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Housing issues affect everyone in Connecticut, from those who are searching for a safe place to live, to those who may find it increasingly difficult to afford a place they already call home.WNPR is covering Connecticut's housing and homelessness issues in a series that examines how residents are handling the challenges they face. We look at the trends that matter most right now, and tell stories that help bring the issues to light.

UConn Economist: Spend Less, and Risk Being Worse Off

Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis

Economists at the University of Connecticut are calling on the state to use bonds that have been approved by the legislature but never issued. The Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis forecast reports that if the state relies only on traditional drivers like the housing market to grow the economy, it could begin to lose jobs again in 2014.

Report author Professor Fred Carstensen said that outlook changes dramatically if the state invests in already-approved projects using bonded capital. "That would add 15 to 28,000 jobs to the economy in the next couple of years," he said, "assuming these go forward rapidly. It would actually double the rate of growth and state output."

Carstensen said he's not worried that the strategy would exacerbate Connecticut's reputation for heavy state borrowing. "We need to make the kind of strategic investments that are going to increase the growth in the state's economy," he said. "If we don't do that, then the debt actually becomes worse. You can decide to spend less, and that actually makes you worse off."

The forecast says there are signs Connecticut's economic growth is already strengthening, although it has a way to go to catch up with the national recovery.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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