Yankee Institute for Public Policy

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy is affiliated with the Yankee Action PAC and the Yankee Charitable Foundation. The Yankee Institute supports the website CTWorkers.org.

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy is an associate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ² While the Yankee Institute is non-partisan, members of its staff and board have affiliations with the Republican Party.

Activity

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy is a non-partisan, public policy think tank that advocates for individual freedom, limited government, and free markets in Connecticut. ¹

The Yankee Institute claims that Connecticut has the most poorly funded pension system for state employees in the country. The Institute bases this claim on a 2020 report published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which makes its calculations using a “risk free” discount rate, while Connecticut’s 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report makes its calculations based on its assumed annual return on pension investments. ALEC advocates for pension reform by implementing defined-contribution or risk-sharing plans and avoiding pension investments based on ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) principles. The Yankee Institute notes that pension reforms for Connecticut state employees require approval by the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition and teacher pensions would need to be changed legislatively, as they are set in state statute. ³

In 2021, the Yankee Institute opposed the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) program. The Institute claims that because TCI would cap Connecticut’s transportation emissions, it would limit the amount of gasoline and diesel available for purchase, increasing the price of gas and getting goods to market, ultimately raising food prices. The Institute points to data and analysis from both the Energy Information Administration and the Connecticut Energy Marketers Association showing that a reduction in gas tax revenues would also cause Connecticut’s Special Transportation Fund to be underfunded by $500 million over a ten year period. ⁴

The Yankee Institute claims that a Connecticut bill legalizing the sale of recreational marijuana would require employers to give up some of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, due to its inclusion of union-friendly language. The Institute states that the bill requires marijuana retailers to enter into a labor peace agreement in order to obtain a license and requires a project labor agreement for any related construction or renovation costing over $5 million. The Yankee Institute claims that the bill ultimately encourages the unionization of retail cannabis workers. ⁵

The Yankee Institute supports CTWorkers.org, ⁶ a website that claims to support workplace rights. The site provides information on resigning from workers’ unions altogether, remaining in a local union but not in a state or national union, and union democracy. ⁷

Funding

The Yankee Institute for Public Policy is funded by donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations. While the Yankee Institute does not disclose its donors, tax filings show donations from DonorsTrust ($634,200 in 2018), ⁸ Donors Capital Fund ($390,200 in 2010), ⁹ and the State Policy Network ($134,300 in 2017). ¹⁰

People

Staff

Carol Platt Liebau is the president of the Yankee Institute for Public Policy. Liebau formerly served as a legislative assistant to former Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) and formerly worked as a campaign consultant for former Sen. John Ashcroft (R-MO) and former Rep. Tom Campbell (R-CA). ¹¹

Jordanne Anderson is the director of development and strategic growth at the Yankee Institute. Anderson formerly worked as the finance director of the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance ¹² and as the campaign manager for Ryan Fattman (R-Worcester) in his successful 2014 race for Massachusetts State Senate. ¹³

Ken Girardin is the director of policy and research at the Yankee Institute. Girardin formerly worked as a policy analyst at the Empire Center for Public Policy, as the director of governmental affairs for former New York State Senator Kathy Marchione (R), and as the interim chief of staff for former New York State Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin (R). ¹⁴

Frank Ricci is a fellow of labor and special initiatives at the Yankee Institute. Ricci is the former president of the New Haven Fire Fighters Union. ¹¹

Gail Lavielle is a fellow at the Yankee Institute. Lavielle formerly served as a Republican member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, where she served as an Assistant Minority Leader and as a commissioner of the Connecticut Public Transportation Commission. ¹⁵

Fergus Cullen is the former executive director of the Yankee Institute and former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party. ¹⁶

Board of Directors

Board chair Ken Boudreau formerly served as chair of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Association of Staffing Services and on the boards of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and the Hartford Archdiocese Board of Education. ¹⁷

Gerald Gunderson is a co-founder of the Yankee Institute. Gunderson formerly served on the Governor’s panel on public school equity and funding and as president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education. ¹⁸

Tom Lasersohn formerly served on the Board of Finance in Westport, Connecticut. ¹⁷

Mark D. Nielsen is a former Republican Connecticut Senator and member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. Nielsen formerly served as chief of staff for then-Governor Mitt Romney (R-MA). ¹⁷

Betsy McCaughey (R) formerly served as Lieutenant Governor of New York and on the Trump administration’s Economic Advisory Committee. ¹⁷

Penny Young serves as a member of the Connecticut Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity and as secretary of the New Canaan chapter of the League of Women Voters. ¹⁷