The Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations upheld the 2019 termination of a Darien police officer over issues related to alcohol use and truthfulness, according to the decision issued on September 30 of this year. […]
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 […]
The Connecticut Office of the Attorney General is using special assistant attorneys general funded by billionaire Michael Bloomberg to assist the state in litigation related to the environment and climate change, including Connecticut’s lawsuit against […]
The American Rescue Plan expanded the pool of people eligible to participate in Access Health CT, allowing Connecticut residents who were previously ineligible to participate in the program because of higher incomes to gain access […]
The forthcoming Hallmark movie, “Christmas in Harlem,” may have wrapped up filming on Capitol Avenue in Hartford, but some of the biggest beneficiaries of Connecticut’s film tax credits may be a few blocks north. Connecticut […]
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 […]
Over the protestations of Republicans and some Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate – along with protestations from groups gathered outside the Capitol – the General Assembly voted to extend Gov. Ned […]
A panel of experts argued that healthcare provider consolidation through hospital mergers and private equity takeovers are limiting competition in the health care industry and driving health care prices higher, during an online informational forum […]
A member of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Board of Directors says he is trying to use his position to steer the state’s largest business association toward supporting the Transportation and Climate Initiative. Kevin […]
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.