Concerns Raised That U.S. Census Count Changes, Funding Cutbacks May Hurt Connecticut

It occurs once every decade – the U.S. Census aims to count everyone in the United States, and is the foundation upon which a plethora of funding and policy decisions are based for much of the decade that follows.  The next nationwide census, in 2020, is already raising red flags, here in Connecticut and across the country. The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy is encouraging local participation in a national webinar about the role that philanthropy in ensuring a fair and accurate count in the U.S. Census in 2020.  The webinar, on October 30, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, is one of the early efforts to raise awareness of potential implications for the census if Congress, in an effort to keep costs in check, makes fiscal decisions that turn out to be penny wise and pound foolish – potentially jeopardizing levels of federal aid to communities and states, including Connecticut, that will last a decade.

"If you underfund the Census, you get an undercount," says Kenneth Prewitt, who directed the bureau during the 2000 Census. "And if you don't count people, they are politically invisible, in effect," he said earlier this year in Time magazine.

Announced plans by the U.S. Census Bureau, that it will be “introducing significant innovations to conduct the 2020 Census,” is spurring concerns even as the planning process is being refined and funding and operational decisions are being made.  The Bureau is focusing on “four key innovation areas… with cost reductions in mind.”  Among them is “re-engineering address canvassing,” a critical first stage in the census counting process.

Policy and administrative decisions, such as the changes outlined in the latest Census Bureau plan, will carry significant implications for census accuracy and outcomes, point out webinar organizers the United Philanthropy Forum and Funders' Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP). It is imperative, the organizations emphasize, that philanthropy take action now to support a fair and accurate count.  Speakers on the webinar will include:

• Terri Ann Lowenthal, Census Consultant with Funders' Committee for Civic Participation's Funders Census Initiative 2020
• Debbie McKeon, Senior Vice President of Member Services, Council of Michigan Foundations
• Daranee Petsod, President of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)

Officials point out that “Data from the census drive key decisions made by government, business, nonprofits and philanthropy. Unfortunately, the Census has historically missed disproportionate numbers of people of color, immigrants, young children and low-income and rural households.”

In a commentary article earlier this month in CT Mirror, Aparna Nathan and Mark Abraham of New Haven-based DataHaven raised concerns not only about the impact on nonprofit organizations from a less-than-accurate census, but about the across-the-board dangers of a census that does not provide an accurate count – particularly for Connecticut.

The culprit: underfunding. 

In 2012, according to Nathan and Abraham, Congress told the Census Bureau to spend no more for the 2020 Census than they spent on the 2010 Census, and even encouraged them to spend less. Carrying out the same operation as in 2010 would cost a projected $17.8 billion overall, but the 2020 Census Operational Plan aims for $12.5 billion.  Already, a number of dry-runs and field tests have been postponed or cancelled outright, potentially undercutting plans for the census, now littler more than two years away.

“An underfunded 2020 Census is likely to systematically undercount some of the state’s more vulnerable populations and undermine efforts to create a more equitable, opportunity-rich state,” they wrote.  “Since population distributions are used to draw voting districts and determine the number of representatives each state or neighborhood gets in our legislative bodies, undercounting hard-to-count groups means that their vote may count less and their voice might not be heard at the state level or in Congress.”

The U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census Operational Plan, dubbed “A New Design for the 21^st Century,” increases reliance on technology to determine its count, considered to be a most cost-effective approach.  But others say technology has its limits, especially among certain populations, and overreliance can lead to an incomplete and inaccurate count.

The document itself acknowledges that possibility, noting that “As the Census Bureau continues to evaluate the 2020 Census operational design, an analysis of the impact on the quality of the census results is required to ensure that innovations designed to reduce cost do not have an unacceptable impact on quality.”

Sizeable immigrant populations throughout much of the state, and refugee populations in Hartford and New Haven, might find themselves questioning the confidentiality and importance of the census, especially in the current climate of fear and anti-immigrant rhetoric, pointed out Terri Ann Lowenthal, a consultant and former congressional staffer who directed the House’s census oversight subcommittee and now lives in Stamford, Connecticut.

