The Administrative & Residual Employees Union has reached an interim deal with the state of Connecticut to allow many of its members the ability to work from home part of the week, according to an […]
Governor Lamont hosted Govs. Baker and Raimondo recently, and reported that his fellow governors had urged him to keep on fighting for statewide tolls. He failed to note that the tolling adopted by each of […]
A state employee pension fact sheet released by the Office of Fiscal Analysis on Monday showed that, despite efforts to fully fund Connecticut’s state employee retirement system, the funding ratio has dropped from 48 to […]
On May 9, following a 14-hour debate in the Connecticut House of Representatives, state Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, delivered an impassioned final speech in support of raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 per […]
Attached you will find our study, Supersedence: The Consequences of Government Unions’ Special Privileges. This report details one of the most unbelievable benefits given to government unions – that in Connecticut any union contract can override […]
During the legislative session lawmakers approved $44 million in raises and benefits through a series of twelve collective bargaining agreements, according to a review of arbitrated labor agreements approved by the House of Representatives and […]
Executive Summary In volume 1 of the Yankee Institute’s 2019 policy paper series, we designated regulatory reform as one of our top priorities for the current legislative session, given the make-up of Connecticut’s current government […]
Pay increases for state employees outlined in the 2017 SEBAC agreement were projected to cost $353 million annually by the Office of Fiscal Analysis, but emails between former State Senator Len Suzio, R-Meriden, and OFA […]
Governor Lamont’s expensive accounting gimmick to buy a little more breathing room in the upcoming biennial budget reveals more than just bad fiscal instincts. It demonstrates once again and beyond any doubt that this government […]
“As Governor Ned Lamont meets with legislative leaders tomorrow to discuss transportation funding, we hope he will remember his campaign promise to save taxpayer money by reaching a deal with Connecticut’s government unions. Connecticut’s fiscal […]
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.