Measuring the Wrong Things: Connecticut’s Moneyball Problem
Connecticut’s state government is currently spending millions of dollars in pursuit of economic development and job growth. But the money isn’t going to rebuild infrastructure or address the state’s high electricity costs – it is going to the handful of companies that promise to expand their CT operations.
This type of economic development is ultimately misguided as it doesn’t fix the economic problems.
Read the entire article at CT News Junkie.
Though every new job is welcome, this type of economic development comes with at a high price to taxpayers. They will be on the hook for much of the $864 million Bioscience Connecticut project that wooed the Jackson Lab to Connecticut plus an additional $291 million for construction, equipment, and operations at the new institute. It also reflects the high priority on creating jobs that politicians can take direct credit for creating.
This strategy, though beneficial to politicians standing for re-election in the short term, avoids addressing obstacles to private sector growth like high cost of living and doing business in Connecticut. Reducing the tax burden, streamlining the regulatory environment, and tackling transportation and energy issues are much more difficult than cutting ribbons and unveiling architectural renderings but more powerful in actually spurring broad-based economic growth.
