This Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly are expected to vote during a special legislative session on whether to extend the 25-cents per gallon gas tax holiday, which expires Dec. 1. Waived last […]
Connecticut residents are again paying some of the highest state and local taxes this year, according to updated figures from the Tax Foundation. The Tax Foundation’s annual State and Local Tax Burdens report looked at […]
Connecticut state lawmakers—with support from government unions—are pushing a bill that would allow up to 10 senators and representatives access to anyone’s tax return under the guise of promoting equity and fairness in Connecticut’s tax system. […]
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” […]
Gov. Ned Lamont announced in late December that he would use federal COVID relief funds to retroactively increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to 41.5 percent for roughly 198,000 families in Connecticut who filed for […]
A couple weeks ago, while facing questions over his wife’s investments, Gov. Ned Lamont said Anne Lamont was in Nashville, Tennessee setting up businesses there because it was easier than setting up a business here […]
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 […]
Officials with Connecticut’s Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority said they expect an “onslaught” of paid leave applications starting December 1, when Connecticut residents can begin submitting applications for the state’s paid family and […]
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 […]
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.