All of us at Yankee Institute consider it an honor to work with you to serve the people of Connecticut. We realize your job is often a thankless one, and we’re grateful to each of you for your willingness to enter the arena of public service.

As you know, we’re confronting a time of immense national challenge. A recession looks imminent and real wages are declining, while the stock market continues to plummet and inflation soars. The budgets of Connecticut’s people are stretched thin. Tax increases are simply not an option—not one cent more.

Affordability is top of mind—and it’s unlikely another influx of federal money like the pandemic relief packages will be available to close the gap between what government spends and what it brings in. We’ll need to budget responsibly and think creatively both about how to make Connecticut more competitive and how to convince those with the most to offer that our state is a viable place to live and retire.

Our state needs to work not just for those in the business community or at retirement age, but for our children, as well. Anyone committed to eradicating Connecticut’s “education gap”—exacerbated by the pandemic—must likewise be committed to education reform. And, of course, the relationship between state and municipal government is vital to our state’s future.

The compendium of suggested reforms that follows is intended to spark a dialogue—and, we hope, to generate the changes that will make the days ahead vibrant and secure for Connecticut. They require no changes whatsoever to the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) agreement and could therefore be enacted through the governor’s first budget, along with its supporting statutory instruments.

Thank you for your consideration of these proposals. We stand ready to work with you to secure a more prosperous, free, and hopeful future for all the families of our beautiful state.