Yankee Institute applauds Gov. Ned Lamont’s commitment to uniting both parties to fix the problems that plague our beautiful state. The Governor is right to call for “a reduction in tax rates which the state can afford and […]
“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 […]
Yankee Institute applauds Governor Lamont’s remarks indicating his interest in property tax relief. Connecticut homeowners face property tax bills that are both higher and rising faster than they are in neighboring states. Our state has […]
“There is no public interest that is served by extending Governor Lamont’s emergency powers, as state lawmakers reportedly plan to do next week. Our state senators and representatives are fully capable of debating and voting […]
“The General Assembly has sided with public-sector unions over our taxpayers and our local governments. Governor Lamont has a choice to make: he can be a force for fiscal sanity in Hartford, or he can […]
Tonight the state Senate approved a raw political power-grab designed to fill the coffers of Connecticut’s public employee unions. This bill, SB 908, will harm local taxpayers by giving enormous and inappropriate benefits to public […]
Today’s U.S. Census Bureau announcement that Connecticut was the slowest-growing state in the Northeast over the past decade should sound warning bells in every corner of our state government. The best indicator of a state’s economic health […]
“Governor Lamont’s commitment to opposing broad-based tax increases is welcome news for Connecticut families and businesses and he deserves praise for laying down this marker.” “However, the state budget proposal unveiled earlier today includes several items that weaken […]
“The latest batch of tax increases proposed in Hartford represents the triumph of hope over experience. Too many Connecticut lawmakers seem ready to repeat the mistakes of the past decade, while somehow expecting a different outcome. These proposals would hit families and businesses with higher property taxes, […]
Today, Governor Lamont joined governors in the Northeast region in signing onto the newly-released Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI) Memorandum of Understanding. The initiative would result in $388.6 million per year in increased gasoline costs across the […]
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.