Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Former Comptroller General David M. Walker and the Institute for Truth in Accounting Release �The Financial State of Connecticut� and �The Financial State of Bridgeport, CT� reports �According to data released in the �Financial State of Connecticut� report, Connecticut resembles the Greece of the U.S. from a state financial perspective.� �Connecticut�s unfunded burden per taxpayer as of June 30, 2011 was $50,900, up from $49,000 in 2010. Connecticut is by far the worst of all 50 states in its unfunded burden per taxpayer. See CAI�s blog post for a list of states.�

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Federation Board Member, Dr. Armand Fusco, is Recognized for His Tenacity While Working to Improve Educational Standards for Students as noted �in the article below captioned

Retired superintendent calls dropout epidemic the ... - EAG News nation�s biggest socio-economic problem

Dr. Fusco has literally written the book on the dropout problem. He released a 500-page tome earlier this year called �School Pushouts: A Plague of Hopelessness Perpetuated by Zombie Schools.�

To Learn More on Dr. Fusco click School Pushouts.�

You can also obtain a DVD narrated by Armand Fusco to show on your local cable program by writing to fctopresident@aol.com

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Invite from the Yankee Institute:� Join us in celebrating the life & legacy of Milton Friedman� On Tuesday, July 31, 2012, as we host a luncheon in his honor at the Town and County Club at 22 Woodland Street, Hartford, CT. �Michael Q. McShane from the American Enterprise Institute will join us to discuss school choice and education reform. �Lunch begins at 11:30 a.m., . Lunch is free! But space is limited so click here to save your spot now and to review driving directions. All questions should be directed to Jessica at (860) 282-0722 or jessica@yankeeinstitute.org.

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Dan Lavallo has just reported that CT-Rep Admits Not Knowing What Was in Bill on Which She Voted� Lavallo goes on to say - Peposterous. Or maybe disgusting! That is the only way I can interpret comments made by CT-Rep. Catherine F. Abercrombie, D-Meriden, when she told the Record-Journal newspaper she was not aware of all the felony categories eligible, under the early prison release program, she and other Democrats rammed through the General Assembly last year.The fatal shooting of convenience store owner Ibrahim Ghazal last month in Meriden continues to stir up a hornet�s nest. At issue, is the early prison release of the suspect in the shooting, Frankie Resto. Republicans continue to insist Resto was released from jail early, under the new good credit program for inmates, passed by Democrats in the General Assembly � Republicans opposed the bill � and signed into law by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, D-WFP. Administration officials claim the new law didn�t apply to Resto. However, even Brian Garnett, spokesman for the Department of Correction, states Resto would not have been released until the fall, instead of this past April, under the old system. Now Democrats are calling for changes in the law, that allows good credit and early prison release, for inmates convicted of the following crimes�

� Rape.
� Kidnapping.
� Arson.
� First-degree manslaughter.
� Assault of a pregnant woman.
� First-degree assault.
� Second-degree strangulation.
� First-degree threatening.
� Having sex with someone under the age of 13
� Assault of a blind or disabled person.
� Animal cruelty.

A previous article noted �Sen. Suzio: Letting Violent Felons Out of Prison Early Does ... Disservice to Victims, Families focuses on �The man police are searching for in connection with the EZ mart killing was sentenced to 75 months in prison for armed robbery in 2007. �He was released in April of this year, about six months earlier than the full sentence.�� Suzio�� said he will introduce legislation to correct the flaws in the law.�

In Feb 2012, it was noted by the Hartford Courant in their article captioned� 80 Percent Of Male State Inmates Released In - Collections ... that �Of the 14,400 men released from Connecticut prisons in 2005, nearly 80 percent were rearrested by 2010, and just under half returned to prison with new sentences, according to a just-completed report that contains the most detailed data ever compiled on the state's recidivism rate.�� In April, 2012, it was reported that Suspects in triple-murder robbery were fresh from prison - U.S. News�

In April, 2012, it was reported that Suspects in triple-murder robbery were fresh from prison - U.S. News �One of those suspects, Antwan Anthony, had spent most of the past decade in Connecticut prisons before being released on Jan. 21, according to a report by the Hartford Courant, citing prison records. �He was allowed to serve out a five-year parole in North Carolina where he has family, the report said. �Anthony was initially jailed in 2002 on second-degree assault charges, the paper reported. �He had three subsequent convictions, while in prison, for assaulting prison guards � each time extending his sentence, the report said. �Anthony was "a very difficult inmate," according to a Connecticut correctional official quoted by Greenville area newspaper, the Daily Reflector. �The official said that his behavior prompted more than 100 disciplinary reports while he was incarcerated in that state.�

