United Van Lines released its National Migration Study on Monday and, despite the pandemic and a hot real estate market, Connecticut was once again in the top five states that saw more people moving out. […]
Since 2012, Connecticut has paid the full annual cost of pensions for the state’s Judges, Family Magistrates and Compensation Commissioners Retirement System, nevertheless the pension debt for judges has increased during that time. Although much […]
The counter-intuitive fact is that Connecticut’s estate tax hurts everyone – and mostly hurts those who depend on state payments, not those who pay the most in taxes. We need to abandon it. Proponents of […]
Governor-elect Ned Lamont has reiterated his call to toll trucks as a way to raise revenue for state transportation costs but truckers and trucking companies are already paying for Connecticut roads, according to data released […]
The latest National Movers Study by United Van Lines showed Connecticut had the third highest rate of people moving out in the nation. According to the study, which tracks state-to-state migration patterns, 62 percent of […]
The Connecticut Board of Labor Relations approved full day union business leave and pay for union officials to attend an August 31 Connecticut AFL-CIO convention in Hartford that was scheduled to last only three hours, […]
In a recent piece, the CTMirror addressed the persistent issue of outmigration of the affluent – and whether it was a matter of fact or myth. With some reluctance, the authors concluded what Yankee has […]
The incoming governor and legislature are already feuding about whether to raid the Rainy Day Fund to balance the books in 2019. Governor-elect Lamont is right about this: the Rainy Day Fund must be saved […]
In the event of layoffs, unions determine which members are let go based on seniority, but the latest contract for Judicial Employees Local 749 added a new roster of members eligible for “super-seniority” who are […]
Connecticut public sector workers who want to resign from their union may find themselves in Hotel California -- you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
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.