As Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration continues to negotiate with state employee unions over new collective bargaining agreements, the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition indicated that it would be willing reopen its pension and healthcare benefits […]
Connecticut lawmakers and Gov. Ned Lamont bridged a $3.5 billion biannual budget deficit during the 2021 legislative session, largely using federal COVID relief funds combined with some revenue and accounting adjustments the state has employed […]
As Connecticut prepares to make a historic $1.6 billion payment toward its unfunded pensions, a new report shows Connecticut has the highest taxpayer debt of any state in the nation. According to Truth in Accounting’s […]
On August 18, police officers in Westport voted 42-5 in favor of switching union representation from AFSCME Council 4, AFL-CIO, to the National Fraternal Order of Police, the nation’s largest police union. And they were […]
Connecticut’s overtime costs rose $5 million over the course of fiscal year 2021, topping out at $239 million, according to the Office of Fiscal Analysis. Despite declining numbers of incarcerated people in Connecticut’s prison system, […]
Retired Connecticut state employees will see a substantial bump to their pension payments as a result of increasing economic inflation. The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Workers and Clerical Workers – known as the […]
Connecticut has the worst-funded pension system in the country, according to a new annual report released by the American Legislative Exchange Council. Using a “risk free” discount rate – which increases the state’s estimated pension […]
Connecticut’s total unfunded liabilities for other post-employment benefits like retiree healthcare totals $23.3 billion placing Connecticut 41st in the nation based on the size of its liability, according to a new report from the American […]
Democratic legislative leaders held a press conference pitching a $46 billion budget proposal from the Appropriations Committee and announcing their intention to push forward with tax increases on Connecticut’s wealthy residents despite opposition from Gov. […]
AFSCME International has taken over the New Haven Local 884 union following the suspension of the Local’s president and treasurer because of unpaid dues and attempting to interfere with collection of those dues. According to […]
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.