Top executives from Hartford-based United Technologies Corp. said at a conference in New York City that basically anywhere they operate is less expensive than Connecticut.
The Hartford Courant’s Eric Gershon has the details at http://www.courant.com/business/hc-utc-outside-connecticut-story-0312,0,5273121.story
State Republican leader Christopher Healy said that the comments by the UTC executives should send out a warning signal to the state legislature.
“The record is clear, anti-business legislation has its effects,” Healy said in a statement. “Democrats still don’t understand that businesses and available capital create jobs, but that cannot occur if there are too many mandates and too many taxes.”
Healy also complained that UTC, as well as all other companies with more than 50 employees, would be required under law to provide paid sick days if a bill that was recently approved by the labor committee passes the full General Assembly.
“Democrats are divorced from reality,” said Healy. “Democrats continue to destroy what’s left of our economy through laws that will put everyone on permanent leave.”
Sen. Edith Prague, the legislature’s leading proponent for sick leave, said, “I feel strongly that paid sick time is what we should do for people. I’d like Chris Healy to know about the article in Forbes magazine that clearly documents it’s good for business. I feel bad enough for Pratt and Whitney without him rubbing it in.”
Longtime business executive Oz Griebel, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said the statements by UTC are a wake-up call.
“For years, we’ve recognized and talked about the anti-business climate in Connecticut,” Griebel said in a statement. “Today’s news from UTC to move more of its operations outside the Nutmeg State provides a new sense of urgency to take decisive action in reducing the cost of doing business here. We can’t afford to keep maintaining the status quo. Now more than ever, Connecticut needs a chief executive officer who has experience at the nexus of business and public policy to restore private sector confidence.”
“As a longtime business leader and former CEO of the Metro Hartford Alliance, I worked daily with these very CEOs and entrepreneurs, and understand first-hand how crippling it is to operate in this climate. As governor, I will call upon my experience as a coach, teacher and executive to bridge the gap between private sector leaders and the legislature.”