Income Gap Widens Between Rich and Poor
by Christine Stuart | April 9, 2008 5:00 AM
Posted to Labor
A new report on income trends shows that income inequality grew more in Connecticut than any other state in the nation.
Real income for the poorest families in the state has declined since the late 1980s by 17 percent, while the wealthiest families have enjoyed an increase in their real income of 45 percent, according to a joint report from Connecticut Voices for Children and the Center for Budget Policy and Priorities in Washington D.C.
While the poor were getting poorer and the rich were getting richer, middle-income families saw little change in their real incomes. According to the report, the income of families in the middle grew just 5.1 percent.
Click here to view the chart, or keep reading about the report below.
The average income of the wealthiest fifth of Connecticut families is 8 times greater than the income of the poorest fifth, compared to 4.6 times in the late 1980s, the report found.
The states with the biggest increases in income disparities since the late 1980s are Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Alabama, New York, Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas, New Jersey and Washington.
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities portion of the report found that many states made their tax systems more regressive during the 1990s. Early in the decade, when a recession created budget problems, states were more likely to raise sales and excise taxes than income taxes. Later in the decade, when many states cut taxes in response to the strong economy, nearly all chose to make the majority of the cuts in their income taxes rather than sales and excise taxes.
Last year in Connecticut a progressive income tax package passed both the Senate and the House, but was vetoed by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. While Democrats had majorities in both chambers they were unable to find enough political will to override the veto. So instead of shifting the income tax burden to those who make more than $200,000 a year through a progressive income tax, the legislature balanced the budget on a cigarette tax increase.
On Monday Sen. President Donald Williams, D-Brooklyn, and Speaker of the House James Amann, D-Milford, said there was no proposal to change the income tax structure in the state this year.
However, the Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee has proposed a new tax on deliveries, which came as a surprise to both Williams and Amann.
Williams said he would like to see some more details about the proposal. “How much money would it raise?” he asked.
“No one is ready to endorse or sign onto it until there’s more information,” Williams said.
Comments (3)
Posted by: cedarhillresident | April 9, 2008 8:23 AM
Say by by Middle Class...time for us to get out while the getting is good!! That or state taxing the people of the State Fairly!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: christine | April 9, 2008 9:01 AM
When will the legislature grow up and pass a progressive income tax? Never. Last year was their best shot and they blew it. Expect to pay more at the pump, more on sales tax, and more in property taxes to compensate for the lack of political will, brains, and balls. This should be a question everyone asks their state representative candidate this election season.
Posted by: Steven G. Erickson | April 10, 2008 11:44 AM
Official Connecticut's war and children and families, and especially on divorced fathers in costing us all.
If a divorced father with co-custody of his children can't even go to a public speaking event at his children's school without a police officer threatening him with arrest for being there, and if the police officer, disagrees with the father's expression of free speech, the father can be arrested.
A father can own a million dollar small business, a fine, expensive Fairfield County home, and end up penniless living on a friend's couch. This individual is further being humiliated fearing arrest for just being at his children's school, being a parent:
http://thesrv.blogspot.com/2008/04/whos-your-daddy.html
Bankrupting citizens, tearing up families, and ruining the economy because of judicial abuse of citizens and families makes Connecticut a sinking ship and a bad place to live, raise a family, work and retire in.