Because individuals in urban and immigrant communities tend to respond at lower rates to census inquiries received by mail, the more costly personal visits be census officials are necessary to obtain more accurate population and demographic counts.  If those visits are reduced in order to cut costs, the accuracy of the census itself is likely to diminish, observers say.  Connecticut, which does not have independent counts of its entire population, depends heavily on data derived from the U.S. Census for a host of policy and funding decisions.

Fred Carstensen, Professor of Finance and Economics at the University of Connecticut and director of the Center for Economic Analysis at the school, commented recently that “In the face of its fiscal/budget crisis, an accurate census and vastly improved understanding of demographics is crucial. But in all likelihood, Connecticut will fly blind--and lose significant federal dollars.”

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy recently pointed out that "Counting every person in the United States is an extraordinarily complex endeavor – it is the nation’s largest peacetime mobilization of personnel and resources. Even with careful planning, a perfect count is virtually impossible: Some people are missed, some are double-counted, and some do not respond fully. But, because the accuracy of the census directly affects our nation’s ability to ensure equal representation and equal access to public and private resources, achieving a fair and accurate census must be regarded as one of the most significant civil rights and social justice priorities facing the country."

Traffic is for Women, Weather is for Men (Mostly) on Connecticut TV

Rachel Frank is an Emmy award-winning meteorologist, seen regularly throughout FOX61 evening newscasts.  Kaitlyn McGrath is a meteorologist for NBC Connecticut.  As women, they are the exception in Connecticut, where 16 men routinely provide the weather updates on Connecticut television stations. Traffic reporting, however, is a women’s domain in the state.  The news teams at all four television stations in the market – WFSB, WTNH, NBC and FOX - have women handling the traffic reporting responsibilities on their morning newscasts, and observers are hard-pressed to recall a man doing that job.

The latest shake-up of the weather reporting team at WTNH, NewsChannel 8, brought the disparity into sharper focus with half-page newspaper ads and television promos trumpeting the new all-male team of meteorologists, highlighted by the addition of veteran meteorologist Joe Furey, who moved to the station last month from FOX61.  Furey, named co-chief meteorologist, joins Sam Kantrow, Fred Campagna, Gil Simons and Kevin Arnone.

Also starkly absent from the meteorology and traffic reporting ranks in Connecticut – ethnic and racial diversity.

First, the traffic.  Morning newscast viewers see Rachel Lutzger on FOX, Nicole Nalepa on WFSB, Teresa Dufour on WTNH and Hanna Mordoh on NBC.

Nalepa wears many hats at channel 3, also serving as a health reporter and fill-in-anchor for the station.  Before joining the station, she was weekday morning anchor and reporter at WWLP-TV/22News in Springfield, MA, after having graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Communications from Westfield State University. Mordoh earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Criminal Justice from Indiana University and was a news reporter in Indiana and Kentucky before joining NBC Connecticut.

Lutzger also handles traffic reporting each morning for Kiss 95.7, Country 92.5, The River 105.9, WELI and KC101, and afternoons on The River 105.9. A native New Yorker, she first came to Connecticut to attend the University of Hartford. In addition to traffic reporting, Dufour is co-host for CT Style, a daily lifestyle program on WTNH.  She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, and handled traffic reporting for WFSB before moving over to WTNH.

Connecticut briefly lost its most visible female meteorologist when Frank, an honors graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology and a native New Yorker, left the station briefly in 2014 for New York City’s WPIX.  She returned to Connecticut and FOX61 later that year.  McGrath’s most memorable career moments, according to the station’s website, were covering everything from severe thunderstorms and flooding, to life threatening heat and an EF2 tornado in Charleston, South Carolina. She earned her degree in Telecommunications/News Broadcasting at the University of Florida, and, earlier this year, a Certificate of Science in Geoscience; Broadcast Meteorology Concentration, from Mississippi State University.

