February 15, 2012
From The Federation of Connecticut
Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Contact Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
Murdoch's Circle: The Growing News International Scandal
An agency-by-agency guide to Obama's
budget
Obama Budget Unique Source for $3
Trillion
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama’s budget today
will outline his ideas for how the government may spend more than $3 trillion
in the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1. There’s no similar document
accounting for where taxpayers’ money actually goes. At least three federal sources tally
spending, each following its own rules to produce a different total. For the 15
Cabinet-level agencies and Social Security, the White House Office of
Management and Budget put expenses at $3.18 trillion in fiscal 2010, the last
year for which data are complete. Ask the Census Bureau, and the amount rises
by $13.1 billion to $3.19 trillion. USASpending.gov, a website Obama championed
as a senator, accounts for $2.23 trillion of spending. (For an interactive
graphic, click here.) Continued at ….. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-13/obama-budget-proves-unique-with-no-other-source-for-3-trillion.html
Obama's proposed budget is a mixed bag for Connecticut
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Malloy should take stock before
spending more
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PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
FINANCIAL CRISIS
LIST: Providence, Rhode Island's Top 25 Retiree Salaries and
Current Pensions Based on 5% and 6% COLAs (WPRI-TV)
Below is a list of Providence’s top 25 retiree salaries –
detailing the salary at the time of retirement and the current pension payout.
Mayor Angel Taveras says the city’s retirees must accept
reduced pension and health care benefits in order for Providence to avoid bankruptcy.
http://www.wpri.com/generic/news/local_news/providence/providence-financial-crisis-top-pensions
Title/Time of Retirement
|
Annual Salary/ Time of Retirement
|
Current Pension
|
Fire Chief
|
$63,510.72
|
$196,813.08
|
Deputy Assistant Fire Chief
|
$52,594.88
|
$162,944.04
|
Deputy Assistant Fire Chief
|
$52,593.32
|
$161,487.24
|
Fire Equipment Supt II
|
$56,146.36
|
$156,870.60
|
Deputy Assistant Fire Chief
|
$52,594.88
|
$148,839.84
|
Assistant Fire Chief
|
$57,782.40
|
$145,520.88
|
Fire Equipment Supt II
|
$50,885.12
|
$137,336.04
|
Lieutenant
|
$41,379.00
|
$135,702.72
|
Fire Battalion Chief
|
$48,349.60
|
$135,092.28
|
Captain
|
$46,581.60
|
$129,354.84
|
Fire Equipment Supt II
|
$48,349.60
|
$126,854.28
|
Fire Chief
|
$69,806.88
|
$123,599.16
|
Fire Captain
|
$33,671.04
|
$123,105.00
|
Husband Was Fire Chief
|
$63,510.72
|
$119,791.20
|
Patrolman
|
$39,481.52
|
$117,318.60
|
Fire Captain
|
$36,435.36
|
$116,426.52
|
Husband was Police Chief
|
$58,336.72
|
$114,725.64
|
Battalion Chief
|
$53,144.00
|
$113,331.60
|
Fire Prevention Captain
|
$36,701.60
|
$113,126.04
|
Lieutenant
|
$33,398.56
|
$112,796.28
|
Man in Charge BOC
|
$30,865.12
|
$110,505.96
|
Fire Equipment Supt II
|
$50,612.64
|
$110,225.64
|
Fire Equipment Supt I
|
$63,510.72
|
$109,611.60
|
Fire Marshall
|
$42,423.68
|
$109,329.24
|
Captain
|
$43,360.20
|
$109,256.16
|
The States with the Strongest and Weakest Unions - 24/7 Wall
St.
Posted: February 13, 2012 at 6:57 am 247wallst.com
9.
Connecticut
> Pct. Workers in Unions: 16.8%
> Union Workers: 258,666
> Change in Union Membership, (2001 – 2011): +11.3% (3rd largest increase)
> Change in Union Membership, (2010 – 2011): +0.6% (19th largest increase)
> Total Employed (2011): 1,540,072 (28th most)
Connecticut only has the 28th largest working population in
the country, but it has the 18th most union members. More than a quarter of a
million employees were union members, or 16.8% of the state’s working
population, up slightly from 16.7% in 2010. Connecticut’s strong union
representation comes almost entirely from the public sector. Nearly 65% of
government workers in the state were union members — the second-highest share in the country,
behind only New York.
6. Rhode Island
> Pct. Workers in Unions: 17.4%
> Union Workers: 78,744
> Change in Union Membership, (2001 – 2011): +3.6% (6th largest increase)
> Change in Union Membership, (2010 – 2011): +6.1% (tied, 9th largest
increase)
> Total Employed (2011): 453,504 (8th fewest)
Rhode Island has
one of the smallest working populations in the country — just 453,000 workers
in total. Representation by Rhode Island workers in unions, however, is quite
high. This is especially the case in the public sector. Of the state’s
government workers, 62.6% were in public unions, the fourth-greatest percentage
in the U.S. In the past year, while public sector unions have increased
slightly in total membership, the percentage of government workers in unions
has dropped.
