Revenue to Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund is projected to rise this year as gasoline prices surge upward and sales tax receipts come in hotter than previously expected adding nearly $70 million to the STF this […]
Even if Gov. Ned Lamont gets his tolling bill through the General Assembly during a special session, his plan, the budget and proposed reductions to the gasoline tax and bus fare would amount to $288 […]
“As Governor Ned Lamont meets with legislative leaders tomorrow to discuss transportation funding, we hope he will remember his campaign promise to save taxpayer money by reaching a deal with Connecticut’s government unions. Connecticut’s fiscal […]
Debra had a question: are people really moving out of Connecticut? And if so, why and to where? So, she started a Facebook group called “People Who Have Left or are Leaving Connecticut,” to get […]
House Speaker Aresimowicz has dismissed toll opponents and sceptics as “emotional” in their attachment to “perceived details.” But details from a new working draft of the tolls bill that may dominate the final struggle over this issue for 2019 demonstrate […]
The Connecticut Business and Industry Association on Monday issued a statement saying that although infrastructure is important to Connecticut’s economy, the association could not support “adding additional cost burdens, like tolls, on individuals and businesses.” […]
U.S. News & World Report’s ranking of the best states gave Connecticut an overall ranking of 21 but faulted the state’s infrastructure at a lowly 46 at a time when the legislature is set to […]
The House of Representatives on Friday referred Gov. Ned Lamont’s tolling bill to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee for approval on the heels of Lamont’s open letter to legislators imploring them to take action […]
Lately, Gov. Ned Lamont has appeared like Moses descending from Mount Sinai with God’s commandments in the Mel Brooks comedy, History of the World Part 1 – except he’s carrying toll proposals. In the film, […]
No Tolls CT, a grassroots organization opposed to plans by Gov. Ned Lamont and Democrat leaders to put tolls on Connecticut’s highways, delivered a message to the governor today – actually, they delivered about 100,000 […]
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.