At FOX, Frank is joined on-air by Matt Scott, Dan Amarante and Sam Sampieri. The NBC “First Alert” team includes Bob Maxon, Ryan Hanrahan, Darren Sweeney, and Josh Cingranelli, along with McGrath.  The full-time meteorologists at WFSB are Bruce DePrest, Mark Dixon, Mike Cameron and Scot Haney. At WFSB, the all-male ranks are occasionally joined by reporter Melissa Cole, who serves as a “fill-in meteorologist, lending a hand during major weather events,” according to the station’s website. She studied Meteorology at Villanova University, and initially joined WFSB as a weekend newscast meteorologist.

A national study published this month in the Bulletin of the American Meteorology Society, found that although “the overall percentage of females in the field increased and females were more represented in larger markets, females held fewer influential and desired positions in 2016 compared with previous studies. Females made up 8% of chief meteorologist positions and less than 11% of evening shifts, which was lower than numbers in previous studies.”

According to the American Meteorological Society (AMS), in 2005 about 20 percent of meteorologists nationally were women, up from 10 percent in 1995. In 2010, the Boston Globe reported that “for the first time, all five of the meteorologists on Boston’s early-morning and midday newscasts are women.”  Among them was Dylan Dreyer, now with NBC News and the network’s Today Show.  Commenting on a WeatherChannel program earlier this year with leading female meteorologists now working at national television networks, including ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee, the program host observed in a blog post, “Check the numbers on female chief meteorologists around the nation. It’s pretty pathetic.”

In a 2015 article published by Medium, it was reported that an AMS membership survey of its 14,000 members indicated that 2 percent were African-American.

Photos:  Traffic reporters (above, clockwise)  Hanna Mordoh, Nicole Nalepa, Rachel Lutzger, and Teresa Dufour;  Weather reporting teams at NBC Connecticut, FOX61 and WFSB.

Unhealthy Food Marketing Targets Hispanic Youth, UConn Researchers Find

Hispanic children and youth, particularly youth in Spanish-speaking households, visited food/beverage websites at higher rates than their non-Hispanic counterparts, despite fewer visits to the Internet overall, according to a research study published by University of Connecticut faculty members. “The frequency with which youth in Spanish-speaking households visited popular food and beverage websites compared with primarily English-speaking Hispanic youth raises further concerns due to the potential for these sites to reinforce preferences for an ‘‘American’’ diet among less acculturated youth, which could contribute to Hispanic youth’s worsening diet with greater acculturation,” Maia Hyary and Jennifer Harris point out in the inaugural issue of the journal Health Equity, published in September.

They stress that “Further research is needed to understand why Hispanic youth disproportionately visit food/beverage websites to help inform potential actions to reduce their exposure to unhealthy food marketing.”

The researchers warn that “given higher rates of obesity and diet-related diseases among Hispanic youth, food and beverage companies should not target marketing of unhealthy products to Hispanic youth online.”

Dr. Jennifer L. Harris is Director of Marketing Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity and Associate Professor in Allied Health Sciences at University of Connecticut. She leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers who study food marketing to children, adolescents, and parents, and how it impacts their diets and health. Maia Hyary is a PhD student at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a former Rudd Center Research Associate.

Food and beverage companies often target marketing for nutrient-poor products such as candy, sugary drinks, snack foods, and fast-food restaurants to Hispanic audiences, including youth, the researchers state.  They cite previous research that has documented disproportionate exposure to unhealthy food marketing by Hispanic youth in their communities and on TV, but theirs is the first examination of the phenomenon on the internet.

Sites that were relatively more popular with Hispanic youth than with non-Hispanic youth included ChuckeCheese.com, HappyMeal.com, the Lunchables website, FrostedFlakes.com, and two Spanish language websites (ComidaKraft.com and McDonald’sMeEncanta.com). Among Hispanic children (under 12 years), ChuckECheese.com, FrootLoops.com, HappyMeal.com, TacoBell.com, LuckyCharms.com, and SubwayKids.com were relatively more popular.

