Connecticut’s teachers’ unions are angered over changes to how the state calculates teacher pension death benefit payments for spouses and are working behind the scenes to reverse the reforms, according to emails obtained by Yankee […]
Gov. Ned Lamont’s now-defunct transportation bill aimed to install truck-only tolls on Connecticut highways in order to raise an estimated $172 million per year to fund federal infrastructure loans. Tolls supporters have repeatedly insisted that Connecticut has serious transportation […]
I meet Justin Augustine on a Thursday morning at Triple AAA Pizza on Whalley Avenue in New Haven, a diner bedazzled with digital signs that make it hard to miss. It’s a neighborhood place. The […]
North Carolina recently overhauled its retirement medical benefits for state employees – also known as OPEB – to relieve a growing $34.4 billion debt, according to a new report released by the Manhattan Institute, but […]
**To read Above The Law please download the PDF** Yankee Letter: Connecticut has so many advantages — including an educated population, a prime location midway between Manhattan and Boston, and a quality of life that’s […]
“We appreciate Governor Lamont’s efforts to fix this year’s budget deficit without any major tax increases, and we hope the governor will continue to resist calls to increase the state’s income tax and capital gains […]
Connecticut has $33.6 billion in unfunded liabilities for its other post-employment retirement benefits like retiree health insurance, according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council. Connecticut ranked 43rd in the nation for […]
Gov. Ned Lamont released his working draft transportation bill on Monday and a subject matter hearing is scheduled for Friday with a possible special session vote next week. So, what does the bill say and […]
Connecticut’s current year budget deficit increased once again, rising another $66 million over the previous estimate and topping out at $96 million, according to a budget report for the Office of Fiscal Analysis. This marks […]
The Hartford Federation of Teachers, AFT, is fighting a multi-year court battle with its own unionized office employees over wage and retirement benefits, pitting the teachers’ union against its own affiliate organization, the AFL-CIO. At […]
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.