Summer 2019 New England Banter and Disco

[A Moonlit Sky]

5 minutes ago, Brian5671 said:

not sure about the board, but alot of people around here are leaving-even younger folks-taxes/cost of living in CT at a tipping point.

Not quite. Fairfield and New Haven counties have some of the highest percentages of millennials moving into them across the country. The people moving in tend to be educated and have high paying jobs. The CT Data Collaborative did a good paper on this a year or so ago. CT's population is effectively in stasis as the rural areas devoid of opportunity empty out and the urban and rail-adjacent areas grow.

[Brian5671]

15 minutes ago, weathafella said:

Taxes are a bad reason to leave given the difficulty in relocating.  Then again-MA is pretty tax friendly to retirees especially govt retirees-no state taxes on social security or federal pension.  I would never go to the wasteland known as Florida.   I’m staying in New England.

pensions are taxed here along with just about everything else.  Expensive to live and expensive to retire here.    A new 1% (bringing total to 7.35%) restaurant tax takes effect next week, every year it's worse and worse as they kick the can forward on debt service to pensions etc etc.   Great place to live and raise kids but not sure how the next generation will afford it.

[Brian5671]

1 minute ago, Minenfeld! said:

Not quite. Fairfield and New Haven counties have some of the highest percentages of millennials moving into them across the country. The people moving in tend to be educated and have high paying jobs. The CT Data Collaborative did a good paper on this a year or so ago.

You'd never guess that...I would think the cities are still king with that group...CT has no real big draw when it comes to cities...Boston/NYC much more desireable. 

Fairfield Cty over all has done ok-you're on the rail line to NYC and there's money here...rest of state is losing population....

[A Moonlit Sky]

Mind you, I'm not saying everything is great. But there is a future here--just gotta have the state invest in the right places (cities, transportation, and education). CT's suburban and rural flight is a microcosm of the country as a whole. We're paying for decades of suburban growth as demographics change and the ponzi scheme comes crashing down.

Edit: Here's the report: http://ctdata.org/blog/migration-and-population-trends-in-ct/ Looks like it's two years old. And you're right: we're sandwiched between two large metro areas when we have a bunch of small cities. It's the large cities that are grabbing all the population and jobs over the past decade. CT has a suburbia problem that was a strength fifty eyars ago.

[Ginx snewx]

20 minutes ago, Minenfeld! said:

Mind you, I'm not saying everything is great. But there is a future here--just gotta have the state invest in the right places (cities, transportation, and education). CT's suburban and rural flight is a microcosm of the country as a whole. We're paying for decades of suburban growth as demographics change and the ponzi scheme comes crashing down.

Edit: Here's the report: http://ctdata.org/blog/migration-and-population-trends-in-ct/ Looks like it's two years old. And you're right: we're sandwiched between two large metro areas when we have a bunch of small cities. It's the large cities that are grabbing all the population and jobs over the past decade. CT has a suburbia problem that was a strength fifty eyars ago.

CT cities are an epic disaster 

[Ginx snewx]

3 hours ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

No shit it's the black market crap causing this but this is not specifically about that.

The usage of all vape products, in general,  by underage teens, is the overarching issue and the companies are clearly targeting the youth with the way they are marketing them.

I understand can never eliminate a "black market" for anything but if you can administer/regulate the legal side better to make accessibility to teens almost impossible, I'm all for it.

Just look at how they rolled out legal sales of Cannabis in MA.  Perhaps they need to do this with vape products as well.  This industry has gotten ahead of the current laws.

So eliminating legal tested THC vape is the answer to kids vaping flavored nicotine,  got it

[Typhoon Tip]

31 minutes ago, Minenfeld! said:

Mind you, I'm not saying everything is great. But there is a future here--just gotta have the state invest in the right places (cities, transportation, and education). CT's suburban and rural flight is a microcosm of the country as a whole. We're paying for decades of suburban growth as demographics change and the ponzi scheme comes crashing down.

Edit: Here's the report: http://ctdata.org/blog/migration-and-population-trends-in-ct/ Looks like it's two years old. And you're right: we're sandwiched between two large metro areas when we have a bunch of small cities. It's the large cities that are grabbing all the population and jobs over the past decade. CT has a suburbia problem that was a strength fifty eyars ago.

Birthing rates plays a role there - 

[Baroclinic Zone]

24 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said:

So eliminating legal tested THC vape is the answer to kids vaping flavored nicotine,  got it

For 4 months so they can ascertain the extent of the problem and come up with potential solutions, yes.

