Connecticut's transportation funding problems have been blamed on increasing debt costs, but a look at the history of transportation spending in Connecticut shows that, when adjusted for inflation, the biggest cost increases have been for […]
When given the choice between Connecticut's failing pension system and the state's defined contribution plan, Robert Guynn took the road less traveled -- and he's doing fine.
AFSCME’s Director of Collective Bargaining and Organizing Kevin Murphy was expected to take the lead role, but an eligibility challenge and subsequent investigation found Murphy was not a “member in good standing” because he failed […]
Facing a $4.6 billion deficit over the next biennium, lawmakers will find themselves in the position of a political captive — hands tied, blind-folded and locked in a dingy basement.
Performance reviews meant to determine salary increases and bonuses for state managers are sometimes ignored, but that hasn't prevented them from reaping the benefits.
Fringe benefit rates for Connecticut’s state employee and teacher retirement plans in 2018 jumped as much as 52 percent, according to figures from the Comptroller’s Office.
A withering assessment of Connecticut’s economic and fiscal problems was used by The Pioneer Institute — a think-tank based in Boston — as an example of why Massachusetts should not raise taxes on high-income earners.
Connecticut professors with the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system will receive two 5.5 percent raises in 2019 and 2020, according to a contract summary published by the union representing CSCU professors.
State employees at the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection were granted overtime pay for normal hours and improper worker’s compensation benefits, according to a recent audit of the department.
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.