Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

Some time ago, a Connecticut Trumpeter confessed to this political writer that he had been having a recurrent nightmare. Military procurements during the Obama administration have been slender. Connecticut is still referred to in some corners as “the provision state” because, since the Revolutionary War, Connecticut has provided the national military with provisions. It continues to do so; Pratt&Whitney, Electric Boat and Sikorsky are very much going concerns. Obama’s military budget was considerably more modest than Trump’s, as the President never tires of reminding the country. Dollars spent on the military are, to no one’s surprise, good for Connecticut. Federal dollars spent on military procurements produce Connecticut jobs, which produce funds that replenish the state’s treasury -- all good, all the time.

The bad news is that in the three months ending in June, according to a report by Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, new businesss start ups dropped to an eight year low. And the other bad news is that that 3,000 businesses closed in the second quarter of this year, also an eight year low. Bysiewicz tried to put some lipstick on this economic pig when she said, “Businesses throughout the nation are struggling to cope with escalating energy prices, health care costs and the national credit crisis, and Connecticut's businesses are no exception.” Economist for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association Peter Gioia said the state was in better shape than the nation and pointed to jobs added over the last couple of months, while the national economy has suffered seven continuous months of job losses. A member of Governor Jodi Rell’s Council of Economic Advisors, Don Klepper-Smith, pointed a crooked finger at the national credit crunch, Given the tight credit, Klepper-Smith said...