After more than three years, Connecticut’s private sector has gained 267,700 jobs since April 2020, fully recovering — and eclipsing — the 266,000 jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) […]
The Connecticut Electric Bicycle (E-bike) Incentive Program, initiated by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) on June 28, saw only two percent of rebate vouchers directed to the state’s most financially challenged individuals. […]
Connecticut is currently considering a new regulation that aims to phase out the purchase of new gas-powered vehicles that aligns with California’s emissions standards. While debate has been divided, the regulation’s supporters point to the […]
Connecticut is currently considering a new regulation that aims to phase out the purchase of new gas-powered vehicles that aligns with California’s emissions standards. While debate has been divided, the regulation’s supporters point to the […]
In Yale University’s Old Campus, next to Connecticut Hall, stands a larger-than-life-sized bronze statue of the American Revolutionary War hero and alum Nathan Hale — a 21-year-old Connecticut native executed by the British for spying […]
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a statement on Tuesday (Sept. 12) that global inventory reductions are poised to increase oil prices until the year’s end, resulting in higher prices at the gas pump […]
Frontier Communications is heading to a new frontier — moving its corporate headquarters out of state from Norwalk to Dallas, Texas. “Moving our headquarters to Dallas makes good business sense given the city is already […]
The world has never been the same since Sept. 11, 2001. Evil showed its full might on that clear, blue morning, striving to cripple this nation through terror, mayhem and immense sorrow after more […]
Earlier this year, University of Connecticut (UConn) leadership asserted that a bill (H.B. 6567) that would’ve established a campus policy on freedom of expression was “not necessary.” They may want to rethink their stance now […]
The Party is Over Tax Evaders As of July 1, 2023, thousands of Connecticut residents will be affected by Vermont’s decision to no longer allow out-of-state residents to register their cars unless they can prove […]
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.