Sen. Martin Looney, D-New Haven, and supporting Democrats have labeled a proposed statewide property tax a “mansion tax” that would largely affect high-wealth towns like Greenwich and Westport. However, it is also a tax on […]
A flyer advertising a project information session and potential work opportunities for Connecticut’s State Pier project in New London, informed potential construction bidders the State Pier project “is a union job.” “Small, local and diverse […]
Bethel Superintendent of Public Schools Dr. Christine Carver did not release documents ahead of a January 26 Board of Education school budget presentation despite Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive order requiring all documents to be posted […]
Former Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, who was recently made U.S. Secretary of Education, is named in a lawsuit appeal brought by the Connecticut Parents Union in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals over the […]
Members of the state Compensation Commission for Elected Officers and General Assembly Members voted 3-2 today to recommend that state lawmakers and the governor receive a wage increase in January following the next election for […]
Senate President Pro-Tem Martin Looney, D-New Haven, filed two bills to implement a statewide property tax on residential and commercial property and to implement a surcharge on capital gains. Although the bills are only concept […]
The Department of Consumer Protection sent an email to local elected officials, health officials and emergency management directors on Thursday asking them to report any COVID-related rumors they may find on social media so the […]
An online town hall meeting hosted by Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, and Rep. Kimberly Fiorello, R-Greenwich, on Tuesday discussed a draft bill that would reshape what local planning and zoning commissions can and can’t do […]
A new study released by the Pioneer Institute in Massachusetts has a warning for Massachusetts lawmakers who may consider raising the state’s income tax rate: Don’t be like Connecticut. Connecticut’s Dangerous Game: How the Nation’s […]
CTtransit in Hartford, a division of the Connecticut Department of Transportation, has been issued a serious violation notice and a proposed $7,111 penalty by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration after chemicals known to cause […]
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.