Health Equity is a new peer-reviewed open access journal that “meets the urgent need for authoritative information about health disparities and health equity among vulnerable populations,” according to the publication’s website, “with the goal of providing optimal outcomes and ultimately health equity for all.” The journal intends to provide coverage ranging from translational research to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of disease and illness, in order to serve as a primary resource for organizations and individuals who serve these populations at the community, state, regional, tribal, and national levels.

PHOTO:  Dr. Jennifer L. Harris, Maia Hyary

State Population Expected to Grow Slowly During Next Two Decades; Most Growth in Windham, East Windsor, Avon, Oxford, Ellington, As Other Towns Likely to Lose Population

Connecticut’s total population is projected to increase by about 60,714 between 2015 and 2040, a growth rate of 1.7% over the 25 year period.  Simultaneously, some towns in Connecticut are projected to slowly gain population as others diminish, according to an analysis of all 169 towns by the Connecticut State Data Center at the University of Connecticut. The new projections show that multiple towns are approaching a demographic shift due to an aging population, a near net zero overall migration rate, and a relatively low, but stable, birth rate. 

Windham, East Windsor, Avon, Oxford, Ellington, Sterling, Norwich, West Haven, Rocky Hill, and Manchester are expected to experience the largest percentage of increase in overall population between 2015 to 2040.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, the towns of Sherman, New Fairfield, Bridgewater, Sharon, Monroe, Cornwall, Salisbury, Old Saybrook, Washington, and Weston are projected to experience the largest percentage of decline in the overall population from 2015 to 2040, according to the analysis.

The changing demographics by age cohort for towns in Connecticut provides a more complete picture of the overall trends within towns over time. 

The comparison between are largest percentage of population gain (Windham) versus the largest percentage of population decline (Sherman) highlights the shifts in age cohorts within these towns.

Connecticut’s eight most populous towns will see a growing or stable population based on the projections from 2015 to 2040, following an overall trend for several of these towns since 2000.

While Connecticut is projected to gain 1.7%, Maine is projected to lose 0.5%, Massachusetts is projected to gain 10.4%, New Hampshire is projected to gain 6.6%, New York is projected to gain 2.2%, Rhode Island is projected to gain 1.7%, and Vermont is projected to gain 7.1% in population, according to projections produced by each of the respective states.

The Connecticut State Data Center has developed an interactive data dashboard to accompany the projections, which enables users to view demographic changes town by town with data from 1970 to 2040.  When reviewing the age cohort data, long-term trends in demographics shifts within towns, and more broadly across the state when comparing multiple towns, indicate which towns are experiencing stable or declining births by examining the under 5 age cohort, as well as visually presenting the demographic shift between age cohorts as individuals age 55 to 64 age into the 65+ age cohort.

State’s Money Woes Earn National Spotlight

The cover of the national magazine depicts a waterfront home in Mystic Seaport, under the headline that reads “The fiscal mess in America’s richest state.”  Connecticut, without an approved state budget for all of July and August and nearly half of September, is earning some notice.  And it is not particularly friendly. The article, in the September issue of Governing, begins with the question, “How could the nation’s wealthiest state become a fiscal basket case?”  The answer is complex, and the magazine devotes a full six pages to walking through how the state got into this mess, and how it might navigate its way out.

Along the way, the magazine suggest that the state “may be too rich for its own good,” pointing out that “long blessed with a disproportionate number of high-income residents, the state has entertained lavish spending habits for decades.” It also cites statistics that underscore the problems and challenges:

• Over the past 20 years, job creation numbers have ranked in the bottom five among the 50 states
• Connecticut has the nation’s second-highest rate of income inequality, after New York
• The state has lost population for three years running
• Last year, Greater Hartford ranked fourth and New Haven fifth in population loss among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas

The ineffective state spending cap, approved by voters more than 20 years ago but routinely circumvented since, is cited as a contributor to the fiscal cliff the state sits on, along with an overreliance on the income tax, political infighting, increased taxes, the lack of regionalism and a host of other decisions made by Governors and legislatures for decades.

