BUSINESS AWARDS
2017
3 | TALKING HEALTH CARE February 13, 2017 | VOL. 53, No. 7
9 | HONORING BUSINESSES
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Hwang: Human toll too great to add casinos BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
S
dates are to stabilize prices and maximize sustainable employment, and then illustrated how those objectives are being realized in the current climate. Reviewing such trends as personal consumer expenditures, inflation, the dollar’s exchange rate and non-oil import prices, Tracy demonstrated that the national economy is essentially where it was before the Great Recession of December 2007 to June 2009; even with dramatic fluctuations in the last two categories in particular over the past few years, indications are that a period of normalcy is now in effect. Turning to the country’s GDP, Tracy noted that a slowdown has taken place that cannot be entirely explained away by the recession. Potential GDP growth was 2.9 percent from 2000-05, slowed to 1.7 per-
tate Sen. Tony Hwang can be an expansive speaker about nearly any topic — until he’s asked about his plans to run for governor in 2018. “I have formed an exploratory (committee),” the Republican lawmaker told the Business Journal. “I’m first and foremost thrilled and honored to represent the 28th district.” Still, the 52-year-old Hwang, who represents Fairfield, Newtown, Westport, Weston and Easton, described how he’s been visiting all corners of Connecticut, meeting local lawmakers and residents to learn more about issues facing municipalities statewide. That on-the-road education has informed his involvement with groups like the Coalition Against Casino Expansion in Connecticut. The nonpartisan, 15-group alliance opposes the legalization of a third casino in the state. The momentum behind that allied opposition began when the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes formed a joint venture, MMCT, to explore opening a gambling site in the Hartford area, with Windsor Locks and East Windsor being the leading contenders to land the project. Those tribes respectively operate the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard and Mohegan Sun in Uncasville. Hwang said although Connecticut’s original arrangement with the tribes, under which they pay approximately 25 percent of slot machine revenues to the state, had worked well, “The landscape has changed.” “Over the past years, we’ve seen nearly every state get into the gambling business. We’ve reached an oversaturation point, where the only way to grow
» Economy, page 6
» Casinos, page 6
Fed exec optimistic about economy SUSTAINABLE GROWTH RATE KEY
BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com
T
he local economy may still be lagging that of the nation, but signs for both seem relatively positive as 2017 continues to unfold. That was the takeaway from Joseph Tracy, executive vice president and senior adviser to the president of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, at his National Economic Outlook and Regional Forecast presentation on Feb. 7 at the Crowne Plaza Stamford Hotel. Sponsored by Deloitte and presented by The Business Council of Fairfield County, the nearly 60-minute presentation packed a great deal of data into a limited time. Noting that his opinions did not necessarily reflect those of the Federal Reserve, Tracy explained that the Fed’s two man-