Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

From:� The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact:� Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032

TAX TALK JANUARY 27, 2010

Connecticut State Employee Pensions

The Federation extends our sincere appreciation to State Comptroller Nancy Wyman for her prompt response to our request for the Pensions of State Employees.� From the information provided on January 26, 2010, the Federation has determined that $1.26 billion dollars is being paid annually to 42,414 State Retirees, with 7,289 retirees receiving between $50,000 and $259,800 and 35,125 retirees receiving up to $49,999.�

The following is a list of those employees who are earning $150,000 and above.

To view pensions from $80,000 to $259,800 please click on the following http://www.cthallofshame.com/ and travel to the middle of the page.� There you will find pensions sorted by Agency and by Dollar Amount.� If you wish to view all pensions, email fctopresident@aol.com for a complete list.��

STATE RETIREE NAME	LAST AGENCY NAME	TOTAL MONTHLY BENEFIT $	TOTAL ANNUAL BENEFIT $
VEIGA JOHN F	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	21,650	259,800
BLECHNER JACK N	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	20,913	250,958
HENKEN ELEANOR C	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	18,551	222,609
HARTLEY HARRY J	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	16,581	198,967
JUDD RICHARD L	CENTRAL CONN S U	16,321	195,848
SIGMAN EUGENE	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	15,815	189,775
DIBENEDETTO ANTHONY T	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	15,756	189,071
RAYE JOHN R	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	15,715	188,574
CUTLER LESLIE S	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	15,536	186,432
ANDERSON GREGORY J	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	14,700	176,400
MENICHETTI LYNNE	NEWINGTON CHILDRENS HOSP	14,519	174,228
SURAPANENI BUJJI B	CT VALLEY HOSPITAL	14,450	173,400
RENZULLI JOSEPH S	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	14,250	170,997
KOCHANEK RICHARD F	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	13,377	160,524
RAISZ LAWRENCE G	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	13,216	158,596
PANOOR LEELA A	MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION	12,862	154,343
GOYAL RAMA	MENTAL HEALTH COMMISSION	12,800	153,600
STABENAU JAMES R	UCONN HEALTH CENTER	12,778	153,337
BROWN RICHARD D	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	12,540	150,480
MACGILL HUGH C	UCONN PROFESSOR 1	12,518	150,215

**********************

Also contained in Tax Tallk:

� Most U.S. Union Members Are Working for the Government, New Data Shows

� How public servants became our masters

� Pension Tsunami Website

� Tilting at pension reform

� When Public-Employee Unions Attack By Dowd Muska

� Public Employee Unions Are Sinking California - Months after closing its last budget gap, the Golden State is $20 billion in the red.�

� Could Americans see another $2 trillion added to the Federal Budget Deficit?

The Lingering Bush Legacy: What to do About Those Tax Cuts

� What�s the Unemployment Rate in Your Town?

� Visit the website of Open Secrets and learn who is really controlling your government.�

� English-only at Conn. bookstore sparks controversy

� News from the National Taxpayers Union

� Lessig on Political Corruption in America

� Today's debate: The federal budget

Most U.S. Union Members Are Working

for the Government, New Data Shows

For the first time in American history, a majority of union members are government workers rather than private-sector employees, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Friday. In its annual report on union membership, the bureau undercut the longstanding notion that union members are overwhelmingly blue-collar factory workers. It found that membership fell so fast in the private sector in 2009 that the 7.9 million unionized public-sector workers easily outnumbered those in the private sector, where labor�s ranks shrank to 7.4 million, from 8.2 million in 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/business/23labor.html

**********************

How public servants became our masters

Steven Greenhut from the February 2010 issue http://reason.com/archives/2010/01/12/class-war

**********************

Pension Tsunami Website

http://www.pensiontsunami.com/

**********************

Tilting at pension reform

http://www.calwatchdog.com/2010/01/22/new-tilting-at-pension-reform/

**********************

When Public-Employee Unions Attack!

By Dowd Muska a writer, commentator and lecturer.

His website is www.dowdmuska.com.

Can a book about public-employee unions� excess and thuggery be complete if it doesn�t contain copious anecdotes from the Nutmeg State? Steven Greenhut thinks so, and it�s the reason Plunder! How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation disappoints.� In 241 pages and 330 endnotes, the former Orange County Register editor and columnist fails to include a single tale of the rapaciousness of Connecticut�s unionized� bureaucrats.� Connecticut isn�t the only state overlooked by Greenhut. Plunder! suffers from near-fatal California solipsism. Examples from the entire Northeast are scant, although the region -- New England, plus New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania -- comprises 18 percent of the U.S. population. (The Golden State�s share is 12 percent.)� Continued at �. www.dowdmuska.com.

**********************

Public Employee Unions Are Sinking California - Months after closing its last budget gap, the Golden State is $20 billion in the red.� By STEVEN GREENHUT Mr. Greenhut is director of the Pacific Research Institute's journalism center and author of the new book "Plunder! How Public Employee Unions Are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation" (The Forum Press). The state is in a precarious position, with a 12.3% unemployment rate (more than two points higher than the national average) and a budget $20 billion in the red (only months after the last budget fix closed a large deficit). �.To do that California needs to take on its public employee unions. Approximately 85% of the state's 235,000 employees (not including higher education employees) are unionized. As the governor noted during his $83 billion budget roll-out, over the past decade pension costs for public employees increased 2,000%. State revenues increased only 24% over the same period. A Schwarzenegger adviser wrote in the San Jose Mercury News in the past few days that, "This year alone, $3 billion was diverted to pension costs from other programs." There are now more than 15,000 government retirees statewide who receive pensions that exceed $100,000 a year, according to the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility. Many of these retirees are former police officers, firefighters, and prison guards who can retire at age 50 with a pension that equals 90% of their final year's pay. The pensions for these (and all other retirees) increase each year with inflation and are guaranteed by taxpayers forever�regardless of what happens in the economy or whether the state's pensions funds have been fully funded (which they haven't been). A 2008 state commission pegged California's unfunded pension liability at $63.5 billion, which will be amortized over several decades. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703699204575017182296077118.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read

*************************

Could Americans see another $2 trillion

added to the Federal Budget Deficit?