One glaring example cited:  “Connecticut, which is home to 3.6 million people, has 111 police dispatch centers.  By comparison, Houston, which as 2.3 million residents, has just one emergency dispatch center, which handles fire as well as police.”

With a circulation of 85,000 in print and a widely viewed website, Governing is described as "the nation's leading media platform covering politics, policy and management for state and local government leaders." It is among the most widely read and most influential among government leaders - with an audience that also includes "journalists, academics, advocates and activists."

The article did point to some silver linings, past and present.  “Connecticut clearly has the means to change course. Not only is its median income still high, but the state boasts assets such as proximity to Boston and New York, amiable coastlines and river valleys, and notable institutions of higher education.  In addition to the continuing presence of a thriving financial sector, Connecticut is home to aerospace and defense contractors and other advanced manufacturers who can’t hire help fast enough, as well as a growing medical and life sciences sector.”

On the other hand, the publication points out, “Connecticut is 80 percent white, but its population of white children under the age of 10 is falling faster than in any other state.  Racial and ethnic minorities already make up more than 50 percent of infants and toddlers and are about to become a majority of 3- and 4-year olds.”  There is, the publication adds, “a pronounced achievement gap among racial groups and by geography.”

The conclusion reached by the Governing article?  “Connecticut is not in a death spiral but it has failed to position itself to react to changing demographics and location preferences… it’s clear that what’s worked so well for Connecticut in the past isn’t working now.”

Summed up House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, one of many political leaders, including the Governor and legislators from both political parties, as well as city officials and economic analysts, who were interviewed for the article: “We are the land of steady habits and the world has changed around us.”

Women in Manufacturing Bring Summit to Hartford Next Week

The 800-member Women in Manufacturing (WiM) professional organization will hold their annual Summit at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, September 13 - 15, 2017. This annual Summit is geared toward women who have chosen careers in manufacturing and want to share perspectives and network with others in the industry. It is expected to attract more than 300 professional women in manufacturing, with titles ranging from production to CEO. Attracting hundreds of women in manufacturing from across the country, WiM's annual Summit is the only national conference of its kind. This networking and educational event features manufacturing plant tours, professional development tracks, industry roundtables, keynote presentations and social events to expand participants' networks.

Plant tours that have been organized as part of the conference agenda include visits to Kaman Corporation, CNC Software, Hartford Flavor Company, TRUMPF Inc., and Pratt & Whitney, all on the opening day of the conference on September 13.

Break-out sessions will focus on Technology, Leadership & Professional Development, Operational Excellence, and Diversity & Inclusion.  Speakers at conference-wide sessions will discuss topics including “Engineering Young Women,” “Developing Your Personal Brand,” “Recruiting A Pipeline for Skilled Labor Positions,” “Empowering Women Through Sales,” and “The growing Digital Intensity of Manufacturing.”

Speakers will include Jonna Gerken, Manager, PCME Group, Pratt & Whitney and the president of the Society of Women Engineers, and George Saiz, President & CEO of The Association for Manufacturing Excellence.

The Board Chair of Women in Manufacturing is Sheila LaMothe, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for Goyer Management International, a Florida-based company.  Previously, she spent 15 years responsible for the marketing and public relations activities for TRUMPF Inc. in Farmington, CT, initially serving as Marketing Manager before becoming Associate Director of Marketing & Public Relations. She founded the WiM Connecticut Chapter and served as chapter chair until her relocation to Florida.

Among the host committee members is the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.  The New Haven Manufacturers Association and the Waterbury Regional Chamber’s Manufacturer’s Council are among the Supporting Partners for the Summit.