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Should Those Running to Run Washington, Disclose Their Income Tax Returns?� That is the question being asked in Connecticut and Washington as the focus is on Linda McMahon and Mitt Romney not only by� State Dems Launch Anti-McMahon Site To Hound Her On Taxes but by Republicans pressuring Mitt Romney to weather the storm and ...Release Tax Returns.�

LIZ PEEK, described as having �spent over 20 years on Wall Street, as a top-ranked research analyst� posted the following captioned Obama Tosses US Economic Recovery Under the Bus noting that �Nearly every day there are new signs that the country may topple into recession. Today we read that retail sales fell 0.5 percent in June � the third consecutive monthly downturn. �Before President Obama casts blame for our economic weakness elsewhere, however, remember that the U.S. dominates global output. �We have a $15 trillion economy, more than twice the size of China, which now ranks number two. It is extremely hard for the world to move forward without the U.S. taking the lead. �That�s why the IMF just warned Congress not to let the U.S. head over the so-called �fiscal cliff� � the combination of scheduled tax hikes and spending cuts that could rob next year�s economy of $500 billion.�

The following is a MUST READ.� The� Wall Street Journal article captioned Covert FBI Power to Obtain Phone Data Faces Rare Test notes �Early last year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent a secret letter to a phone company demanding that it turn over customer records for an investigation. The phone company then did something almost unheard of: It fought the letter in court. �The U.S. Department of Justice fired back with a serious accusation. It filed a civil complaint claiming that the company, by not handing over its files, was interfering "with the United States' sovereign interests" in national security.� FAQ: The Case of the National Security Letter A mobile and long distance company is challenging a counter-terrorism tool known as a national security letter. Take a look at important documents related to the case, and what they tell us about the issue. Read all of the documents in the case, at Document Cloud.

The Huffington Post reported the ACLU Sues Michigan And Highland Park Schools Over Low Literacy Rates. ��On Thursday the organization filed a class-action lawsuit, the first of its kind, against the state of Michigan, state agencies overseeing public education and the Highland Park school system. They did so on behalf of eight students representing the roughly 1,000 children who attend the K-12 public school district. �The suit charges that those governmental bodies are not fulfilling obligations established in the Michigan Constitution and state law that require them to ensure students are meeting state literacy standards. �Section 380.1278(8) of Michigan's revised school code mandates that students not scoring satisfactorily on 4th or 7th grade state assessment tests must be given reasonable assistance to bring them up to grade level within 12 months.�

In their article captioned International Steel Firm Gets State $$ To Grow Jobs, CTNewsJunkie.com is reporting that the state will be giving $19.1 million in forgivable loans to a joint venture steel product company as the next part of the First Five program. �In exchange the new company will create 408 jobs in North Haven over four years.� �Sustainable Building Systems, a cooperative effort by Australia-based Weeks Group and Arizona-based Diverse Services Group, will manufacture steel building material and establish its United States headquarters at a 400,000 square foot facility in North Haven. �The company is the sixth to take part in Malloy�s First Five program. �Under the program the Department of Economic and Community Development will provide the company with a 10-year, $19.1 million loan at 2 percent interest. �Sustainable Building Systems will get $10 million at the closing, another $5 million if it creates 208 jobs within two years and $4.1 million if it has created another 200 jobs within four years. �If all 408 jobs are created the loans will be forgiven.�

The economy continues to lag as Jobless claims signal tepid labor market� as the Labor Department announced today that �Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 34,000 to a seasonally adjusted 386,000� and Existing home sales fall in June, prices rise as the �National Association of Realtors said today that� �home sales slipped 5.4 percent to an annual rate of 4.37 million units last month, which was the slowest pace in eight months and well below analysts' expectations of a 4.63 million-unit rate� according to Reuter News.

