Did You Know?

Please help us. On this page we will be posting factoids about Connecticut's problems which we think Connecticut voters will want to know. You can help us determine if the factoids resonate with voters. Please read them and vote on whether or not the factoid bothers you. In doing so you can help us make sure that the problems we are highlighting for voters are the ones that matter most. Please visit this page regularly as we will be updating the factoids in response to your votes and new information about the state's problems as it becomes available. State Spending Did you know... average annual state spending per household is $8,745 on an average Connecticut household income of $68,000. If you are an average Connecticut household, this is how much you are paying annually for state expenses. If your household income is above the average you are paying more:

	Education State Employees' Fringe Benefits Debt Service Medicaid Benefits Health and Hospitals Other Social Services Department of Children and Family Services Corrections Roads and Transportation All other expenses	$2,054 1,187 1,044 983 885 491 465 366 281 989
	Average State Spending per household - Total	$8,745

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... Connecticut's per recipient cost of Medicaid is 66% higher than the national average? Connecticut's cost per elderly recipient is 116.3% higher than the national average and the highest in the nation.

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... at Connecticut's Riverview Hospital, it costs the state over $862,000 per year for each juvenile patient? Private service providers say they could care for these patients for less than half that amount.

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... Connecticut's state debt per capita at $4,490 is the highest in the nation?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Taxes Did you know... the average Connecticut household bill for state taxes is $8,600, or one out of every eight dollars of average household income of $68,000?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... in 2007, the latest year data is available, Connecticut collected more income taxes per capita than any other state in the nation?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... since 1995, Connecticut's combined state and local tax burden per capita is consistently ranked first, second, or third in the nation?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Jobs and the Economy Did you know... Connecticut is one of only two states in the nation with fewer jobs today than in 1989?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... Connecticut is 15th from the bottom of Best for Business States rated by Forbes magazine. Connecticut's reputation for being "employer unfriendly" costs us jobs because it results in companies leaving the state or choosing not to come here.

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... Connecticut's Democrat-controlled Legislature has passed 53 health care mandates that add at least several thousand dollars per year to the cost of your health insurance if your plan is provided by a private insurer? These mandates make it more expensive to employ people in Connecticut and cost us jobs.

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

The Way Business is Done in Hartford Did you know... Connecticut does not use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for budgeting purposes? GAAP is required by law to be used by all public companies operating in the United States. By not using GAAP, the Legislature is able to play games and avoid recognizing many expenses.

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... the Democrat-controlled Legislature approved a bill that added an 8 cent per gallon "stealth" gas tax called the Gross Receipts Tax that doesn't show-up on the gas pump and allows gas tax funds intended for maintaining our roads to be to used for general fund expenses?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot

Did you know... the Democrat-controlled Legislature imposes mandates on towns that significantly increase your property taxes, such as mandatory arbitration of some union contracts, mandatory in-school suspensions, and limiting municipal sources of revenue?

1. Does Not Bother Me

2. Bothers Me A Little

3. Bothers Me A Lot