The dawn of the second decade of the 21st century presents Connecticut with fresh opportunities as well as lingering issues.
As we wait for firm signs that the worst of the Great Depression is behind us, our state must boldly take steps to seize the first fruits of economic recovery while tackling ingrained problems that threaten to choke off revival before it begins.
During the past year, the Hartford Business Journal’s broad coverage has exposed some of the most troublesome threats to the local and state economy. Many persisted well before the recession and likely will hang on into the recovery.
But now is the ideal time to rectify them. It will require open-minded leaders in the public, business and nonprofit communities to step forward to craft the best solutions.
Take state government, for example. A Hartford Business Journal investigation exposed a litany of abuses by employers bent on gouging taxpayers, undocumented workers and those who work “under-the-table.” Despite aggressive policing by the state Department of Labor to identify scofflaws and hold them accountable, the abuses continue because the state has not dedicated enough resources to enforce its own labor laws. Following the Journal’s report, state officials began meeting again after not having met for nearly one year to improve enforcement of the state’s labor laws.
With the state facing a $137 million budget deficit following a special Legislative session held late last month, the time has never been better to rethink how the state manages its affairs and taxpayer money in the most efficient, ethical means possible.
Money should be shifted to programs that provide long-term results, such as high-quality early childhood programs and diversionary programs for nonviolent offenders. And as a way to reduce criminal justice costs, lawmakers should adopt a law that requires all persons arrested for driving under the influence to install an ignition interlock device in their cars.
Improvements to the state’s fiscal stewardship also could help deal with the deficit in the state’s unemployment insurance fund and the financial bleeding in Connecticut’s network of private hospitals.
Nonprofits also could use a boost. As documented by the Journal, almost one-third of the charitable organizations in region — who give a shoulder of support to the financially, physically and mentally downtrodden — are on a financial precipice. With less money available from donors, many nonprofits may not be around for the full recovery.
But there are pockets of sunlight. One is the burgeoning bioscience sector, clustered around such academic medical and scientific research hubs as the University of Connecticut and Yale University.
The state, through its taxpayer-funded technology investment arm, Connecticut Innovations, has helped launch one such biopharmaceutical innovator, Alexion Pharmaceuticals in Cheshire, which is taking its anti-anemia treatment global.
Connecticut also has earmarked $100 million to promote research into developing stem cells for human tissue regeneration to create new organs and perhaps one day entire limbs.
The key here is investment. Connecticut must continue to promote investment in new technologies. That means continuing to back small businesses on the forefront of emerging technologies and services.
But one thing is for certain. Nurturing our state’s current economy, let alone the one of tomorrow, can’t happen unless a new crop of imaginative, capable and courageous leadership can stand up and help us find our way through the thicket of challenges we face today.
