Bobby Jindal Campaigns in Connecticut: Gov. Malloy's 'Failed Policies' Have Weakened State's Economy

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) said Connecticut Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley understands that incumbent Gov. Dannel Malloy’s (D-WFP) “failed policies” have caused the weakened economy in that state.

As the Associated Press (AP) reports, Jindal was in West Hartford, Connecticut Friday campaigning for Foley who is in a tight race against Malloy.

Upon hearing Jindal’s comments, Malloy shot back, “Let me remind you, Louisiana – one of the poorer states, one of the highest uninsured rates in the nation, one of the most polluted states in the nation – this is the poster child for Tom Foley and his policies.”

Jindal, however, accused Malloy of attempting to distract from the noticeably slow economic growth and job recovery in Connecticut.

“We’ve got more people working than ever before,” he said of Louisiana. “Our economy is growing twice as fast as the national economy.”

According to the Tax Foundation, Connecticut has one of the ten lowest ranked, or worst, business tax climates in the nation. The state’s property taxes are the second worst in the country, at $2,522 property tax per capita. Additionally, Connecticut has a top state income tax rate of 6.7 percent and sales tax rate of 6.35 percent.

Though Malloy said he would not raise taxes as governor, he gave the state its largest tax increase in its history.

HispanicBusiness.com reported in June of 2013 that Connecticut was “dead last in economic growth last year, the only state in the nation where the combined total of goods, services and salaries paid within the state shrank compared with 2011.”

MoneyRates.com declared in June that Connecticut one of the ten worst states to make a living, and reported the state “fell nine places this year to drop into this list. Here again, high incomes are not enough to make up for a high cost of living. Also, unemployment is high, and workplace conditions place ahead of only Mississippi’s.”

In January of 2013, the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a research and citizen education organization that advocates for free market, limited government policy solutions in Connecticut, published the “disgraceful List of Lasts” regarding the state’s abysmal economic condition.

The “List” is as follows:

• Barron’s rated Connecticut’s debt situation as the worst in the country in 2012 (Bary, Andrew. “State of the States” Barron’s. August 27, 2012)
• TopRetirements.com ranked Connecticut as the 2012 worst state for retirement (Murphy, Eamon. “The 10 Worst States to Retire In: They’re Frosty and Costly” January 13, 2012. TopRetirements.com)
• The Institute for Truth in Accounting ranked Connecticut’s financial status as the worst in the nation with a debt burden of $49,000 per taxpayer (The Institute for Truth in Accounting, “The Financial State of the States”)
• Connecticut’s credit quality was ranked 50th in the nation by Conning Inc’s State of the States Municipal Credit Research Report in 2012 (Sturdevant, M. “Connecticut Ranks Last Among 50 States in Credit Analysis by Conning” Courant Blogs. November 27, 2012.)
• Connecticut’s Tax Freedom Day of May 5, 2012 was the latest in the nation according to the Tax Foundation (Tax Foundation Tax Freedom Day Study 2012)
• Connecticut’s Achievement Gap is the worst in the nation according to the Connecticut Council for Education Reform
• The Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors by the Cato Institute gave Gov. Dan Malloy an “F” (Edwards, Chris. “Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors” October 9, 2012.)

In August, Yankee Institute published a report titled “Born Broke: Our Pension Debt Problem,” by J. Scott Moody and Wendy P. Warcholik, Ph.D.

The premise of the paper is that Connecticut’s public pension system is one of the most expensive in the country, with unfunded pension liability at $76.8 billion, more than three times the amount the state claims to owe because it is using overinflated earnings estimates.

The authors state:

Connecticut offers a host of other benefits to retirees – including healthcare and life insurance – but there are virtually no savings to pay for these ever-mounting costs. In addition to its unfunded pension liability, Connecticut owes another $22.7 billion in unfunded benefit obligations to retired teachers and state employees.

“When the two figures are combined, it becomes clear that the state owes almost $100 billion in unfunded pension and benefit liabilities,” the Yankee Institute paper says. “That’s $27,668 of pension debt for every man, woman and child in Connecticut.”