This brief outlines economic security issues as they affect Connecticut families, including income, assets, and living costs. Connecticut workers (except those with the very highest incomes) have lost ground in recent years. Wages for Connecticut’s low and middle wage earners were less in 2007 than in 2002, adjusted for inflation). The 8% wage loss since 2001 for Connecticut’s low-wage workers was the greatest in the nation. Only the state’s very wealthy enjoyed wage and income gains over this period of economic “recovery.” Rising energy, food, and housing costs add to the pressures for Connecticut families.
The fact sheet suggests making some proven investments in the human capital of the state, including an avoidance of state budget cuts that weaken services necessary to put the state on the road to economic recovery and protect families, an overhaul of the state’s economic development policies, increasing subsidies for high-quality child care, and putting more resources into affordable and supportive housing.