And the kids aren't just smoking flavored nicotine, they're smoking the THC/Nicotine vapes in the schools as well.

[Ginx snewx]

12 minutes ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

For 4 months so they can ascertain the extent of the problem and come up with potential solutions, yes.

And the kids aren't just smoking flavored nicotine, they're smoking the THC/Nicotine vapes in the schools as well.

So now they will be smoking black market vapes,  definitely solves that problem 

[Great Snow 1717]

5 hours ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

Agreed but the numbers of kids doing it is mind boggling.   Way beyond the number of kids (middle school!!) who smoked back in the heyday.  

Its pretty messed up 

Exactly! All someone needs to do is talk with people who work in education. Kids vaping has become the #1 issue that schools deal with on a daily basis.  Some schools now have security posted outside of bathrooms in schools to help prevent vaping. 

[ORH_wxman]

1 hour ago, Brian5671 said:

pensions are taxed here along with just about everything else.  Expensive to live and expensive to retire here.    A new 1% (bringing total to 7.35%) restaurant tax takes effect next week, every year it's worse and worse as they kick the can forward on debt service to pensions etc etc.   Great place to live and raise kids but not sure how the next generation will afford it.

CT used to be cheap....they had no state income tax as recently as the early 1990s and they had lower corporate taxes. They've now tried to increase their taxes so much that they have driven some big corporations out....Aetna, GE, HQ, etc.

You need a huge base of human capital if you want businesses to put up with higher taxes...ala the big cities of the west coast, or a Boston or NYC.

[Brian5671]

Just now, ORH_wxman said:

CT used to be cheap....they had no state income tax as recently as the early 1990s and they had lower corporate taxes. They've now tried to increase their taxes so much that they have driven some big corporations out....Aetna, GE, HQ, etc.

You need a huge base of human capital if you want businesses to put up with higher taxes...ala the big cities of the west coast, or a Boston or NYC.

Agree.   Will be interesting to see if millenials come back here once the kids come along or they stay in the cities.   Population here is aging as much of the younger set has gone to BOS, NYC, Philly/DC etc...

[Torch Tiger]

57 minutes ago, Ginx snewx said:

CT cities are an epic disaster 

No worse than most states.

[Great Snow 1717]

4 hours ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Yep.  My daughter says it's nuts at Taunton HS.  The smell is everywhere and they set off the smoke alarms a couple times a week she says.  Very disruptive.

That is occurring everywhere in schools.  The problem has been raging for a while but some school administrators are/were in denial.  And some chose to ignore the problem because they thought it was going to reflect on them.  The education system has long been one big game of "covering your ass" 

[HoarfrostHubb]

1 minute ago, Great Snow 1717 said:

That is occurring everywhere in schools.  The problem has been raging for a while but some school administrators are/were in denial.  And some chose to ignore the problem because they thought it was going to reflect on them.  The education system has long been one big game of "covering your ass" 

It is also pretty tough to catch.  There are many vape technologies designed to look like something else (even a hoodie) and to reduce the amount of vapor being visible.  

Our school suspended over 10 kids just last week for vaping in a middle school.  At my son’s college he is estimating over half of the dorm population is vaping.  Granted some are over 21 but still not allowed on campus. His girlfriend at another school estimates the same number.  Dab pens are huge 

[ORH_wxman]

8 minutes ago, Brian5671 said:

Agree.   Will be interesting to see if millenials come back here once the kids come along or they stay in the cities.   Population here is aging as much of the younger set has gone to BOS, NYC, Philly/DC etc...

There needs to be a reason for people to move back to CT. If they can get better jobs in MA and be taxed even less than CT, then what incentive is there? There isn't, which is why the state population is declining while neighboring states are increasing:

https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/ct-loses-population-for-fifth-straight-year

 

The one thing that may bring some people back is real estate prices...CT's growth in real estate has lagged behind most states around them ironically due to the people fleeing, so if that keeps up then people may decide buying a cheaper house there is worth the other negatives. But that would only be a temporary injection....the real estate ewould start climbing again, and then you are back to square one....why should people move there?

[Baroclinic Zone]

2 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

It is also pretty tough to catch.  There are many vape technologies designed to look like something else (even a hoodie) and to reduce the amount of vapor being visible.  

