Over the past week, Democratic lawmakers at the state Capitol have introduced a slew of bills aimed at increasing taxes on businesses, property owners and the affluent, as well as hiring additional tax enforcement agents. […]
A new study shows Connecticut has become an even more burdensome state for would-be workers to obtain an occupational license for lower-income jobs. Last month, the Institute for Justice (IJ), released the third edition of […]
For the second consecutive year, the Office of the State Comptroller failed to meet the statutory deadline to report on taxpayer savings generated from the 2017 State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC). The 2017 deal, […]
Governor Ned Lamont on Wednesday unveiled a “series of tax cuts” he’s proposing as part of his FY2023 budget. The plan, which centers on the governor’s 2018 pledge to reduce property taxes, is heavy on […]
Connecticut ended 2021 with private-sector employment closer to 2020 levels than 2019 levels, a reminder that the state has a long way to go to recover its pandemic-related job losses. Private-sector employers added 600 jobs […]
“The most serious labor shortage Connecticut faces is the lack of senators and representatives willing to do their jobs in Hartford. If the last two years’ advances in vaccines, testing, treatments, and telecommuting weren’t enough […]
Governor Lamont’s plan to send payments to roughly one in seven Connecticut households months before he stands for re-election is arguably the single greatest overreach by the executive branch since the beginning of the novel […]
Complete recording of Yankee Institute’s A View to ’22 virtual forum on Connecticut and the national economy with Donald Klepper Smith, Dr Fred Carstensen and Curtis Dubay moderated by Ken Girardin and Marc Fitch . […]
**This is the second story in a series on Connecticut’s eviction moratorium. Read the first story here and the third story here** A Facebook post on March 30 of 2021 by David Haberfeld went viral […]
An estimated 250 protesters gathered in the rain at the Capitol today to rally against the continuation of Gov. Ned Lamont’s emergency powers and carrying signs against mask-wearing mandates for school children. Lamont has asked […]
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.