Yankee releases new poll

Posted on Feb 7, 2012 in Featured, Press EAST HARTFORD – President Barack Obama leads Mitt Romney, 50-37%, among Connecticut voters, and would defeat Newt Gingrich by an even larger margin, 56-35%, according to a new Yankee Institute poll. Gingrich is weighed down by an unfavorable image. More than twice as many voters think unfavorably of Gingrich (63%) as view him favorably (28%). In the U.S. Senate race, Democratic Congressman...
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Yankee Requests PCA List

Posted on Jan 11, 2012 in Advocacy, Featured, PCA, Press EAST HARTFORD – The Yankee Institute for Public Policy has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Malloy administration seeking the same data the administration is preparing to release to labor union organizers trying to unionize personal care attendants (PCAs). “If the list of personal care attendants is public information available to the unions, it should also be available...
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Reaction to Attorney General

Posted on Jul 28, 2011 in Press Fergus Cullen, Executive Director of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, issues the following statement in response to the Attorney General’s announcement today clearing the Yankee Institute of accusations made by SEBAC: “We appreciate this full and speedy exoneration by Attorney General Jepsen. We regret that SEBAC’s wild accusations wasted his time, the Auditor’s time, and that of...
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Courant: Small Office, Big Influence

Posted on Jul 21, 2011 in Featured, Press HARTFORD – The Hartford Courant featured the Yankee Institute on the front page this morning, profiling our work and the outlandish allegations made against us by state labor leaders: “Founded in 1984, the think tank has long embraced a philosophy that government should be small, taxes should be low, and a robust private sector is the key to economic growth. For part of its history,...
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Victory at US Supreme Court

Posted on Jun 27, 2011 in Electoral Reform, Press, Research HARTFORD – The United States Supreme Court ruled today that a key component of taxpayer funded campaign schemes like that used in Connecticut unconstitutionally violates the First Amendment free speech rights of candidates, their supporters, and taxpayers. Ruling in Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v Bennett, the Court threw out the use of taxpayer-financed matching funds,...
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Auditors: Expedite the Process

Posted on Jun 24, 2011 in Press June 24, 2011 Hon. John Geragosian Hon. Bob Ward Auditors of Public Accounts 210 Capitol Ave, Room 114 Hartford, CT 06106 Dear Mr. Geragosian and Mr. Ward: I see from news reports that frivolous accusations made by SEBAC against the Yankee Institute have been referred to your office. I write to request an expedited review of these smears so the Yankee Institute’s good name will be cleared as...
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SEBAC: Prove It or Apologize

Posted on Jun 20, 2011 in Press HARTFORD – Fergus Cullen, Executive Director of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, issues the following statement in response to SEBAC’s complaint to the Attorney General: “There are two groups of people in Connecticut: Those who enjoy the security, high pay, and generous benefits of government jobs – and the rest of us who pay for them. The unions think state employees deserve...
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24 Retirees Make More than Governor

Posted on Apr 7, 2011 in Accountability and Transparency, Data, Press, Research HARTFORD – Pensions for two dozen retired state employees exceeded the governor’s salary of $150,000 in 2010, according to new data posted to the Yankee Institute’s CT Sunlight Project (www.ctsunlight.org). A total of 378 retired state workers received pensions of more than $100,000 last year. That’s up from 175 individuals in 2008 and 299 retirees in 2009. In all, the state of...
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Let Voters Decide, Not Gov’t

Posted on Mar 27, 2011 in Press by Nick Dranias and Fergus Cullen No one particularly likes negative political ads. Having them paid for with tax dollars is worse. But what’s most offensive is when government uses public funds to help some candidates while discouraging others from speaking to voters. That’s what happens in campaigns for state offices in Arizona, Connecticut, Maine, and six other states with so-called...
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Jepsen, Lamont Join McComish

Posted on Mar 17, 2011 in Press U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Free Speech Case Affecting Connecticut In 10 Days HARTFORD – Oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court in McComish v Bennett, an important free speech case concerning taxpayer funded political campaigns, are scheduled for Monday, March 28. Underscoring the case’s relevance to Connecticut, Attorney General George Jepsen and former candidate Ned Lamont...
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