On Friday, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) said that the fact that they cut taxes and “kept things open during COVID” has helped the state grow its population and the state has managed to balance its budget because it has attracted more people to the state.
On CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Lamont stated, “We inherited a $2 billion deficit. The first thing thing I wanted to do five years ago was make sure we didn’t raise taxes. That’s what the five previous governors had done. Now, it’s five years later, we’ve got our budget balanced. We’re making investments. And we’re able to have the biggest middle-class tax cut in history, about $450 million. So, people are taking about a 10% tax cut, and the poorest folks, bottom third, eliminating the income tax for them. … I’ve always said, I don’t want more taxes, I don’t mind more taxpayers. That’s lifting up, keeping our budget solid.”
Later, on Bloomberg’s “Surveillance,” Lamont said, “The Wall Street Journal keeps saying, boy, everybody’s fleeing those blue states, they’re raising taxes, that’s why they’re all leaving, just the opposite in Connecticut. We’ve had probably 50, 60, 70,000 people move into the state over the last few years. We did cut taxes. I think that’s one of the reasons. But also, we kept things open during COVID. Our schools stayed open. People looked at our suburban lifestyle, saw our cities coming back. A lot of young people moving to the state.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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