Read more: http://247wallst.com/2012/02/13/the-states-with-the-strongest-and-weakest-unions-2/2/
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Providence, Rhode Island's Mayor Will
Move to Suspend City Pensioners' 5% and 6% COLAs to Avoid Bankruptcy (with video
- Ted Nesi / WPRI-TV)
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Bill Moyers: Money Throws Democracy
Overboard Bill Moyers and Michael Winship, Moyers &
Co.: "Watching what's happening to our democracy is like watching the
cruise ship Costa Concordia founder and sink slowly into the sea off the coast
of Italy, as the passengers, shorn of life vests, scramble for safety as best
they can, while the captain trips and falls conveniently into a waiting life
boat. We are drowning here, with gaping holes torn into the hull of the ship of
state from charges detonated by the owners and manipulators of capital."
…. President Obama --
who kept his distance from Priorities USA Action and used to call the money
unleashed by Citizens United a "threat to democracy" -- has declared
if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. He urges his
wealthy supporters to please go ahead and back the
super PAC. "Our campaign has to
face the reality of the law as it stands," his campaign manager Jim
Messina said. To do otherwise, he added, would be to "unilaterally
disarm" in the face of all those Republican super PAC millions. So much
for Obama's stand on campaign finance reform -- everybody else is doing it, he
seems to say, so why don't you show me the money, too? When all is said and done, this race for the
White House may cost more than two billion dollars. What's getting trampled
into dust are the voices of people who aren't rich, not to mention what's left
of our democracy. Continued at ….. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-moyers/money-throws-democracy-ov_b_1276769.html
With Spotlight on Super PAC
Dollars, Nonprofits Escape Scrutiny Unlike super PACs, which are required to identify their donors,
social-welfare nonprofits such as Crossroads GPS and Priorities USA -- also
referred to as “dark money” groups -- don’t have to disclose contributions to
the FEC, although they are supposed to report spending on political ads within
a day or two. The nonprofits have to disclose their annual revenue and expenses
to the IRS, but often delay such filings. A few have not yet filed their taxes
for 2010. Continued at http://www.propublica.org/article/with-spotlight-on-super-pac-dollars-nonprofits-escape-scrutiny
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U.S. Defense
Department can't account for billions for Iraq, audit ...
January 29, 2012|By Josh Levs, CNN Iraqis work on a construction project in
Baghdad in October 2003. The U.S.
Defense Department cannot account for about $2 billion it was given to cover
Iraq-related expenses and is not providing Iraq with a complete list of
U.S.-funded reconstruction projects, according to two new government audits.
Full Report at http://articles.cnn.com/2012-01-29/middleeast/world_meast_iraq-us-audit_1_iraq-reconstruction-audit-deals-special-inspector-general?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST
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Madoff Trustee Sues
Koch Industries to Claw Back Ponzi Proceeds Wall St
Journal Feb 10, 2012 http://blogs.wsj.com/bankruptcy/2012/02/10/madoff-trustee-sues-koch-industries-to-claw-back-ponzi-proceeds/
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Visit http://PensionTsunami.com Daily for Pension Info from Around the Country!
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Passports... for a
price - Reuters - Feb 13, 2012
For decades, the two-island nation of St. Kitts and Nevis exported sugarcane to
keep its economy afloat. When sugar prices fell, St. Kitts began to sell an
even sweeter commodity: its citizenship.
For USD 250,000, a foreigner can buy full rights as a
citizen there. The transaction can take as few as three months and applicants
need never visit the nation's sandy shores. Read complete article at http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/wire-news/special-report-passports-forprice_666398.html
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Obama Housing Plans
vs. Reality Will anything come of
the Obama administration's plan for homeowners? by Cora Currier | @coracurrier Feb 14, 2012
ProPublica The Obama
administration recently unveiled a string of proposals to help struggling homeowners [1] and get the housing market back on its feet — part of
the administration’s “We Can’t Wait” election year to-do list [2]. Of course, the White House has made big promises
before about helping homeowners, only to see them disappoint time and again.
Here are the latest proposals, whether they are anything new and whether they
stand a chance of going anywhere. Continued at …. http://www.propublica.org/article/obama-housing-plans-vs.-reality
More coverage: Foreclosure Crisis: Banks and Government Fail Homeowners
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Helland: Property Tax
Reform Passes Iowa House By Ashlee Kieler Patch.comHF2274 is
the only bill in the property tax debate that addresses the problem at the
heart of the matter….government spending. This is the only bill that will
result in a lower tax bill for the all payers, specifically residential
property taxpayers. HF 2274 will reduce
Iowan’s property tax bills by over $1.2 billion in the next eight years.
This taxpayer money will be put to work hiring Iowans and helping family
budgets. The House and the Governor have worked hard in an open and
transparent process to include ideas from both sides of the aisle. Ideas
from all parties involved were considered in crafting a bill which spares
residential homeowners from the drastic shift that will result under current
law. It focuses on small Iowa business and prevents cities from
experiencing catastrophic shortfalls. Continued at …. http://johnston-ia.patch.com/articles/helland-property-tax-reform-passes-iowa-house
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