Despite claims of looming fiscal disaster because of federal funding cuts, data from the state’s new public tool show a different story. Last month, Gov. Ned Lamont launched a reporting system to track the […]
It was billed as a press conference announcing a new legislative caucus — but the real headliners weren’t the lawmakers. When more than 30 Democratic legislators gathered on April 30 to unveil their “Blue Collar […]
As Connecticut faces another contentious budget season, House Republicans have introduced an alternative spending and revenue plan that offers a sharp contrast to the proposals advanced by Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative Democrats. Dubbed […]
Yankee Institute applauds recent amendments to the 2025 “Green Monster” environmental legislation. The bill, as initially proposed, had significant flaws in its scientific assumptions and posed meaningful risks to Connecticut’s energy reliability and economy. Anticipating […]
Yankee Institute, in collaboration with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, released a comprehensive policy report titled “The Green Monster: A Review of Connecticut’s Climate Protection Act of 2025,” authored by Jason Hayes, Director of […]
Gov. Ned Lamont made a special guest appearance at the AFSCME Council 4 Biennial Conference this weekend, pledging continued support for public-sector unions along with another round of wage increases. While the governor has not […]
The Appropriations Committee’s debate over the state budget makes one thing clear: Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails and constitutional spending cap are treated more like speed bumps than actual limits. The proposed budget blows through the spending […]
Some wounds never heal — and some should not be forgotten. One such scar, a British cannonball, has been lodged in a corner post at Keeler Tavern in Ridgefield, Conn., for nearly 250 years. On April […]
Some politicians want to break Connecticut’s fiscal guardrails to survive “catastrophic” federal funding cuts. But here’s the truth: no one knows when or whether federal cuts will happen — or how big they’ll be. It’s […]
Yankee Institute expressed strong opposition to the proposed $55.7 billion biennial budget, which ignores Connecticut’s constitutional spending cap, and paves the way for dismantling crucial fiscal protections and increasing taxes. Although Connecticut lawmakers are […]
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.