In response to state Sen. Michael McLachlan’s recently published opinion piece (“High taxes driving people away,” Jan. 14), it appears that he and others who parrot or peddle similar mis- or disinformation might do well to truly investigate the data which they cite before blindly pushing the “Don’t tax the wealthy, or businesses, or they’ll leave us!” line.
Migration by businesses from Connecticut’s leafy suburban office parks to urban centers is not entirely due to corporate tax rates. When business was booming in Connecticut in the 1970s and 1980s, nearby cities like New York and Boston were unsafe, if not crime-ridden. Corporations made the decision to move as a result. This led to the rise in sprawling office parks in Connecticut and New Jersey, capitalizing on the outward migration by corporations from New York.
After decades of investment, and correlative drops in poverty and crime, cities have rebounded and now attract college graduates, businesses, institutions of higher education, and plenty of suburban dwellers because of access to cultural goings on. The flight from Connecticut by one company cited by the senator, and the near-flight of another, illustrate this larger cultural trend.
1) General Electric moved its headquarters from Fairfield to Boston, (with Massachusetts #6 in outbound moves from the United Van Lines study cited by the senator). They did so not exclusively because of “high taxes” as the senator implies. CFO Jeffrey Borstein stated it was also to be closer to students/graduates in a major metropolitan area. The Boston metro area is home to 35 colleges, and while Boston is home to 10 percent of the total population of the state, it holds 35 percent of Massachusetts’ student population. As its business model changes to focus less on financial instruments and more on large tech, this move does make sense, opening many recruitment doors from the likes of Harvard, M.I.T. and other fine universities. Add to that the fact Massachusetts gave them a $145 million incentive package to move just 200 jobs, and ultimately have 800 at the new HQ, we should wish the company (and Massachusetts’ taxpayers) the very best of luck.
2) Aetna announced it would move its corporate headquarters to New York City (New York is #3 on outbound moves, per the United Van Lines study, one spot ahead of Connecticut) last year. Now in the midst of a purchase by retail pharmacy giant CVS, leadership has made it clear that they intend to stay in Hartford, and have “no plans” to move Aetna’s Connecticut operations out of state. Mark Bertolini, the CEO who will become unemployed once the merger is completed, will be able to lament not being able to live in Manhattan, as he allegedly longed for, by crying into his $500 million severance package.
Senator McLachlan should look for real solutions to the problems we face — campaigning to eliminate the state income tax is odious and unrealistic, and most serious people understand that.
We need legislators who want to build the working class through investment, not kowtow to corporate interests or perpetuate this “If we tax the wealthy, they’ll leave!” Chicken Little nonsense. This means a push for increased wages, rebuilding our aging infrastructure, and investment in our state’s urban centers. This will help retain retirees who don’t hear the call of warm Florida breezes, and attract new businesses.
Austerity measures loom as legislators struggle to come up with solutions to close budget gaps, which will impact working class residents hardest. The answer is not to cut more deals to appease the wealthy and corporations who have done quite well over the past decade. Inevitably, when the economy slows or corporations pull back on wages or investment in their workforce, putting dividends to shareholders above all else, it is the working class who suffers.
Support candidates with a progressive vision for our state, and the policy positions that will help rebuild the working class, first and foremost. The only “elephant” in the room is an out-of-touch Senator McLachlan, and he should be shown the door in November’s election.
James Naddeo is a resident of Bethel.