As state government suits up to combat election misinformation, Governor Lamont’s re-election campaign has served up a meaty example of false claims hitting the public. A television ad released by Lamont’s operation this week features […]
Connecticut residents are again paying some of the highest state and local taxes this year, according to updated figures from the Tax Foundation. The Tax Foundation’s annual State and Local Tax Burdens report looked at […]
The gimmicky gas tax cut adopted unanimously by the General Assembly in March, and extended to December 1 as part of the state budget, may be delivering less savings than promised. Connecticut suspended its 25-cent-per-gallon […]
Welcome to The Hartford Portfolio, Yankee Institute’s update on what’s happening at the State Capitol during the legislative session. “Here’s some of what we saw in Hartford this week:” The General Assembly has adjourned for […]
HARTFORD (May 3) – “Today’s surprise vote to increase pay for state lawmakers is not just an affront to principles of responsive and responsible governance – it’s a sad moment for state taxpayers and for […]
HARTFORD (May 3) – “Connecticut’s unprecedented budget surplus meant state officials could have given middle-class families and businesses meaningful relief from the destructive Malloy-era tax hikes. Instead, Governor Lamont and the General Assembly squandered that […]
Welcome to The Hartford Portfolio, Yankee Institute’s update on what’s happening at the State Capitol during the legislative session. “Here’s some of what we saw in Hartford this week:” Sikorsky Bill Flies to The Governor’s […]
Hartford (April 27) – “State lawmakers could leave Hartford without doing anything and the state budget would already be balanced, and our debt would decrease. Unfortunately, rather than using our remarkable surplus to pay down […]
Welcome to The Hartford Portfolio, Yankee Institute’s update on what’s happening at the State Capitol during the legislative session. “Here’s some of what we saw in Hartford this week:” House and Senate Rush To Approve […]
The number of Connecticut state government employees making more than Governor Ned Lamont’s $150,000 salary last year surged to 2,927, state pay records show. The number, which stood around 2,000 between 2015 and 2018, follows […]
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.