As Connecticut’s legislative session is underway, Yankee Institute will be deeply engaged at the Capitol — explaining which policies we support, which we oppose, and why. Throughout the year, our work focuses on one key objective: ensuring Connecticut is affordable, livable, and workable by showing how policy decisions function in practice, making hidden costs and authority visible, and advancing practical solutions.
But from time to time, it’s worth stepping back to remember why this work matters at all.
Recent events in other states offer a useful reminder of what’s at stake when transparency, accountability, and restraint begin to erode. In Minnesota, federal prosecutors have charged dozens of individuals in connection with large-scale fraud involving state and federal programs. In California, lawmakers are advancing proposals to impose a one-time tax on accumulated wealth—reaching beyond income into unrealized assets.
These situations are different, but they point to the same underlying problem. When government grows so large and complex that it operates without clear limits, transparent systems, and meaningful accountability, it becomes easier to exploit and harder to justify. The result isn’t effective governance, but the erosion of public trust, along with a growing sense that taxpayers are being treated as revenue sources rather than citizens.
At Yankee Institute, we believe government exists for the benefit of Connecticut’s residents—not the other way around. Those who lead and administer our state must remain accountable to the people who fund government and live under its authority. Laws should be designed to serve the public interest, not to concentrate power or shield decisions from scrutiny.
This isn’t a radical idea. It’s common sense. And it reflects a long-standing Connecticut (and American) tradition: that self-government depends on transparency, limits, and accountability.
That is why, throughout this legislative session, Yankee Institute will continue its work to help ensure Connecticut is affordable, livable, and workable — by explaining how policy decisions function in practice, making hidden costs and authority visible, and advancing practical solutions.
And throughout the session, we will also take time to step back and examine the larger principles behind the headlines. Because when accountability fades, the consequences are real. And when it is defended, everyone benefits.