This is the organization’s first summit to be held in the Northeast.  The Summit location moves around the country giving attendees the opportunity to experience manufacturing and develop their networks throughout the United States.  The  6^th annual summit was held last year in Nashville, TN.  Previous events were held in Minneapolis, MN; Schaumburg, IL; Dearborn, MI; Milwaukee, WI; and Cleveland, OH.

Gender Disparity Is Alive and Not-So-Well; Particularly in Connecticut, Analysis Finds

Connecticut places dead last among the 50 states in the degree of gender gap in executive positions in the workplace and overall workplace environment for women, according to a new analysis prepared by the financial website WalletHub.  The state also ranked in the bottom ten in the “education and health” category, ranking higher – in the top ten – only in “political empowerment,” despite having fewer women in the state legislature than about a decade ago. Overall, the state ranked 28^th among the “Best and Worst States for Women’s Equality.”

The challenges present in Connecticut are true – to varying degrees – nationwide.  In 2016, the U.S. failed to place in the top 10 — or even the top 40 — of the World Economic Forum’s ranking of 144 countries based on gender equality, WalletHub reports.

Among the states, the top 10, with the slimmest inequality gap, were Hawaii, Nevada, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington, Maine, North Dakota, Oregon, Wisconsin, and Vermont.  Among the other New England states, Massachusetts ranked #13, New Hampshire was #16, and Rhode Island was #34.  The widest gaps were in Texas, Virginia and Utah.

"Connecticut ranked below average overall mostly because of its rankings for two of the categories we analyzed, Workplace Environment (50th) and Education & Health (43rd),” WalletHub analyst Jill Gonzalez told CT by the Numbers.  “Connecticut's disparities between women and men are quite pronounced when it comes to the workplace environment. Women earn 23 percent less than men, 9th highest in the country, and Connecticut has the highest gap of women in executive positions. Large differences also appear when looking at higher-income earners, with a 13 percent gap between women and men, and the entrepreneurship gap in Connecticut is at 48 percent, again favoring men."

To determine where women receive the most equal treatment, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states across 15 key indicators of gender equality in three central categories: workplace environment, education and health, and political empowerment  Among the indicators used in the analysis, Connecticut ranked 46th with among the largest educational attainment gap among Bachelor’s Degree holders, 48^th in the entrepreneurship gap, 49^th in the disparity among higher income wage earners (in excess of $100,000 annually) and 50^th with the largest executive positions gap.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, just over one-quarter of Connecticut’s legislators are women, at 27.3 percent, compared with the national average among state legislatures of 24.8 percent.  There are 1,830 women serving in legislatures across the country.  In Connecticut, 42 of 151 House members are women, and 9 of the Senate’s 36 seats are held by women.   Among the states with the highest percentage of women in their legislature are Vermont, Colorado and Nevada with 39 percent, Arizona with 38 percent, and Illinois and Washington at 36 percent.  Connecticut’s numbers have declined since 2009, when a total of 59 women held legislative seats, 8 in the Senate and 51 in the House.

The workplace environment category included data on income disparity, the number of executive positions held, minimum wage workers, unemployment rate disparity, entrepreneurship rate disparity and the disparity in the average number of work hours.

The analysis found that in every state, women earn less than men. Hawaii has the lowest gap, with women earning 12 percent less, and Wyoming has the highest, 31 percent. Connecticut ranked 41^st.  Rhode Island has the highest unemployment-rate gap favoring women, with 2.4 percent more unemployed men. Georgia has the highest gap favoring men, with 1 percent more unemployed women. The unemployment rate is equal for men and women in Illinois and Idaho.  In Connecticut’s it’s nearly identical, with the 0.3 percent more unemployed men than women, based on the data reviewed.

Women continue to be disproportionately underrepresented in leadership positions nationwide. According to the Center for American Progress, women make up the majority of the population and 49 percent of the college-educated labor force. Yet they constitute “only 25 percent of executive- and senior-level officials and managers, hold only 20 percent of board seats, and are only 6 percent of CEOs.”  In addition, salary inequity continues, and women are underrepresented in government.

