Hartford (April 15, 2014) – With very little room at the bottom
Connecticut nevertheless found a way to move down in a national economic
ranking mainly because of the minimum wage increase and sky-high taxes. That, said the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) today, won’t
surprise many small business owners.
“We’re
competing against the wrong states,” said NFIB
State Director Andrew Markowski. “We
shouldn’t be competing with New York and California to see who can alienate the
most businesses. We should be competing
with Michigan, Indiana and the Sun Belt states to see who can attract the most
investment and create the most jobs.”
The
American Legislative Exchange Council this morning released its 2014 Rich
States-Poor States Economic Outlook Index, which weighs a number of factors,
including rates, labor laws and regulations.
Connecticut this year dropped from 43rd place to 44th.
“We’re
at the bottom of the pile and moving down,” said Markowski. “It’s not a coincidence that we have one of
the worst reputations in the country for business and we have one of the
slowest growing economies.”
Connecticut
has among the highest income and property taxes in the country. Now it also has the highest minimum
wage. Those factors may make some
lawmakers proud, but they’re a turn-off to small businesses and potential
business investors.
“What’s our
sales pitch as a place for new investment,” asked Markowski. “Why would a corporate board or a small
business owner decide to locate, or remain, in Connecticut when they consider the
other choices?
“The best
way to elevate the poor and to pay for important services is to grow the
economy and we’ll never do that as long as we keep shooting ourselves in the
foot,” he continued. “What we’ve been
doing for the last few years is obviously not working and it’s time for change.”
To learn
more about NFIB please visit www.nfib.com.
