Gov. Ned Lamont and Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani announced that Connecticut is changing policy regarding COVID protections in schools during a press conference at Newington High School Starting today, schools will have […]
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 […]
The Connecticut Senate and House of Representatives both voted to extend Gov. Ned Lamont’s emergency executive powers through September, although several Democrats broke ranks and voted with Republicans against the extension. Republicans argued that Connecticut’s […]
The Department of Public Health dropped its fines against Audrey Hussey of Putnam, one of the first state residents hit with fines for allegedly violating Gov. Ned Lamont’s travel restrictions. Hussey had traveled to New […]
On July 25, 2020, Audrey Hussey left her rented house in Putnam, Connecticut and caught a flight from Providence, Rhode Island to New Orleans. The trip would fulfill two long-time dreams for Audrey: To visit […]
As Connecticut’s teacher unions continue to push for remote learning, House Republicans yesterday sent a letter to the co-chairs of Connecticut’s Vaccine Advisory Group asking that school teachers and school employees over the age of […]
United Van Lines released its National Migration Study on Monday and, despite the pandemic and a hot real estate market, Connecticut was once again in the top five states that saw more people moving out. […]
On the day Connecticut received its first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine, approximately sixty restaurant owners and employees marched in a cold rain outside the Governor’s Residence in Hartford to protest against the possibility of […]
Waterbury had one of the highest increases in the percentage of residents renting apartments in the country, while Hartford, on the other hand, saw one of the highest increases in homeownership over the last ten […]
Connecticut’s job growth in 2019 was dead last in the country and only 48th since 2010, according to Connecticut Department of Labor report released on election day. According to the Connecticut Economic Digest, “Idaho, Arizona, […]
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.