The analysis was released to coincide with Women’s Equality Day, which is observed annually on August 26. The U.S. Congress designated the commemoration beginning in 1971 to remember the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. The observance of Women’s Equality Day also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality, according to the National Women’s History Project.

Best Run Cities in USA? Not in Connecticut, Study Finds

A new analysis of the best run among the 150 largest cities in America shows that Connecticut’s three largest fail to make the top half of the list, with Bridgeport coming closest. Bridgeport is ranked #77, New Haven is #122, and Hartford ranked #145. 

In order to determine the best- and worst-run cities in America, WalletHub’s analysts compared 150 of the most populated cities across six key categories: 1) Financial Stability, 2) Education, 3) Health, 4) Safety, 5) Economy and 6) Infrastructure & Pollution.

The top ten best run cities are: Nampa, ID; Provo, UT; Boise, ID; Missoula, MT; Lexington, KY; Las Cruces, NM; Billings, MT; Bismarck, ND; Fort Wayne, IN and Louisville, KY.

For each city, the analysts constructed a “Quality of City Services” score – comprising 33 key performance indicators grouped into six service categories – that was then measured against the city’s total per-capita budget.  The website evaluated those dimensions using 33 relevant metrics, with each graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest quality of service.

In the “financial stability” ranking, only four cities ranked lower than Hartford, which was #146.  New Haven was #143 and Bridgeport #128 in that category.  In the education ranking, New Haven was #115, just ahead of Bridgeport at #116 and Hartford at #121.

Bridgeport reached the top ten nationally in the “health” category, at #8.  Hartford was #42 and New Haven #56.  The cities were again bunched toward the bottom of the list of 150 cities in the “economy” category, with Bridgeport at #142, New Haven #143 and Hartford #146.

Connecticut largest cities fared better in the “infrastructure and pollution” category, with Hartford ranked #36, New Haven #60, and Bridgeport lagging at #115.

Immigration May Be Key to Connecticut's Economic Future (Again)

Immigrants may be a pivotal component in Connecticut’s economic strength – or weakness – in the coming decade, according to recent statistics.  Population projections from the University of Virginia’s Demographics Research Group, reported by the American Immigration Council, show that in many states in the Northeast and Midwest, including Connecticut, growth of the working-age population is slowing due to aging, lower fertility rates, and people moving out of the state. The aging of the workforce in the working-age population can mean shrinking workforces and potential economic problems, the Council reported recently. As a result, “states need to think about how immigration can ameliorate impending trouble.”

By 2020, the number of working age adults (age 25-54) is expected to decline in 16 states. For example, in Maine, while the overall population is expected to decrease by about two percent, the working age population will decline by 16 percent. Vermont and West Virginia can also expect declines of more than 10 percent, while Connecticut, Illinois, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin can expect more than five percent decline, according to the data.

Those states “will become less attractive to the people who are already there, and less attractive to newcomers,” according to UC-Berkeley demographer Ronald Lee, who explained that a shrinking working-age population can hurt a state’s economy: businesses close due to a lack of workers and customers, housing prices drop, schools close, and tax revenue declines.

The decline in the working-age population will not be offset by births, the Council reported, citing data the projects the current total fertility rate is about 1.86 children per woman and would need to be at least 2.08 for the population to replenish itself. At the same time, the U.S. population is getting older and living longer. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that by 2024, Americans age 55 and older will increase by 18.2 million—reaching 102.9 million, or 38.2 percent of all people in the country.

Reliance on immigrants is nothing new for Connecticut.  The Connecticut Business and Industry Association recently cited statistics from the New American Economy, which indicated that 494,059 Connecticut residents were born abroad.  That is 14 percent of the state’s population, compared to 13 percent across the United States.

