Carol Platt Liebau, Yankee Institute’s president, was published in the CT Mirror March 10. People grieve in many ways. But it’s unfortunate that State Rep. Christine Palm used ad hominem attacks last week while relitigating […]
Carol Platt Liebau, Yankee Institute’s president, was published in the Connecticut Post February 14. The governor had good news when he addressed the General Assembly at its opening session last week: After a rough stretch, […]
During a January 13 Northwest Hills Council of Governments meeting, municipal leaders expressed concern over warnings by Eversource that they could face rolling blackouts if the region falls into an extended cold snap. A January […]
Low temperatures in New England this morning, and the resultant demand on natural gas supply, left the electric grid leaning heavily on two older fuels to keep the lights on: oil and coal. As of 10 am, the New England grid was getting […]
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that inflation in 2021 had hit 6.8 percent, a rate not seen since 1982, but, according to some economists, the reality may be much worse and that could […]
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has withdrawn his support for the Transportation and Climate Initiative, saying the cap-and-trade program for gasoline is “no longer the best solution for the Commonwealth’s transportation and environmental needs,” according to […]
Gov. Ned Lamont says he is no longer pushing for Connecticut to implement the Transportation and Climate Initiative program, citing high gasoline prices and federal infrastructure dollars coming from Washington D.C., according the Waterbury Republican-American. […]
Revenue to Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund is projected to rise this year as gasoline prices surge upward and sales tax receipts come in hotter than previously expected adding nearly $70 million to the STF this […]
Senate Republican Leader Kevin Kelly, R-Stratford, called on Sen. Richard Blumenthal to urge Democrats in the Connecticut General Assembly to reject the Transportation and Climate Initiative, which would increase the price of gasoline by forcing […]
Carol Platt Liebau, Yankee Institute’s president, was published in the Connecticut Post October 29. “Gov. Ned Lamont has a unique strategy for reducing income inequality, at least on Connecticut’s roads: He’s going to stop poor […]
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.