Nearly half of Connecticut’s high earners say they might leave the state in the next five years because of the state’s budget crisis and a ballooning cost of living. That’s according to a new survey from Sacred Heart University.
The survey shows a lot of worry among Connecticut residents about the state’s cost of living and high tax burden. More than three out of five say it’s hard to maintain their current standard of living.
Professor Lesley DeNardis, with the university’s Institute for Public Policy, which released the survey, says residents still tend to trust their municipal leaders, but many have lost faith in state government.
“The partisan squabbling in Hartford has contributed to a decreased amount of confidence that Connecticut residents feel toward state government and the inability to reach a satisfactory resolution to the state budget and fiscal crisis.”
DeNardis says residents have some ideas of their own: 70 percent support legalized marijuana, and more than half support tolls on state roads.
“We saw during the last legislative session that the issue of tolls did not make its way onto the legislative agenda at all, in fact it was a non-starter. But it seems as though the rank-and-file citizenry in Connecticut would be interested in entertaining that conversation.”
She says that could leave a silver lining for public officials, if they’re willing to take another look at alternative revenue sources in the next legislative session.
The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
