CT ‘has basically been treading water’

Massachusetts had the best ranking among New England states, finishing 24th.

Among the six categories used in the ranking process, Connecticut’s best scores came in terms of workforce, where the state was ranked 14th and 17th in the life, health and inclusion category as well as 25th in innovation and technology.

But the state finished 45th in the cost of doing business, 47th in economy and 39th in infrastructure.

Economist Donald Klepper-Smith said the reasons for the state’s poor showing stretch back at least a decade. Klepper-Smith lived in Connecticut for decades before relocating to South Carolina, though he still has clients in Connecticut.

“If you look back over the last 10 years, the U.S. economy has accelerated, growing at a double digit pace,” he said. “Connecticut has basically been treading water. It’s all about preserving the status quo in terms of economic development and you can’t expect to right-the-ship doing that.”

With a gubernatorial and legislative election scheduled for November, Klepper-Smith said the state needs to focus on a hard cap on spending.

“The one we’ve had has been circumvented time and time again,” he said.

In order make Connecticut a more affordable state to live, Klepper-Smith said the state needs to get serious about regionalism.

“The fact that we have 169 Connecticut and no sense of regionalism is an affront to taxpayers,” he said, referring to the number of communities in the state.

Another factor that needs to be addressed, according to Klepper-Smith, is affordable housing.

“Housing is an economic development issue of great importance,” he said. If people don’t have a place to live, they don’t have a place to work, so affordable housing has to be an integral component. Without it, you don’t have job growth and without job growth, you don’t have a strong economy.”

David Cadden, professor emeritus at Quinnipiac University’s School of Business, said state government needs to focus on making it easier to start a small business.

“It’s very difficult to get a small business started in this state,” Cadden said.

State government should also provide “financial and managerial support to under-served communities,” he said.

Finally, Cadden said state government and the people that work in it “need to become more effective, more efficient.”