Waterbury children will now have the opportunity to receive a partial scholarship to a private or parochial school of their parents’ choice, as the Children’s Educational Opportunity Foundation of Connecticut has expanded into the Waterbury […]
A bill that would award a massive tax break to data centers is being fast-tracked through the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee and will receive emergency certification for a vote in the House of Representatives […]
The Labor and Public Employees Committee will once again consider legislation to increase unions’ access to public employees and block others from informing those employees about their rights under the Janus v. AFSCME Supreme Court […]
State employee unions and the Working Families Party are holding a car caravan rally outside the Governor’s Mansion February 20, after union leaders and progressive lawmakers publicly expressed their disapproval of Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget […]
Testifying before the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee Tuesday, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said New Haven’s unfunded pension liabilities are driving the city’s $66 million deficit, leaving him few options but to raise property […]
As part of his budget proposal Gov. Ned Lamont included a highway use tax for large trucks based on vehicle weight and miles traveled in the state to raise $90 million annually for the state’s […]
Gov. Ned Lamont labeled his proposed budget “Connecticut’s Comeback” and that may be true in regard to Connecticut surviving the fiscal impact of the pandemic better than expected, but, according to the governor’s economic report, […]
President Carol Liebau’s op-ed was published in The Wall Street Journal. February 12, 2021. As part of his proposed $1.9 trillion relief bill, President Biden wants to send $350 billion in unrestricted cash to state […]
Massachusetts Under Secretary for Climate Change David Ismay resigned his position after he was caught on video telling climate advocates in Vermont that state government must “turn the screws” on ordinary people in order to […]
Gov. Ned Lamont released his biennial budget proposal to close a $2.5 billion deficit, which relies on a mix of federal aid, a continued delay of sales tax revenue for municipal grants and maintaining some […]
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.