On June 16, the manicured lawns outside Gov. Ned Lamont’s Hartford mansion will serve as the stage for a union-backed protest. Organized by the Connecticut AFL-CIO — the state’s largest labor union — the demonstration […]
Given a choice between protecting environmental goals or energy affordability, Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-Westport) insinuated he’d prefer the former during a June 6 legislative session review hosted by environmental activist group Connecticut League of Conservation […]
The Connecticut General Assembly’s 2025 session ended June 4, with Gov. Ned Lamont and lawmakers approving a $55.8 billion biennial budget. The governor hailed it as a “balanced, sensible budget” with significant investments in education […]
Imagine visiting European museums, only to discover sparce walls and empty galleries. No Michelangelos. No Da Vincis. No Caravaggios. No Roman sculptures. Or imagine vacationing in Italy and not marveling at its wonderous monuments and […]
Buried on page 200 of Connecticut’s nearly 700-page state budget is a provision lawmakers couldn’t pass on its own merit: a union-backed expansion of prevailing wage laws that forces small fabrication shops across Connecticut to […]
As the legislative session ends, Yankee Institute (YI) opposes the $55.8 billion biennial budget that busts one of the fiscal guardrails without containing a single dollar in spending cuts. YI likewise deplores the passage of […]
During Friday night’s (May 30) Senate debate on a sweeping omnibus housing bill, Sen. Martha Marx (D–New London) offered a revealing defense of a provision (section 31 of the bill) that steers taxpayer-backed bond funds […]
Connecticut’s largest labor union, the AFL-CIO is flexing its muscle — threatening, shaming, and all but demanding that Gov. Ned Lamont cave to their latest demand: forcing businesses to bankroll their strikes by handing out […]
Connecticut had one of the highest electric rates in the United States, second only to Hawaii, averaging more than $200 per month in 2024. The report, published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), […]
There really are no limits to how far Connecticut lawmakers will go to reward their union allies. On Tuesday (May 27), the House passed a 92-page housing omnibus bill stuffed with mandates, attacks on local […]
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.