This nugget was released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Commerce:
PER CAPITA PERSONAL INCOME
In 2007 Fairfield County had a per capita personal income (PCPI) of $81,576. This PCPI ranked 1st in the state and was 148 percent of the state average, $54,981, and 211 percent of the national average, $38,615. The 2007 PCPI reflected an increase of 7.6 percent from 2006. The 2006-2007 state change was 6.6 percent and the national change was 4.9 percent. In 1997 the PCPI of Fairfield was $47,190 and ranked 1st in the state. The 1997-2007 average annual growth rate of PCPI was 5.6 percent. The average annual growth rate for the state was 4.8 percent and for the nation was 4.3 percent.TOTAL PERSONAL INCOME
In 2007 Fairfield had a total personal income (TPI) of $72,650,910*. This TPI ranked 1st in the state and accounted for 37.9 percent of the state total. In 1997 the TPI of Fairfield was $40,631,234* and ranked 1st in the state. The 2007 TPI reflected an increase of 7.6 percent from 2006. The 2006-2007 state change was 6.6 percent and the national change was 6.0 percent. The 1997-2007 average annual growth rate of TPI was 6.0 percent. The average annual growth rate for the state was 5.2 percent and for the nation was 5.4 percent.
Well, I cannot wait until they release the numbers next year for 2008, and the following year for this year, considering the current economic environment. Smack in the middle of the wealthiest county in the wealthiest country on the planet, according to the Commerce Department, is little ol’ Bridgeport–Connecticut’s largest city: affluence against regional service provider/tax exempt property victim/social institution center/public housing magnet/highest taxed area.
Will someone please share this info with the suburban-dominated/ Democratic-controlled Connecticut Legislature which hasn’t met a tax it doesn’t love, but cannot find a way to create a tax (or revenue source) that compensates Bridgeport for the services it provides and takes in for an entire region: the garbage, the sewage, the sick, the homeless, the tax-exempt properties, public housing and a whole bunch of other stuff?
Will you lazy, myopic bastards in Hartford wake up?
Okay, I feel better now.
Weekend Stuff
What’s cookin’ this weekend? The warm sun, cool breeze and a bunch of events. Tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. check out the new exhibit at The Gallery at Black Rock. Click the ad link top left for more info. Bluefish will play under a nice night starting at 7. The Playhouse on the Green has sold out its first performance tonight of the Wiz. Click the playhouse link under Perfect Pearls for tix to shows. On Saturday the American Jenny Lind competition takes place at 12:45 p.m. at Salem Lutheran Church, 3160 Park Avenue. The event is free and open to the public. Hit the high notes with Jenny.
And, the Smothers Brothers at The Klein Sunday night!
An OIB salute to Steve Winters who has completed his final day as editor of the Connecticut Post’s Editorial Page. Stevie’s a prince, great journalist who has retired from the paper. The good news is he’ll be writing a weekly Sunday piece for the paper.
Sounds like a Golden Nugget weekend.
Happy Earth Day Week to Mayor Moonbeam!!!
First Bitch of the season!
Bluefish opener should have been a four o’clock start.
The large cities in the State are badly outmanned in Hartford by the other 163 towns.The 6 big cities get screwed.
I have in the past blamed our representatives for this problem and while I still think that to a point, it is clear they are outnumbered.
I guess my gripe with them is they don’t say squat about this problem or about the problem with the Pilot payments we receive.
Maybe it’s time for the city to say no to any more tax-free properties and no to expansion of our present tax-free beneficiaries.
Maybe we need to redefine what is or is not tax-free property. Do we need a storefront church on every corner? We need to lose tax-free property when a religious group decided to build a church and remove two taxpaying properties from the tax rolls. This is happening on the upper eastside. The city just lost $12,000 in property taxes. When does it stop?
Do we need any more halfway houses for out-of-towners?
Let’s take care of our own and let the ‘burbs deal with their problems.
Can we tax out-of-towners that use our hospitals so that the pilot payments are fair?
I have no problem with the empty schools going to educational groups so long as all of the students are from Bridgeport. If these educational groups are open to kids from the ‘burbs then I have a problem. With a 68% dropout rate here in Bridgeport I don’t need to worry about kids from the ‘burbs.
I really know nothing will be done I just needed to vent.
Wondering, last session we tried to get pilots for property-tax-exempt non-profits. Bridgeport had a very nice presentation with flip-over transparencies that flipped over to illustrate that 1/3 of the property is tax exempt. (I worked this with the Mayor and Rep. Ayala. There may have been other involvement of which I was not aware.) It is hard to grow a tax base that way. However last year as well as this year, Hartford is not giving anyone extra money.
Once again you are lumping 163 towns together which I feel is not accurate. Is Stamford the same as Bridgeport? NO. Many small towns with similar problems to Bridgeport.
PS regional school boards = more direct money to schools, less patronage, more transparency and much more cost effective. Think about it.
MCAT; When monies are voted on and percentages figured out for pilot monies all the towns & cities vote is that correct? Or is it some other branch of state government that figures out what the pilot monies are? BTW I think that 40plus% is closer to the tax-exempt property in Bridgeport.
Look you talk about other small towns having the same problems as Bridgeport; I doubt it. Let’s look at 1 perk that some small towns get. They get a resident State Trooper that we all pay for. Here is the example: Old Saybrook has a resident State Trooper who oversees 35 regular Old Saybrook police officers. Why?
How many tax-exempt properties are in Monroe, Trumbull, Newtown and Fairfield? I bet their percentages are a heck of a lot lower than ours and I know their taxes are lower on comparable properties.
I know you won’t like this but do you really think that Monroe parents want their kids going to a school located in Bridgeport? Do you really think parents want their kids from Bridgeport going to a school they know they are not wanted at? I sent my kids to a school out of the city for a while and all they listened to from the kids and some of their teachers was that they came from the ghetto. You don’t think that happens today at schools in the ‘burbs where Bridgeport kids go?
*** Every town or city has its problems, some more than others. However, how often do you hear of Bpt’s 8 State legislators getting together & authoring, or lobbying for something big & constructive for the Park City? Most of the time it’s individual projects that they might author or are just part of a supporting group for something that supports Fairfield County per se! But things will never really change ’til voters wake up from the local level & up, to clean house completely & even then, there’s no guarantees! ***
*** Did any OIB bloggers get their flu shots this past winter? Well, it won’t help ’cause 60 Mexicans have died so far from a swine flu epidemic that’s already crossed into (U.S.A.) borders & is picking up speed! A swine flu that’s supposed to be very contagious & strong @ this time of year when asthma & allergies are just picking up! Pays to keep tabs for everyone on whether a vaccine is in the makings or not, ’cause prior vaccines won’t help fight it! Especially to seniors, the very young, HIV/AIDS, & sick hosp. patients in general, etc. It’s been on the Latin American News channels all day & by this weekend you’ll hear about it on Fox (racist network) News. *** Time to bring out the old reservation miracle “brown bottle” to help build up the old immune system with vitamin “D” and other earth spirits. *** Tiempo para una limpieza y baño de “rompe saragüey”. ***