During a campaign rally on the eve of election day, Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin told supporters in Richmond, “Friends, we don’t want to be Connecticut.”
The former CEO of The Carlyle Group spoke to rally-goers on November 1, saying he would eliminate Virginia’s grocery tax, lower the gasoline tax, issue tax refunds to state residents and reduce business taxes and regulations.
However, Youngkin’s criticism of Virginia’s business climate and economy included throwing some shade at Connecticut over the growth of small business.
“Virginia’s entrepreneurs and job builders have to get started. We are ranked 49th in the nation as best place to start a business – 49th! Only Connecticut is worse,” Youngkin said. “Friends, we don’t want to be Connecticut.”
Youngkin was apparently referencing a report published on The Motley Fool, which ranked the best states to start a small business, based on factors such as tax climate, consumer spending, labor costs, rate of entrepreneurs and five-year business survival rate.
According to that report, Virginia ranked 49th in the nation, just ahead of Connecticut, which ranked 50th.
The rankings were based on a variety of sources, including the Kauffman Indicators of Entrepreneurship, which found Connecticut was dead last for the survival of small businesses in their first five years and last overall, according to Kauffman’s Early-Stage Entrepreneurship Index.
Wallethub also ranked Connecticut 49th in the country for the best state to start a business, however, it also ranked Virginia at 41st.
Connecticut has endured some of the slowest economic and job growth in the country since the 2008 recession and never fully regained all the jobs lost during that period before the COVID-induced recession resulted in thousands of businesses being closed and hundreds of thousands of residents put out of work.
The hotly contested gubernatorial race in Virginia between Youngkin and Gov. Terry McAuliffe is being watched by the nation as a possible bellwether vote for President Joe Biden’s leadership and an indicator of what may be ahead during the 2022 election cycle.
The Virginia race has also focused heavily on the state’s education system, particularly accusations of race-based teachings in schools – an issue also at the forefront of several board of education races in Connecticut, where political rancor has divided some normally quiet towns.
Youngkin said that the difficulty in starting a business in Virginia is leading entrepreneurs and young people to other states, like nearby Tennessee.
“We have to have incubators, accelerators and capital formation and slash the process for getting a business started so entrepreneurs can live their dreams here and not go to Nashville or someplace else,” Youngkin said.
George A Colli III
November 2, 2021 @ 5:40 pm
The federal money that went to Pension Funds, Specific political considerations, consultants, And the Media Message, could of gone a long way to support So Many Ct. small Businesses to come back and grow after covid. What happened to the Restaurant Business and its 160,000 employees is a good example. the nightmares caused by thE political decisions of a very few people will last a generation For Ct Business. It could of been different.
Robert Alvine
November 2, 2021 @ 5:49 pm
This kind of article is needed to keep pressing the Gov of CT and legislature to change their ways which has been killing CT.
Thomas Klem DDS
November 2, 2021 @ 7:28 pm
Marc..Agreed. The average ct resident, in my opinion, is clueless about ct’s Antibusiness stance.
James Cagno
November 3, 2021 @ 12:06 am
please stop referring to our current economic situation as “the covid-induced recession.” Businesses were lost because of the draconian knee-jerk response to sars cov2 by our governor, now king ned lamont. aided and abetted by our feckless legislature, who were more than happy to abdicate their responsibility to govern. places like Florida, South Carolina, and the aforementioned Tennessee seem to be doing just fine economically because they placed liberty above power and control.
Jon Wright
November 4, 2021 @ 2:04 am
He’s gone. Crimes against Humanity via Nuremberg code violations. You are watching a movie designed to wake the masses to the CORRUPTION in Washington DC NY City, And HOLLYWOOD.
Adrianne
January 5, 2022 @ 4:53 pm
… but cared veRy littlE about human life and civic RESPONSIBILITY. There are more ImpoRtant thiNgs than money.
Jay Koolis
November 3, 2021 @ 5:26 pm
WHy dOn’t you mention that Connecticut is no. 5 in gross dOmestic product per capita?
Brian
November 3, 2021 @ 9:48 pm
I moved to tennesse from Connecticut in 2013 for better opportunities. less debt and less taxes with lower cost of living allowed me to build a retirement. very difficult in connecticut to do the same. I want to retire with money at a youner age than is possible in connecticut
Brian
November 3, 2021 @ 9:56 pm
I should include that i was raised in connecticut, went to high school in ct. returned after college and worked in connecticut and then made a decision after several years that i would have much more money to invest if i lived in tennessee. college debt + house mortgage + taxes/registration fees/ect in connecticut left me with little margin for investments. Everything is expensive in connecticut. food was about 1/3 the cost in tennesse. same for utilities, car insurance, and homes. Piano lessons for kids. You name it and you can basically triple the cost while the incomes in connecticut for my profession was actually higher in tennessee. so better income with lower expenses led to my move to tennessee
Brian Jefferson
November 3, 2021 @ 10:04 pm
I got blocked and my comment was removed. not sure why. I will keep this short because i dislike making comments, especially twice. born and raised in ct. went to college in NY. Returned to CT for work. after few years of work, had very little savings due to high expenses (taxes, costs for everything). Looked at places to move for same job. income was higher in tennessee with lower expenses so i moved in 2013. tennessee is about 1/3 cheaper for gas, food, utilities, registration, insurance, housing costs, ect. I have more money to invest in my future which has given me more freedom to do what i want. Please dont remove this comment. Thank you
Jen Zordan
November 4, 2021 @ 11:32 am
We took our business out of Connecticut six years ago and never looked back. Financially, emotionally, mentally doing so much better in upstate South Carolina.