A bill legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana in Connecticut that will likely be rushed through the General Assembly in the next two days will include union-friendly language meant to encourage the unionization of retail […]
The Connecticut Department of Transportation released contract provisions for rehabilitation of the north-bound side of the Gold Star Memorial Bridge in New London which includes a project labor agreement guaranteeing union labor will be used […]
The Gold Star Memorial Bridge crossing the Thames River between New London and Groton is due for an overhaul and has been the subject of many transportation-related discussions, ranging from Gov. Dannel Malloy’s Let’s Go […]
The Connecticut Port Authority was unable to provide documentation for why a project labor agreement was included for the estimated $157 million State Pier project in New London, according to a Freedom of Information request. […]
A new study from the Beacon Hill Institute in Massachusetts found that project labor agreements cost Connecticut taxpayers an extra $500 million in school construction costs between 2001 and 2019. Using a sample of 95 […]
Joined by union officials and members on Thursday, Gov. Ned Lamont pitched his new CT2030 transportation plan to leverage federal loans with toll revenue. But the plan also essentially guarantees that $21 billion in transportation […]
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.