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January 2008 — Vol. 85, No. 11

CBIA members rank business costs, health care, education as top priorities for Connecticut

 

The issues identified as problems by Connecticut residents also appear on businesses’ list of priority issues.

Executives responding to CBIA’s 2007 Annual Membership Survey, conducted in the fall, said the state should reduce the cost of doing business here, including the cost of health care, and adopt a more business-friendly attitude to help businesses grow and create more jobs in Connecticut.

Here are the survey’s key findings.

Business costs

Respondents said proposals considered in 2007 by the legislature, especially the Labor Committee, would have raised their costs. Almost all (92%) said increasing workers’ compensation benefits would have been problematic for their companies. So would mandating a minimum amount of paid sick leave (87%). Increasing the personal income tax would have hurt their ability to operate a business in the state, said 94%.
Almost all respondents (99%) said the state should not exceed the constitutional spending cap. More than three-quarters (77%) support limiting municipal spending as a way to reduce property taxes.

Health care

The cost of health care is a growing problem, one that 68% of survey respondents said has affected their companies’ willingness or ability to hire workers. Nevertheless, 95% provide health benefits to their employees. Many companies have taken numerous actions to try to curb health care costs — for example, by implementing wellness programs. Forty-two percent of executives said the state should provide better access to information about wellness programs and financial incentives to businesses that implement them.

Energy

Respondents said higher energy costs have affected the prices of their products and services (49%), prevented them from expanding their business (36%), or made them unable to hire workers (35%).

Education and job skills

All respondents said high-school graduates need a strong work ethic. The vast majority said graduates should also have critical-thinking and problem-solving skills (99%); oral and written communication, self direction and flexibility, and teamwork skills (97%); and ethics and social responsibility (95%).

Respondents support high-school reform and a change in graduation requirements if they include:

  • Exposure to career pathways (70%)

  • Courses that reinforce analytical and problem-solving skills (69%) and prepare students for employment in a global economy (60%)

  • Higher expectations for all students (68%)

  • More rigorous math and science curriculums (67%)

  • Assessments that measure skills prior to graduation (58%)

Executives also support using additional state resources to provide school-to-career programs for high-school students (62%), internships and work study for college students (54%), apprenticeships for new employees (44%), and customized job training for current employees (28%).

 

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