Like many other states, Connecticut is struggling to recover from the Great Recession and reignite a stagnant economy. This year, while our fiscal condition is starting to improve and our economy is beginning to stir, progress is still frustratingly slow. The most recent jobs report (Connecticut lost 2,900 jobs in May after a gain of 8,400 in April) shows the economic roller coaster we”™re on.
As lawmakers move from the regular session of the legislature to a special session this fall on jobs, businesses encourage them to take time this summer to listen to the employers who are the real job-creators and foundation for Connecticut”™s economic recovery.
When the General Assembly convened in January, lawmakers promised their constituents that they would go to Hartford prepared to focus on economic growth and job creation. It was a focus, however, that got a little blurry before legislators adjourned in June.
For the more than five months of the 2011 session, state lawmakers considered hundreds of legislative proposals, including many with the potential to impact Connecticut”™s private-sector employers.
CBIA supported measures that businesses said would help them get the state”™s economy moving again, including ways to streamline state government, reduce taxpayers”™ burdens and renew the confidence of employers. On the other hand, we opposed many other proposals that our members said would make it harder for them to create jobs or increase investments in the state.
Ultimately, lawmakers did approve some proposals that are steps in the right direction. For example, they passed an energy reform bill to help lower Connecticut”™s electricity rates; a bill to help attract private-sector investment to revitalize abandoned or contaminated brownfields; a First Five job creation incentive plan; and several economic development proposals from the Majority Leaders”™ Jobs-Growth Roundtable.
Employers watched, however, as legislators spent much time pursuing, and in some cases adopting, proposals that businesses told them would be harmful. Tax increases in the new, two-year state budget are likely to present another economic hurdle, particularly for Connecticut”™s small and mid-size businesses.
Connecticut continues to need consistent policymaking that will increase the confidence of private-sector employers in their ability to create and keep good jobs here. The state needs to focus on removing the cost and regulatory barriers to job growth. More work must, and can, be done to improve the perception of this state as a good place to do business.
Our economic strengths are many and well known. A recent national report card on manufacturing correctly ranked Connecticut among the best in the 50 states for our quality of workforce, product diversification and global reach. We are home to some of the most entrepreneurial and innovative businesses in the world.
But we also were graded low in the report for taxes and infrastructure. Overall, our manufacturing-climate grade was a C-plus; slightly above average, and a perception that we should all realize has to be changed.
Businesses want to know that state legislators, despite the ups and downs of the recently completed session, will really fulfill their campaign pledges and focus on restoring economic growth and job creation.
Joseph Brennan is senior vice president of public policy at CBIA. He can be reached at joe.brennan@cbia.com
