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Interesting Stats About Connecticut
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Did you know that in 2006 Connecticut ranked second in the nation in net farm income per acre ($508)? How about that in the same year we ranked tenth in U.S. Department of Defense total contracts ($7.78 billion)? Or that in 2007 the state ranked 18th in the percent of nonfarm employees engaged in manufacturing (11.2%)? These are just three of the many statistics contained in new report called "Connecticut In Perspective 2008 - A Statistical View of the Constitution State."
Published by CQ Press, a division of the Congressional Quarterly, the report has almost 600 facts about Connecticut in topics ranging from the economy and employment to population and transportation. Many of the stats help support policy positions that we have taken over the years.
For example, every legislative session we work to defeat a corporate tax proposal (mandatory combined reporting, or unitary taxation) that would be particularly burdensome for headquarter companies and we find that Connecticut, although a small state, ranks 15th in the number of Fortune 500 companies headquartered here. And we're told that corporations in Connecticut don't really pay taxes, but the facts show that in 2006 corporate tax revenues in Connecticut were the 21st highest in the nation and 15th highest on a per capita basis.
The flip side to the "corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes" argument is that poverty is endemic in Connecticut and government is insensitive to it. The facts show that in 2006 Connecticut ranked 48th in percent of families living in poverty, 47th in percent of children living in poverty and 48th in percent of senior citizens living in poverty. And there are a variety of statistics that shows that state government provides a good safety net for those who can't adequately provide for themselves. Although reducing poverty as much as possible is a worthy goal for the state, there should be greater recognition that a growing, vibrant economy can offer a way out of poverty for those who can work and the revenues to help support those who cannot.
Some other interesting national rankings:
--2nd in average annual earnings of full-time state government employees
--2nd in per capita state and local government tax revenue
--38th in state business tax climate index
--2nd in average weekly earnings of manufacturing production workers
--2nd in estimated average salary of public school classroom teacher
--17th in percent of public school 8th graders proficient or better in math
--4th in percent of private-sector establishments offering health insurance
--1st in average medical malpractice award payments
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