Economic Vitality

Connecticut Democrats believe all working people should earn enough to live with dignity, security, and hope for the future. Our economy must work for all of us, not just for the wealthiest among us. Rent, groceries, gas, and utilities were already a stretch. Now they're out of reach. Wages are slow to rise while the cost of a first home skyrockets. Connecticut Democrats are not interested in managing that reality. We are committed to changing it.

We are proud that Connecticut now has one of the highest minimum wages in the country at $16.94 an hour, indexed to rise with inflation. But a wage floor isn't the same as a living wage, and too many Connecticut families are still one crisis away from losing everything. We will keep pushing on wages, on tax policy that strengthens the middle class and invests in small businesses and our veterans, and provides all in the state a chance at a better life in every corner of the state. We support small businesses where most employment is created, so they can keep paying workers fair wages and provide benefits.

Labor

The middle class was built by unions. The 40-hour workweek, overtime pay, healthcare, pensions, paid leave, workplace safety. None of that came from the goodness of employers. Workers fought for it, together. Connecticut Democrats stand with them.

We will strengthen unions and enable organizing without fear of reprisal. We support Project Labor Agreements and prevailing wage standards as cornerstones for the success of all Connecticut workers. We support and are committed to creating and updating municipal Good Jobs Ordinances and prevailing wage standards that ensure Connecticut workers are paid and hired fairly on every public project. We will crack down on worker misclassification, the practice of calling employees "independent contractors" to strip them of benefits and protections, while the employers evade their payroll tax requirements, and we will extend full labor protections to gig workers, farm workers, and domestic workers who have been left out for too long.

We will invest in infrastructure and clean energy to create high-paying union jobs, enforce Buy American rules to retain manufacturing jobs, and protect pensions so retirees can age with the security they earned. Every worker deserves comprehensive health and dental insurance, a secure retirement, and guaranteed paid family and medical leave. A strong union presence coincides with a larger, more stable middle class. That is not politics. That is history — and Connecticut Democrats intend to keep making it.

A Fairer Tax Structure

Connecticut’s state and local tax system disproportionately burdens working families. At the same time, the richest people in our state pay only a comparatively small percentage of their enormous wealth in taxes.

We must ensure that we have a fair and progressive tax system that works for the 99%, not just the top 1%. To that end, we support creating a more equitable tax system by creating a new tax structure, including higher rates on those with incomes over $1 million a year, as well as on capital gains and dividends. Additional measures include investing the revenue raised back into food assistance, healthcare, and affordable housing development; systematically shifting how we finance public education from local to state funding to reduce the burden of property taxes; and implementing a permanent, and fully refundable child tax credit.

We also believe taxpayers deserve transparency, accountability, and measurable results from public spending. Government has a responsibility to spend efficiently, eliminate waste, modernize outdated systems, and ensure every public dollar delivers real value to Connecticut residents.

AI

Artificial intelligence and emerging technologies will reshape nearly every sector of society. Connecticut Democrats believe innovation should improve quality of life, strengthen public systems, expand economic opportunity, and support working people, not simply concentrate wealth and power in the hands of a few corporations and billionaires.

AI systems are built using enormous amounts of human-created knowledge, labor, creativity, language, public research, and shared digital activity. The value generated by these technologies is not created in isolation by technology companies alone, but through the collective contributions of society itself.

Connecticut Democrats believe the public deserves to share in the economic benefits generated by artificial intelligence and emerging technologies. We support exploring models such as public technology dividends, innovation wealth funds, and other mechanisms that ensure the immense wealth created through AI development benefits working people and communities, not solely private investors and corporations.

Just as natural resources extracted from the earth generate value that can be returned to residents, the economic gains produced through the large-scale use of collectively generated human knowledge and publicly supported research should contribute to broad public prosperity.

We support responsible AI governance that protects privacy, civil rights, consumer protections, intellectual property rights, and labor standards while encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, research, and workforce development.

Connecticut should lead in the ethical use of AI in healthcare, education, transportation, energy management, accessibility services, and government operations. Public agencies should responsibly deploy technology to improve efficiency, reduce administrative delays, modernize outdated systems, eliminate waste, and deliver better services to residents.

Decisions affecting employment, housing, healthcare, education, legal status, lending, or constitutional rights should never be delegated solely to unaccountable algorithms without meaningful human oversight, transparency, and avenues for appeal.

We also recognize that AI-driven economic disruption may fundamentally reshape labor markets and workforce participation. Connecticut Democrats are committed to ensuring technological advancement strengthens economic dignity and shared prosperity rather than deepening inequality and economic insecurity.

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