The Lingering Bush Legacy: What to do About Those Tax Cuts The 2001 and 2003 tax reductions are the big gorilla in the room that everyone's ignoring. By the end of 2010, a year of midterm congressional elections, Congress must address this key economic issue� Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers: �..If the Democrats who control Congress do nothing and let the tax rates on the highest income brackets return to their pre-2001 levels, their Republican rivals and many Americans will slam them as tax hikers. If they prevent the legislation from expiring, however, they and any Republicans who support this approach will add $2 trillion to the already-growing federal budget deficit over the next decade. The news media and influential watchdog organizations will slam them for that. Continued at �.� http://www.mcclatchydc.com/227/story/81296.html

**********************

What�s the Unemployment Rate in Your Town?

http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/LAUS/lmi123.asp

*********************

Visit the website of Open Secrets and learn who is really controlling your government.� This page will allow you to factor in a Congressman�s name and learn where his support is coming from.� But don�t stop there as this website contains valuable information for the concerned taxpayer.� http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/pacs.php?cid=N00000575&cycle=2010

***********************

English-only at Conn. bookstore sparks controversy By JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN The Associated Press� January 22, 2010; NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- A popular bookstore and cafe near Yale University wants its many Hispanic employees to speak only English around customers, sparking controversy in immigrant-friendly New Haven, where students fight for immigrant rights. Atticus Bookstore and Cafe recently issued a policy stating that English should be the only language spoken on the floor and behind the counter. "Spanish is allowed in the prep area, the dishwasher area and the lower level. Let's make our customers feel welcome and comfortable," the policy states, according to New Haven Workers Association, a group of activists who said employees gave them a copy. "I'm really appalled," said Tim Stewart-Winter, a Yale lecturer. "As a New Haven resident and member of the Yale community, I think diversity is a strength of this country." Stewart-Winter said he likes to take out-of-town guests to Atticus, but may not now because of the policy.Bridget Pierpont, a 40-year-old New Haven resident, said she was texting a friend as she passed Atticus on Thursday suggesting they no longer go to the bookstore because of the language policy. "Frankly, I think that's part of the charm of this place," Pierpont said. "I think they should absolutely be able to speak Spanish here." Continued at �. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/22/AR2010012202827.html

*********************

News from the National Taxpayers Union

GovernmentBytes.com

**************************

Lessig on Political Corruption in America Public confidence in the U.S. House and Senate is at an all-time low, and, after last week�s Supreme Court decision, it�s bound to sink even lower. On January 19th (the day before the decision), Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig returned to Stanford and highlighted the degree to which �institutional corruption� � in the form of lobbyists and corporate influence � pervades Congress, dictates legislation, and brings large sums of money to campaigns and, yes, even representatives� personal bank accounts. (Roughly 50% of U.S. Senators become lobbyists, working for industries they once assisted politically, and earn substantial incomes.) The talk, accompanied by a rapid fire PowerPoint presentation, runs a solid hour and details various instances in which lobbyists have shaped unfathomably bad legislation. Happily, the talk also ends with Lessig outlining possible solutions. Policy changes can offer some answers. But, a lot of it comes down to this: getting the passive privileged to rein in a corrupted elite. Note: To see Lessig�s immediate response to the SCOTUS decision, look here. Continued at �. http://www.openculture.com/2010/01/lessig_on_political_corruption_in_america.html

About Lawrence Lessig: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/llessig

************************************************

Today's debate: The federal budget, Jan 24, 2010, USA Today �.

In reality, the nation is in a serious bind not so much because of the actions of presidents and Congresses, but because of their lack of action. More than 60% of federal spending is on autopilot. Most of this comes from benefit programs, also known as entitlements, such as Medicare and Social Security. In just four years, as the result of growing entitlements and rising interest costs on the national debt, some two-thirds of Washington's dollars will be so-called mandatory spending�. When the amount borrowed by the federal government in a year sprouts an extra digit, passing $1 trillion, it's an attention-grabber. And when the government spends nearly $2 for every dollar it is taking in, it's unsustainable�..To be sure, there's bloat in the federal bureaucracy and defense spending. But the real drivers of looming deficits are Medicare, projected to grow from $516 billion this year to $932 billion in 2018, and Social Security, forecast to grow from $581 billion this year to $966 in 2018 as Baby Boomers retire. These numbers tell us two things. One is that attention needs to shift, from bashing the unpopular programs to making necessary cuts in the popular ones. The second is that � whatever happens to the health care overhaul plans � Congress will have to come back to the problem of spiraling medical costs again and again. With so many benefit programs tied to health care, the government won't be able to stay afloat if expenses keep rising faster than inflation.� Continued at �. http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2010-01-25-editorial25_ST_U.htm?csp=34

*********************************