Connecticut saw a 1,600 decrease in “nonfarm industry” positions in December, while November private sector gains (3,300) were revised down to only 300, according to the latest report issued by the state Department of Labor […]
During a campaign rally on the eve of election day, Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin told supporters in Richmond, “Friends, we don’t want to be Connecticut.” The former CEO of The Carlyle Group spoke […]
Private-sector employment in Connecticut topped 1.38 million in August, new data show, bringing employment just above January 2011 levels. The figures, released by the state Labor Department, show Connecticut added 6,200 private jobs in August […]
Save the Sound, one of Connecticut’s environmental advocacy groups pushing hard for the Transportation and Climate Initiative program, is ramping up their lobbying efforts in September, according to filings with the Office of State Ethics. […]
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed on to the Transportation and Climate Initiative program without legislative approval, but he may soon need voter approval if Massachusetts is going to remain in the controversial cap and trade […]
Connecticut saw a 6.4 percent decline in the number of businesses over the course of a ten-year period during which the nation on average saw a 2.5 percent increase, according to a report by Commercial […]
Retired Connecticut state employees will see a substantial bump to their pension payments as a result of increasing economic inflation. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Workers and Clerical Workers – known as the […]
Connecticut’s employment numbers are trailing the rest of the country in all income groups as the state struggles to bounce back from the COVID lockdowns, but the jobs gap remains especially pronounced for low wage […]
A Waterbury-based manufacturer of plastic medical devices says that for the first time they are having difficulty finding workers to fill the low-skill positions necessary to fulfill their orders and keep the business running. President […]
After eight months of trying to hire staff, the owner of the small sandwich and burger joint Blue Cactus Grill closed his location in Fairfield with a message for Connecticut lawmakers: “We hope the state […]
The Connecticut State Legislature will begin its 2023 session on January 4th and will adjourn on June 7th. The “long session,” as non-election years are called in Hartford, will be centered around the biennial budget. The Office of the State Comptroller reports that state government found a way to spend $47.11 billion in 2022 and, if trends continue, we can expect that number to grow even more going forward. Concerns over energy prices, inflation, and general cost of living continue to dominate the headlines and the threat of a recession hovers over economic forecasts.
What will our elected officials be working on to improve policy outcomes for Connecticut residents? What tax reform proposals will there be? What can be done to lower home heating bills? How will state and local budgets be affected by fewer federal resources? How will schools be implementing to curriculum requirements?
While we wait to see the thousands of individual and committee bills that while dominate the myriad policy debates this year, Yankee Institute is hard at work promoting free-market solutions to the problems we face from Stamford to Putnam and Mystic to Salisbury. To that end, we have produced a new edition of our Charter for Change. The Charter provides commonsense reforms to make Connecticut’s government work for its residents.
Though the list of reforms may be exhausting to review, it is far from exhaustive! And that’s why we want to work with you to build a broad-based coalition to encourage sound policy reforms to enable Connecticut residents to forge a better future for themselves and their families.
It’s also imperative that we do so. As we noted in a report and CT Mirror op-ed last year, the debate over whether we’re in a national recession really misses the point for Connecticut residents. We had more people employed in the private sector in 2007 than we do today. Our economy has grown at one of the slowest rates in the nation for the past decade, and we are getting outpaced year after year. We’re not attracting innovation and industry. We’re losing some of our best and brightest as they seek other parts of the country where it’s easier to make a living.
But together, we can reverse this trend.
At Yankee Institute, we know Connecticut is a state with boundless opportunity, and we intend to help make our state more than a place where people are just able to make ends meet! Connecticut should be a place where everyone can thrive – and with your help, it will be.