Democrat Gov. Ned Lamont has formally invited the CEOs of Netflix, Disney, and AMC to move their film production companies to his abortion-friendly state of Connecticut.
Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (D) invited the companies to move from Georgia where the state legislature voted to approve a law that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat can be detected, usually at around the sixth week of pregnancy. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the bill into law in May.
The governor’s office announced the film production companies received letters stating that “Connecticut is a perfect location for them to conduct business.”
Connecticut has a vibrant television and digital media sector, and we welcome companies who want to be part of this continued success. https://t.co/MMmuKTgyC2
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) June 7, 2019
“States that are adopting legislation that severely curb women’s reproductive rights are sending shockwaves across the country, including in the business community, and rightly so,” Lamont said in a statement.
He added:
Here in Connecticut, I am particularly proud that support for protecting the ability of women to make informed decisions about their health and bodies is not only strong, but it is also bipartisan. We will continue to do everything in our power to protect women’s healthcare rights, and stand in solidarity with businesses who feel the same. We wholeheartedly agree with and support the position of these companies and urge them to consider Connecticut.
In May, Lamont also published an open letter to women business owners in states that have passed abortion restrictions, promising them a pro-abortion environment in which to do business.
Lamont’s invitations to move to Connecticut come as the state remains in fiscal crisis.
A Hartford Courant/Sacred Heart University Institute for Public Policy poll released at the end of May found 58.7 percent of the state’s residents said it is “very or somewhat” difficult to maintain their standard of living due to increases in state taxes, utility and fuel costs, and fees.
Connecticut residents across all earning levels expressed concern about the future of the state.
“Taxes, quality-of life-issues and the high cost of living in Connecticut continue to dominate poll results,” said Lesley DeNardis, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy.
“Residents are looking for tax relief and are turning to state legislators to find solutions that won’t further hurt their pocketbooks,” DeNardis added. “The state budget passed by the Connecticut General Assembly will likely exacerbate these concerns by raising sales and excise taxes as well as lifting the sales tax exemption on previously excluded goods and services.”
The survey of 1,000 Connecticut residents has a margin of error of +/- 3.02 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
Additionally, financial watchdog Truth in Accounting found Connecticut to be a “sinkhole state,” i.e., without enough assets to cover its debt. The state ranks as number 49 for fiscal health in the nation, with only New Jersey ranking below it.
“Because Connecticut doesn’t have enough money to pay its bills, it has a $69.8 billion financial hole,” Truth in Accounting stated. “To fill it, each Connecticut taxpayer would have to send $53,400 to the state.”
In early 2016, finance analyst Larry Kudlow — now serving as director of the National Economic Council under President Donald Trump — wrote at National Review about GE’s decision to leave Connecticut.
“GE’s decision to leave Fairfield for Boston is another sad marker in the downhill slide brought about by Connecticut’s high-tax, high-regulation, anti-business policies of the last 25 years,” Kudlow wrote. “Does anyone doubt that massive tax hikes on successful earners and corporations drive those same folks out of state? That’s the new Connecticut story. A recent Pew poll shows that 60 percent of current residents want out.”
Though film companies Disney and Netflix have stepped up production in countries such as Egypt and Jordan — where abortion is largely illegal — leaders of the companies have said they would consider leaving Georgia — the third-largest production hub in the country due to its generous tax incentives — if the law takes effect.
Actress and left-wing political activist Alyssa Milano called for a Hollywood boycott of Georgia if Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill into law. Milano then followed with a call for a sex strike, urging women to engage in abstinence from sex to protest the end to “reproductive rights.”
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