EAST HARTFORD – The Yankee Institute for Public Policy released today the updated version of its Taxes and Fees flyer for Fiscal Year 2010 and 2011. “Connecticut’s state government spending is dramatically outpacing population growth, […]
EAST HARTFORD – The Yankee Institute for Public Policy has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Malloy administration seeking the same data the administration is preparing to release to labor union organizers […]
Government’s Thumb on the Election Scales By Heath W. Fahle EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Nearly half of all the money spent on campaigns for Connecticut state offices came from taxpayers in 2010, according to new research by […]
Connecticut’s taxpayer-funded campaigns program paid for nearly half of state campaign spending in 2010 according to new research from the Yankee Institute for Public Policy. The Citizens’ Election Program (CEP) accounted for $26.1 million of […]
Fergus Cullen, Executive Director of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, issues the following statement in response to the Attorney General’s announcement today clearing the Yankee Institute of accusations made by SEBAC: “We appreciate this […]
HARTFORD – The Hartford Courant featured the Yankee Institute on the front page this morning, profiling our work and the outlandish allegations made against us by state labor leaders: “Founded in 1984, the think tank […]
HARTFORD – The United States Supreme Court ruled today that a key component of taxpayer funded campaign schemes like that used in Connecticut unconstitutionally violates the First Amendment free speech rights of candidates, their supporters, […]
June 24, 2011 Hon. John Geragosian Hon. Bob Ward Auditors of Public Accounts 210 Capitol Ave, Room 114 Hartford, CT 06106 Dear Mr. Geragosian and Mr. Ward: I see from news reports that frivolous accusations […]
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.