Connecticut is America’s jewel, replete with natural beauty — waterfalls, lakes, islands, beaches, caves and stunning autumn foliage. Its cultural contributions are unparalleled. Scholars point to Connecticut’s Fundamental Orders, drafted in 1639, as the first […]
Policy Reports
Connecticut is recovering from an economic downturn. But which one? Two years into the recovery, Connecticut’s economic growth trails the rest of the nation.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY By Ken Girardin and E.J. McMahon The 2020 U.S. Census carried a troubling message for Connecticut. In a decade when the nation’s population increased by 7.4 percent, the headcount in the Constitution State […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY By Ken Girardin Connecticut state officials have proposed entering the private health insurance business to assist residents who are either unable or struggling to afford coverage. Proponents hope to offer a “public option” […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY By Alexia Boccuzzi, Meghan Portfolio, and Miles Stella Town and city websites play a crucial role in helping residents understand and participate in Connecticut’s distinctive system of local government. In the course of […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY by Ken Girardin with analysis by Marc Joffe Most of Connecticut’s towns and cities face significant unfunded liabilities from pension and retiree healthcare benefits promised to current and former employees. In fact, these […]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY By Ken Girardin with Daniel Gressel, Ph.D. Connecticut missed out on much of a decade-long national economic expansion. The state added essentially zero private-sector jobs between 2017 and 2019, its population was essentially […]
Three decades have passed since the historic budget crisis that culminated in the creation of Connecticut’s personal income tax.The tax was enacted out of desperation: a roaring private sector buoyed a multi-year explosion in state spending, which left state government deep in the red as the economy slowed and tax revenues sank. Connecticut’s income tax experience has been a cautionary tale about increasing the state’s reliance on higher-earners
*Click “Download PDF” for the full report* Public employee pay and benefits in Connecticut are a matter of concern and debate for policymakers, employees and citizens. Elected officials must craft budgets amidst the Covid-19 crisis […]
** For the full study including charts and graphs, please download the PDF** When Connecticut policymakers adopted an individual income tax in 1991, many hoped that it would take pressure off state sales taxes and […]
