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Metro-North back on schedule after repairs

 

Metro-North back on schedule after repairs

 

Jury Convicts Braddock On All Three Counts

 

 

Political Corruption in Connecticut: Corrupticut Abides - Connecticut ... Magazine June 2013

 

Excerpts:  Malloy has assumed broad discretion in handing out hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development incentives, including $115 million going to Bridgewater Associates, a Stamford hedge fund whose CEO is Connecticut’s wealthiest resident at a net worth of more than $2.5 billion.

At the same time, Malloy has pushed changes that could place an even bigger cloak over potential government corruption. He stripped Connecticut’s Freedom of Information Commission of some of its power last year, and wants to consolidate it and the state’s other independent “watchdog agencies” under one department whose director would report to the governor.

Rowland’s resignation, perhaps the darkest moment in the state’s recent political history, is almost a decade in the past. But things haven’t changed nearly enough in the ensuing years.  Read article in its entirety at http://www.connecticutmag.com/Connecticut-Magazine/June-2013/Political-Corruption-in-Connecticut-Corrupticut-Abides/

 

Testimony: Donovan's biggest money men had stake in legislation

 

 

What did Donovan do? Part 2


 

 

May 22, 2013 

 

 

From:  The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact:  Susan Kniep, President
Email:
fctopresident@aol.com
Website:
http://ctact.org/

Telephone: 860-841-8032

 

Also Check Out the following below: How The Obama Gun Boom Pushed The Fortune Of Two Brothers To $1.2 Billion,   U.S. hits debt ceiling: Why it matters,  Scott Walker offers CT GOP a conservative prescription, Apple Paid Little Or No Taxes To Any Government On Billions In ... Profits: Senate Report, Connecticut Legislature:  Tension Rises As Votes To Change Spending Cap Disappear, CBO: Obama Vastly Exaggerated Deficit Cuts In Budget, Labor unions break ranks with White House on ObamaCare, Student debt weighs on overall economy,  Student Loan Bill from Sen. Elizabeth Warren Gains Traction ..., How the Obama Scandals Could Hurt Financial Markets, Obama dealt second court defeat over NLRB recess appointments, These California cities could be next in bankruptcy - USA Today, Oakland County vows to take fight real estate tranfer tax fight to Supreme Court, Connecticut budget deficit and why you should be worried

 

 

Visit the State of

Connecticut Transparency Website

For State Employee Salaries, Benefits, and Pension Info and Vendor Payments

 

 

 

How The Obama Gun Boom Pushed The Fortune Of Two Brothers To $1.2 Billion

Forbes Magazine: June 09, 2013  Issue ……….guns are the real moneymaker, and while fears of future gun restrictions have spurred sales for the entire industry, no company has benefited quite like Cabela’s. Shares have increased by 95% in the last year and are up more than 70% already in 2013. That makes Cabela’s stock the best-performing in the firearms industry and one of the top-performing stocks in the U.S. in the last year. The company’s two biggest shareholders, founders Richard and James Cabela, have seen the value of their combined 25% stake jump to $1.2 billion from $750 million at the start of 2013. Continue reading at ….. http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2013/05/21/how-the-obama-gun-boom-pushed-the-fortune-of-two-brothers-to-1-2-billion/

 

 

 

U.S. hits debt ceiling: Why it matters - May. 16, 2011 - CNN Money

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's official: The U.S. government hit the debt ceiling on May 16.  Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Congress he would have to suspend investments in federal retirement funds until Aug. 2 in order to create room for the government to continue borrowing in the debt markets. Continue reading at ….. http://money.cnn.com/2011/05/16/news/economy/debt_ceiling_deadline/index.htm

 

 

Scott Walker offers CT GOP a conservative prescription

Raucous union demonstrators outside a Connecticut Republicans’ fundraiser Monday showed that Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin remains a lightning rod for curtailing the collective-bargaining rights of public employees.

