For the second consecutive year, the Office of the State Comptroller failed to meet the statutory deadline to report on taxpayer savings generated from the 2017 State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC). The 2017 deal, […]
The State of Connecticut and municipalities face a substantial burden – and now threat – from pension and retiree healthcare funds, as the stock market has plunged in recent weeks, which could leave taxpayers on […]
A new union agreement between the state of Connecticut and supervisors in the Department of Children and Families will cost the state $1.2 million per year in annual wage and benefit increases was approved in […]
North Carolina recently overhauled its retirement medical benefits for state employees – also known as OPEB – to relieve a growing $34.4 billion debt, according to a new report released by the Manhattan Institute, but […]
Connecticut is one of only four states that give state employees a paid day off on February 12th for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, but while the state government may be on holiday, the cost to taxpayers […]
Pay increases for state employees outlined in the 2017 SEBAC agreement were projected to cost $353 million annually by the Office of Fiscal Analysis, but emails between former State Senator Len Suzio, R-Meriden, and OFA […]
Governor Lamont’s expensive accounting gimmick to buy a little more breathing room in the upcoming biennial budget reveals more than just bad fiscal instincts. It demonstrates once again and beyond any doubt that this government […]
In response to Senate Republicans’ criticism that the 2019 budget assumes $450 million in pension and health care savings from state employees that have not yet been negotiated, Gov. Ned Lamont and his budget chief […]
A watered-down version of a pro-union bill, which sought to give union leaders access to employee’s personal information and codify dues authorizations into state law, passed late Wednesday night in the House of Representatives. In […]
Connecticut’s Appropriations Committee on Monday approved an arbitration award for Connecticut’s unionized assistant attorneys general which will cost the state $3.3 million in salary raises, benefits and bonuses. The contract award was won through arbitration […]
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.