For example, almost a quarter (23%) of Connecticut workers in science, technology, engineering, and math fields such as healthcare and bioscience were immigrants.  Over 36,000 foreign-born Connecticut residents are self-employed, with immigrant-owned businesses generating $1.1 billion income in 2014 while employing 73,047 people. “Immigrants are already playing a huge part ensuring that Connecticut remains a leading innovator in industries like healthcare and bioscience,” according to the analysis.

The report also notes that foreign-born workers currently make up 21.3 percent of all entrepreneurs in the state, despite accounting for 13.7 percent of Connecticut’s population.

Immigration mitigates the downward population trends that are anticipated, in Connecticut and beyond. In many areas of the country, the foreign born have accounted for more than 20 percent of the growth of the adult population since 1990. In some areas – mainly in the Midwest – overall adult population would have declined if not for an increase in the foreign born population. Almost half of immigrants admitted between 2003 and 2012 were between the ages of 20 and 40, while only 5 percent were ages 65 or older, the Council reported.

Economic Insecurity Plagues More Than Half of Single Seniors in CT, Report Finds

More than half of single adults age 65 and older in Connecticut can’t afford food, housing or other basic necessities, based on their income.  The “economic insecurity” of that population ranks Connecticut the 13^th highest rate in the nation.  In the neighboring states of Massachusetts, New York, and Rhode Island, the situation is even worse.  Massachusetts, in fact, has the second highest rate in the nation. Nationwide, 53 percent of single older adults fall below the index’s target value.  In Connecticut, the percentage is 56.1 percent.

The report, Living Below the Line: Economic Insecurity and Older Americans Insecurity in the States 2016, was published by the Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging Publications at the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Gerontology Institute.

According to the report’s analysis, only about 15 percent of older Connecticut residents living alone fall below the poverty line, but 56.1 percent don’t make enough to live on, and often do not qualify for public assistance, because of the relatively high cost of living in the state.  The gap, the report points out, is 40.8 percent of Connecticut’s single elderly, among the largest in the nation.   Only four states have a larger percentage of that population below the index rate but above the poverty rate, reflecting the substantial economic insecurity in the state among the single elderly population.

The states with the largest percentage of single older adults situated below the index are Mississippi, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maine, and Hawaii.

The report notes that “Northeastern states at the top of the rankings are characterized first and foremost by high Elder Index values, reflecting the high cost of living in these locations, whereas Southern states at the top of the rankings are characterized predominantly by low incomes.”

In considering the economic insecurity of elderly couples, Connecticut fared better in the analysis, ranking 25^th, midway among the states.  Still, fully one-quarter (25%) of the state’s elderly couples were below the index level, although only 2.9 percent fell below the poverty rate for income.

Most older adults rely on Social Security benefits as a key component of their incomes, the report pointed out. The Social Security Administration estimates that Social Security benefits provide one-third of all income received by older adults, and that lower-income elders are especially reliant on Social Security. The UMass-Boston analysis indicated that on average, half of older adults who live below the Elder Index rely on Social Security for at least 90 percent of their incomes.  In Connecticut, that percentage is 46.9 percent of single older adults and 45.2 percent of older couples.

The report concluded that “many older adults who live alone do not have the means to live with economic security. These older adults are of special concern, and policy and programs that address the concerns of single or couple elders living on their own— congregate and home-delivered meals, transportation, falls prevention, employment and training—should also be of special concern to federal, state and local governments.”

Noting that “Elder Economic Insecurity Rates demonstrate that a large proportion of every state’s independent older adults lack incomes that would allow them to escape the threat of poverty, to remain independent, and to age in their own homes,” the analysis implored that “each state must learn to recognize the economic security gap and those who fall into it.”

Developed by the Gerontology Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston and Wider Opportunities for Women, and maintained through a partnership with the National Council on Aging (NCOA), the Elder Index defines economic security as the income level at which elders are able to cover basic and necessary living expenses and age in their homes, without relying on benefit programs, loans or gifts.