Small State, Big Debate: Inequality
Tuesday, April 29
University of Hartford

The Connecticut Mirror, the state’s award-winning, nonprofit public policy news organization, will hold its first statewide event, “Small State, Big Debate: Inequality,” on Tuesday, April 29, 2014, at the University of Hartford. As one of the most nonpartisan, nonideological news organizations in the country (Pew Research Institute, July 2011 study), The Mirror is now the largest Capitol bureau in the state with a focus on politics, state budget, education, health and the environment.

As official reports, advocacy groups and media outlets continue to highlight the growing gaps in income, health and education inequality in Connecticut, these topics remain some of the most pressing social issues in the state and country. The research-based, public education and advocacy organization, Connecticut Voices For Children, drove home the point in its 2012 annual Labor Day study, “The State of Working Connecticut 2012: Employment, Jobs and Wages in the Wake of the Great Recession”:

“What emerges is a picture of a state that is losing its middle class and becoming increasingly divided into the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’. The recession and its aftermath have exacerbated trends of inequality, further concentrated wealth in the hands of some, and limited opportunities for Connecticut’s youth.”

The one-day event will feature speakers, expert panel discussions, data engagement sessions, presentations from students who participated in “Improve CT: My View” and a hackathon where programmers are tasked with creating a desktop/mobile application or API (application programming interface) that will try improve life now and for future generations.