Democratic legislative leaders held a press conference pitching a $46 billion budget proposal from the Appropriations Committee and announcing their intention to push forward with tax increases on Connecticut’s wealthy residents despite opposition from Gov. […]
The budget package passed by the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee includes more than $1 billion in new taxes by 2023 coupled with some targeted tax credits, according to the fiscal note attached to the […]
House Republican leadership is questioning the constitutionality of a proposed “Equitable Investment Fund” that would use new and increased taxes on capital gains, digital advertising, sports gambling, marijuana sales and a second income tax on […]
The Connecticut Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Authority, which oversees the paid family and medical leave program, presented a draft budget that includes a 3 percent raise for all staff starting in 2022, estimated […]
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 […]
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 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 […]
“Governor Lamont’s commitment to opposing broad-based tax increases is welcome news for Connecticut families and businesses and he deserves praise for laying down this marker.” “However, the state budget proposal unveiled earlier today includes several items that weaken […]
Gov. Ned Lamont submitted a budget proposal on October 1 that draws down Connecticut’s Rainy Day Fund by $1.8 billion, maintains the corporate surcharge tax and implements a hiring freeze to bridge a projected $2 […]
A new annual report from Truth in Accounting found Connecticut has $67 billion in bonded debt and unfunded retirement costs, making it the third most indebted state per taxpayer in the nation. The total debt, […]
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.