several examples of the Lamont-Oak HC/FT modus operandi of using Connecticut taxpayer monies to prop up questionable investments made by Oak HC/FT thus facilitated via the uncontrolled and secretive DECD cash spigot leading to either taxpayer-supported profit or risk-free loss. Followers of my blog and of Tony De Angelo on 94.9's "Lee Elci Show" are well-familiar with this Lamont shell game. However, while the above is both shocking and disgusting (if not, larcenous) no one seems to care about these new founded investments nor do we still have any answers to Ned Lamont's family hedge fund (Oak HC/FT Partners) investments to associated companies relating to the Covid-19 crisis that include "Thermo Fisher Scientific", "Sema 4", " Core Infomatics", "Ocrulus", "Urjanet", "1life Healthcare", "Galileo Health", "Castlight Health", "Paladina Health", and "VillageMD" to name a few. It is yet more of the same with Infosys and the Lamonts, as he continues to be the darling poster boy of the state to the point where more than one state politician (including some Republicans) cannot wait to grab a “selfie” with him.

Complex larceny is one thing, but lousy employee management is another. Infosys has a checked history when it comes to employee retention especially for United States workers. Looking at reviews that employees have entered at the website glassdoor.com one can see major issues. You can review some of this data brought to us by the diligent efforts of “CT Techworkers” This group has compiled a pdf of some of these reviews that are horrific. I suggest you read this document: (https://cttechworkers.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/glassdoorreviewshartfordinfosys.pdf) An example from this pdf on page 4; "I left the company back in August 2020 and to this day (2/1/2021), I am still dealing with HR issues and HR no longer responds to my emails. The company had me listed as a resident of two different states, therefore I was paying income tax for both states-it was never corrected despite many different tickets submitted." My thoughts regarding this would Infosys Limited being counting this employee with two different state grants it received, being Connecticut and another state? Regardless, this would be a bookkeeping system in which millions of state tax dollars are channeled through.

What's another $38 million dollars of Connecticut Taxpayers monies? A “mere bag of shells” according to bus driver Ralph Kramden of “Honeymooners” fame, especially if the “key people” of the state are being buoyed by the funding. Again, this past budget featured over $823 million dollars spent for "economic development" in the 49th worst economic state in the union, and it looks that Connecticut has nothing to show for almost $1 billion dollars being spent by the DECD. However, this example presented with Infosys in conjunction with profits being made by Ned Lamont's family hedge fund Oak HC/FT represents again, a complete and total disregard for both Connecticut Taxpayers and for legal Connecticut citizens who work in the IT field and pay taxes to the state.

My second part to this issue will be forthcoming next week. Suffice it to say these situations are a farce and a rip-off against state taxpayers while an entire political and media system remains silent. But as you struggle to piece together a holiday meal for your family do keep in mind that others closer to the inner-machinery of the farce that is called Connecticut government, do not struggle nearly as much as we may.