Our school suspended over 10 kids just last week for vaping in a middle school.  At my son’s college he is estimating over half of the dorm population is vaping.  Granted some are over 21 but still not allowed on campus. His girlfriend at another school estimates the same number.  Dab pens are huge 

It's flat out gross.  Plumes of vape "smoke" that shroud you to the point of not being able to see a persons face.  Yeah, that's "cool".  

[A Moonlit Sky]

1 hour ago, Ginx snewx said:

CT cities are an epic disaster 

They're also where the population growth, job growth, and tax revenue is generated. 

Unfortunately, the sorts of reforms that need to take place are not going to happen due to misunderstandings surrounding growth and the inherit selfishness in owning a home. But, c'est la vie.

[weatherwiz]

I just realized occluded fronts are purple b/c red and blue make purple! 

[HoarfrostHubb]

1 minute ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

It's flat out gross.  Plumes of vape "smoke" that shroud you to the point of not being able to see a persons face.  Yeah, that's "cool".  

I’m fine with people doing it at home or outdoors a at least few feet away from me. Their prerogative.  It smells much less than cigs and doesn’t get all over everything. I’m  not sure why a 12-14 year old would try it, but they do.   Nationally around 5% of middle school kids have vaped at least a bit.  I’m guessing the number is actually higher since those suspensions were over 10% of the population at my school.  

[Baroclinic Zone]

7 minutes ago, HoarfrostHubb said:

I’m fine with people doing it at home or outdoors a at least few feet away from me. Their prerogative.  It smells much less than cigs and doesn’t get all over everything. I’m  not sure why a 12-14 year old would try it, but they do.   Nationally around 5% of middle school kids have vaped at least a bit.  I’m guessing the number is actually higher since those suspensions were over 10% of the population at my school.  

How the hell is 12-14 year old getting there hands on these products?

[Damage In Tolland]

As witnessed here.. vapers gonna vape , smokers gonna smoke. It sucks , but it’s out of our hands and in theirs 

[dendrite]

Same way middle schoolers used to get actual cigs?

[HoarfrostHubb]

2 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Same way middle schoolers used to get actual cigs?

Pretty much.  

[Baroclinic Zone]

5 minutes ago, dendrite said:

Same way middle schoolers used to get actual cigs?

Guess I'm old.  No one I was around in MS smoked and even in HS there was only a small group who did, not the ~25% number being thrown out there now as the % of HS who do it now.

[Brian5671]

1 minute ago, Baroclinic Zone said:

Guess I'm old.  No one I was around in MS smoked and even in HS there was only a small group who did, not the ~25% number being thrown out there now as the % of HS who do it now.

same here.  Maybe 10% in HS....

[Baroclinic Zone]

8 minutes ago, Brian5671 said:

same here.  Maybe 10% in HS....

If that 25% number is in the ballpark, that means ~675 students vape at Taunton HS.  Student population (grades 8-12) is ~2,700 students.

[Ginx snewx]

55 minutes ago, Dr. Dews said:

No worse than most states.

Um yea look at the Northeast city ratings

[weatherwiz]

It's crazy the amount of people who use vaps now...I'd have to say like 90%+ of the people I hang out with from school all have a juul or whatever other products exists. I totally get the movement to ban them...but at the end people are going to do what they want and as long as these products are in existence people are going to have access to them. 

What is really disgusting is how the government handles cigarettes...they are making an absolute killing on cigarette taxes. The argument of raising cigarette taxes to get people to quit is total nonsense...they understand how addictive nicotine is and it's disgusting how they just make money of this sickness. Several years back my mom (who smokes) was talking to store clerk about cigarettes and they were like if it wasn't for the taxes a pack of cigarettes in CT would be like $3 or something...they're like $10 - $12 I think?  

[dryslot]

19 minutes ago, weatherwiz said:

It's crazy the amount of people who use vaps now...I'd have to say like 90%+ of the people I hang out with from school all have a juul or whatever other products exists. I totally get the movement to ban them...but at the end people are going to do what they want and as long as these products are in existence people are going to have access to them. 

What is really disgusting is how the government handles cigarettes...they are making an absolute killing on cigarette taxes. The argument of raising cigarette taxes to get people to quit is total nonsense...they understand how addictive nicotine is and it's disgusting how they just make money of this sickness. Several years back my mom (who smokes) was talking to store clerk about cigarettes and they were like if it wasn't for the taxes a pack of cigarettes in CT would be like $3 or something...they're like $10 - $12 I think?  

Branded cigs are $10-12/pk, That's insane, I quit when they were $1/pack, I wasn't paying those high prices anymore, When i started smoking, A carton of cigs was $5.