 

 

 

Apple Paid Little Or No Taxes To Any Government On Billions In ... Profits: Senate Report

 

 

 

Connecticut Legislature:  Tension Rises As Votes To Change Spending Cap Disappear

 

 

CBO: Obama Vastly Exaggerated Deficit Cuts In Budget

May 17, 2013  Investors Business Daily When Obama put out his budget in mid-April he said that it "will reduce our deficits by nearly another $2 trillion," and "does so in a balanced and responsible way, a way that most Americans prefer." But the CBO report finds that Obama's budget will cut 10-year deficits by just $1.1 trillion, with annual deficits starting to rise again after 2017.  Continue reading at …. http://news.investors.com/051713-656551-obama-exaggerated-spending-deficit-budget-cuts.htm

 

 

 

Labor unions break ranks with White House on ObamaCare  Labor unions are breaking with President Obama on ObamaCare. Months after the president’s reelection, a variety of unions are publicly balking at how the administration plans to implement the landmark law. They warn that unless there are changes, the results could be catastrophic.  Continue reading at ….. http://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/300881-labor-unions-break-ranks-on-health-law

 

 

Student debt weighs on overall economy

Cliff Peale, The Cincinnati Enquier   May 19, 2013 Student loan debt grows to $986 billion, according to reports. It's now 8.8 percent of all consumer debt, up from 3.1 percent in 2004. Experts fear 'college bubble' that could endanger national economy.   Continue reading at …..   http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/19/student-debt-weighs-on-overall-economy/2321133/

 

 

 

Student Loan Bill from Sen. Elizabeth Warren Gains Traction ...

By John Sandman | TheStreet.com – Fri, May 17, 2013 6:40 AM EDT NEW YORK (MainStreet)—Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is gathering support for her bill to lower federal student loan interest rates to the level of the fed funds rate, but so far there hasn't been any movement on the one-year time frame.   Also see: The Geography of Student Debt   A House bill that is a companion to The Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act, which drops the rate on federally subsidized Stafford loans from the Department of Education, has been introduced in by Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass). Warren's bill already has a co-sponsor in the Senate by Jeff Merkley (D-OR).   Continue reading at ….. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/student-loan-bill-sen-elizabeth-104000901.html

 

 

 

How the Obama Scandals Could Hurt Financial Markets

Obama faces a trio of political problems that seem to be cresting at roughly the same time. The squabbling over last year’s attacks in Benghazi, Libya—and the conflicting ways Obama and his deputies characterized them afterward—seems to be intensifying rather than petering out, as new information becomes available. Then there’s the IRS, which recently acknowledged targeting conservative political groups for aggressive enforcement of tax laws, while failing to disclose what it was up to. The Justice Dept., meanwhile, still hasn’t explained why it secretly accessed the phone records of Associated Press journalists last year, in what appears to have been a heavy-handed effort to spy on reporters writing about U.S. counterterrorism efforts in Yemen.

 
Obama dealt second court defeat over NLRB recess appointments

A federal appeals court has ruled that a recess appointment to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was unconstitutional in a decision echoing a January case that cast doubt on the legitimacy of the agency's actions. Continue reading at  http://thehill.com/blogs/regwatch/labor/300273-court-rules-against-nlrb-recess-appointment

 

 

 

 

 

These California cities could be next in bankruptcy - USA Today

 

William M. Welch, USA TODAY

 

Since a federal judge ruled in April that Stockton, Calif., can pursue bankruptcy protection, the question has been which of the state's fiscally troubled cities will be next. These 10 are facing the kind of serious financial stress that sent Stockton and several other cities toward bankruptcy.

STORY: Calif. cities looking for economic recovery

Atwater. This farm city in the Central Valley declared a fiscal emergency in October with a $3 million deficit and appeared poised for a bankruptcy filing. City leaders say they pulled the city back from the brink after winning concessions from unions to cut costs. The deal cuts pay 5% for city workers, including police. Last month, voters approved a half-point sales tax increase to 8%. The city has cut jobs but struggled as costs on a new water treatment plant exceeded $85 million in bond financing.   Continue reading at ….. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/15/ten-california-cities-in-distress/2076217/

 

 

Oakland County vows to take fight real estate tranfer tax fight to Supreme Court
Detroit Free Press  May 20, 2013
See all stories on this topic »

 

Oakland County is vowing to take its fight against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the U.S. Supreme Court in an effort to get millions in real estate transfer taxes from the mortgage giants.  The county was dealt a blow in the battle Monday when a federal appellate court tossed out its lawsuit seeking $12 million in unpaid real estate transfer taxes. The county says it’s owed $1.5 million and the State of Michigan is owed $10.5 million.  The county filed suit in June 2011 against the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, saying the lenders owed taxes dating back to 2005. The two lenders argued that since they were created by federal charter, they are government entities and therefore exempt from taxation.   Continue reading at …..  http://www.freep.com/article/20130520/NEWS03/305200113/Oakland-County-vows-take-fight-real-estate-tranfer-tax-fight-Supreme-Court

 

 

 

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Connecticut budget deficit and why you should be worried