CTMirror.org reported on the Vote to kill filibuster on campaign finance bill fails, despite Connecticut senators' support ��to� require the disclosure of large political donations by unions and corporations. �.� �Led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opponents of the DISCLOSE Act say it would violate freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment and "intimidate" donors to conservative groups that are spending money trying to defeat President Obama and other Democrats.�

Jon Lender of the Courant informed us that Alleged Co-Conspirator Soucy To Receive His Pension - Courant.com . �That would mean his lifetime annual pension would begin at about $17,640 � not a huge amount, as state pensions go, but, like other pensioners, he will get yearly cost-of-living increases typically around 3 percent, as well as lifetime health benefits.� �A decision by the Medical Examining Board for Disability Retirement is expected within a few months on that pending application. �Soucy put in nearly 19 years of work and earned more than 3� years' military service credit, putting him over the 20 years that are required for retirement by employees in hazardous-duty positions, such as his job as a $64,000-a-year correctional industries supervisor at the Cheshire prison complex.�

ProPublica notes within their article captioned� Like Rate-Fixing Scandals? You'll Love the Credit Default Swap Market that �A proper market would want an organization that was impartial, regulated, transparent and open to appeal.� �No such luck.� Decisions about when a swap pays out are made by a trade group called the determinations committee of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. The mere fact that a determinations committee exists is evidence that "insolvency" is not simple to define. �The determinations committee has 15 members, 10 of which are the major dealers in credit default swaps, the giant banks that are effectively permanent members. �One criterion for dealer members is that they trade a certain amount of derivatives. �In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, there are fewer such firms, and they have consolidated their influence and power over our capital markets.�

In a ProPublica article captioned Inside the Investigation of Leading GOP Money Man Sheldon Adelson they note that �At least one prominent Republican has expressed concern about the source of Adelson's campaign contributions. "Much of Mr. Adelson's casino profits that go to him come from his casino in Macau," Sen. John McCain noted in an interview last month with the PBS "NewsHour."� "Maybe in a roundabout way, foreign money is coming into an American political campaign," said McCain, an Arizona Republican.� �The questions raised by McCain and others have not prevented Adelson, the self-made son of a Boston cabdriver, from emerging as a powerful political figure in both Israel and the United States. A longtime backer of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel, Adelson created a free daily newspaper, now Israel's largest, that supports the policies of Netanyahu's Likud Party.�

Yesterday, the LA times reported that Manipulation of California energy market gives consumers a jolt. �They note that �The next time your electricity bill prompts you to curse your local utility, here's another target where you should direct your anger: JPMorgan Chase & Co., which has manipulated the California energy market for its own profit and at a cost to residents and businesses in the state that could be $100 million, $200 million or much more. �That's the accusation leveled by the California Independent System Operator, which has jurisdiction over 80% of the state's electrical transmission. The ISO, a nonprofit corporation controlled by the state government, estimates that JPMorgan may have gamed the state's power market for $57 million in improper payments over six months in 2010 and 2011.�

Today, CTMirror.org reported �CL&P takes hit from PURA over storms response that �Utility regulators concluded in a draft decision Tuesday [Text of PURA draft decision]� that Connecticut Light & Power was "deficient and inadequate" in its preparation and response to the two storms that caused prolonged blackouts last year�.and should face unspecified financial sanctions "as a penalty for poor management performance and to provide incentives for improvement."

In the article captioned HSBC Hammered Over Money LaunderingFiscal Times, it is noted that �SBC Holdings Plc told a U.S. Senate panel on Tuesday that it has dealt head-on with allegations of pervasive money-laundering through bank accounts, saying it has overhauled how it polices transactions, exited lucrative businesses and shaken up executive leadership. �HSBC offered up the changes after the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a report accusing the British bank of a "pervasively polluted" culture, underscoring money-laundering problems have been flagged by regulators for nearly a decade. �The report said the bank routinely acted as a financier to clients routing funds from the world's most dangerous corners, including Mexico, Iran and Syria.�

The FiscalTimes.com notes in their article captioned 100 Regulators Missed JPMorgan's London Whale That�� senators on from both sides of the aisle at yesterday�s Senate Banking Committee hearing suggested that the regulatory agencies may not be up to the task of monitoring the sophisticated trading strategies deployed by large financial institutions, even after passage of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law as this same news publication reports . Banks are also the focus in Barclays and JPMorgan: When Big Banks Get Too Big

Reuters in their article captioned Kansas GOP at war over "Ryan plan" tax cuts notes � Fiscal conservatives in Kansas have turned their state into a laboratory to test reforms similar to the "Ryan plan" for massive tax cuts at the national level -- and the result has been a Republican civil war. �Backers of recent state tax cuts argue they will create jobs and boost the economy to partially offset lost revenue, with budget cuts solving the remaining shortfall. �The tax cuts go into effect in January, and the Kansas Legislative Research Department calculates the lost revenue will amount to the equivalent of 36 percent of the state budget within five years.�

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