Connecticut could potentially lease part of its tolling infrastructure to telecommunication companies looking to develop 5G wireless technology, according to emails obtained through a Freedom of Information request and forwarded to Yankee Institute. In an […]
A CT Mirror article published on Nov. 21 pointed out that Connecticut’s income tax was never meant to be temporary, refuting a common talking point employed by lawmakers and political candidates, the public, No Tolls […]
A new report released by Chicago-based Truth in Accounting ranked Connecticut dead last in the country for fiscal transparency, but that score isn’t sitting well with the Office of the Comptroller. According to TIA, Connecticut’s […]
Protesters from No Tolls CT and a small group of union leaders gathered at opposite ends of the circular driveway to the governor’s mansion on Tuesday, while inside Gov. Ned Lamont and legislative leaders attempted […]
Democrats in the House of Representatives and the Senate may have been surprised when Republicans held a press conference on September 12 lambasting a budget provision that would tax certain grocery items, but Gov. Ned […]
Connecticut’s total state and local unfunded pension and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) liability is a whopping $124.9 billion, according to an independent report delivered to the Connecticut Council of Municipalities. Pro Bono Public Pensions, a […]
Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives on Tuesday brought the toll debate full circle in Connecticut, tell the press yesterday that Connecticut should toll only trucks, something Gov. Ned Lamont campaigned on in 2018, […]
“The proposal by Democrats in the House of Representatives to toll only trucks is like a case of déjà vu. Gov. Ned Lamont campaigned on tolling only trucks but reversed that campaign promise mere months […]
Two liquor control agents have filed a complaint with the Connecticut State Labor Relations Board alleging the Administrative & Residual Employee Union 4200 and the Connecticut Police & Fire Union are using the state-provided union […]
Of the 332 bridges in Connecticut the Federal Highway Administration lists as “structurally deficient,” nearly half of them are owned and maintained by municipalities. The Connecticut Department of Transportation lists 156 local bridges which the […]
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.