Incumbents Vote to Save Incumbent Protection Act

Posted on Jun 26, 2009 in Press HARTFORD – After the debate on the floor of the State House of Representatives regarding the elimination of the Citizens’ Election Program, Yankee Institute Policy Director Heath W. Fahle made the following remarks: “The results from last year’s experiment with the Citizens’ Election Program clearly showed that the program is simply an Incumbent Protection Act,” said Fahle. “We...
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Understanding the Stimulus

Posted on Jun 24, 2009 in Research, Tax and Budget Published on June 24, 2009 by the Yankee Institute for Public Policy This report is a non-partisan effort to increase the public’s and policymaker’s understanding of the recently enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the so called “stimulus bill,” as well as some of its fiscal and economic impacts in the State of Connecticut. The report highlights economic...
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Politicians Paying Politicians . . . to be Politicians

Posted on Jun 17, 2009 in Press By Heath W. Fahle and Sean Parnell This article ran in the New Haven Register on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 and in the Connecticut Post on May 29, 2009 As Connecticut’s state legislators struggle to confront an enormous budget deficit — a sea of red ink $8 billion deep — a consensus is emerging that the public has no stomach for more tax increases and state government will have to tighten its...
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Hard to Soak the Rich When They’re Sopping Wet

Posted on Jun 17, 2009 in Press by Fergus Cullen This article ran in the Waterbury Republican-American on May 31, 2009 As Gov. M. Jodi Rell and state legislators struggle to close the state budget deficit and balance the next one, a familiar chorus has risen on the left: Tax the rich! Advocates for bigger government argue that the wealthy aren’t paying their “fair share.” New Haven-based Connecticut Voices for Children,...
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How to Reduce Property Taxes with a Citizens Audit Committee

Posted on Jun 3, 2009 in Education, Research, Tax and Budget Published on June 24, 2009 by the Yankee Institute for Public Policy This manual is designed to help local politicians, taxpayer activists, and concerned citizens to lower onerous property taxes by organizing to reduce local budgets, both for their towns and schools. DOWNLOAD THE FULL MANUAL NOW! (PDF) Although written in the early months of 2009 – a time of dramatically falling home values,...
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