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 AUGUST 10, 2010

Blumenthal Finds Improper Use Of Bysiewicz Office Database; Probe Concludes With Report, Referral To Chief Prosecutor By Jon Lender August 5, 2010 Courant, State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said Thursday that the office of Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz maintained "inappropriate" personal and political information in a taxpayer-funded office database - creating "the reasonable perception that the state database was developed as a useful tool for political campaign purposes."� Blumenthal made those findings in an investigative report. He said he was was referring the report to the state's top prosecutor, Chief State's Attorney Kevin Kane, as well as the State Elections Enforcement Commission and legislative leaders in hopes of closing a longstanding loophole in state law that permits political activity in state offices by elected officials and their appointed aides.� The referral to Kane also will allow the prosecutor to review whether any criminal laws were violated, Blumenthal's office confirmed Thursday. Blumenthal also said in his report that it was "not proper" for his fellow Democrat, Bysiewicz, to use its 36,000-name database to identify the "religion, race and ethnicity" of more than 2,400 citizens, and to keep "special notes" records of some citizens' political leanings and personal characteristics. In a few cases, those notes included "descriptions of [citizens'] medical issues, choice of clothing, and favored political candidates," the report said.� Blumenthal found no violations of state law. But he said the Connecticut law banning political activities in state offices is too weak, and he recommended that the legislature extend it beyond the civil-service work force, which it now covers, to also include political officials such as Bysiewicz and her appointed aides. http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2010/08/blumenthal-finds-improper-use.html

Bysiewicz's Campaign-Funded Parties Raise Questions, Jon Lender, August 1, 2010, Courant http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2010/08/bysiewiczs-campaignfunded-part.html

The University of Connecticut will terminate its lease on the private home where President Michael Hogan lived after spending nearly $500,000 in state money to upgrade and maintain the Gurleyville Road house.� August 01, 2010|By DAVE ALTIMARI, daltimari@courant.com�� http://articles.courant.com/2010-08-01/news/hc-uconn-house0801-20100801_1_philip-lodewick-gurleyville-road-house-lease

Citizens: Follow the money. No, really. Courant, Aug 3, 2010,

If you needed another reason to make MAPLight.org a frequent stop on your trips through the Interwebs, here's one: As we anxiously wait to see if BP has forever plugged its Gulf Coast oil disaster, on Friday the House of Representatives passed the so-called CLEAR Act, Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act (HR-3534), with a vote of 209-193. The act is supposed to signal an overhaul of the oil industry, and creates an office within the U.S. Department of the Interior that will be focused on efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the administration of federal mineral and energy resources.That vote was not exactly a squeaker, but it's not a mandate either. The bill moves to the Senate, where it may hit rough water. http://blogs.courant.com/susan_campbell/2010/08/citizens-follow-the-money-no-r-1.html

CSU reduces salaries for chancellor, campus presidents

By Robert A. Frahm, CTMirror.org�� At the request of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut State University System trustees Monday reduced the size of raises granted this month to Chancellor David G. Carter and the presidents of CSU's four campuses. The officials were allowed to keep 5 percent cost-of-living increases, but the Board of Trustees Executive Committee rescinded an additional raise of about 5 percent that was considered a "pay equity" adjustment based on a consultant's compensation study. The committee is expected to meet again later this week to consider similar reductions for other top non-union managers who also received the pay adjustments. Rell last week asked the trustees to cut the raises, calling them "excessive" and "intolerable" in light of the state's fiscal crisis. She also said she will order a study of the possible elimination of the central office of the 36,500-student system. The governor took the action a day after the Mirror disclosed that raises, some as large as 10 percent, had been granted to non-union managers. http://ctmirror.com/story/6990/csu-reduces-salaries-chancellor-campus-presidents

Real Race To The Top Requires New Focus

August 01, 2010|By BETTY J. STERNBERG �� Children in urban, suburban and rural environments, rich and poor, deserve to experience the joy of persevering to solve complex problems that affect them and society. Such experiences should be woven into the fabric of instruction from kindergarten through Grade 12. They should not be held off until each student takes a one-credit senior demonstration project, which new state legislation requires of graduates in 2018. To focus such work into a one-credit senior course trivializes the depth of change that is necessary throughout children's school years. 1 | 2 | Next�� http://articles.courant.com/2010-08-01/news/hc-op-sternberg-0801-20100801_1_teachers-classrooms-test-scores

Sunset in America: an unpaved, unlit road to nowhere Everything we know about economic growth says that a well-educated population and high-quality infrastructure are crucial, writes columnist Paul Krugman. Emerging nations are making huge efforts to upgrade their roads, their ports and their schools. Yet in America we're going backward. By Paul Krugman Syndicated columnist Related The lights are going out all over America � literally. Colorado Springs has made headlines with its desperate attempt to save money by turning off a third of its streetlights, but similar things are either happening or being contemplated across the nation, from Philadelphia to Fresno. Meanwhile, a country that once amazed the world with its visionary investments in transportation, from the Erie Canal to the Interstate Highway System, is now in the process of unpaving itself: In a number of states, local governments are breaking up roads they can no longer afford to maintain, and returning them to gravel. Continued at�.. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2012579377_krugman10.html

Freddie Mac reports loss, seeks another $1.8 billion in taxpayer bailout� Mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, between them, have needed $148.2 billion in bailout money since late 2008 to stay afloat. The aim is to ensure that mortgage credit remains available. By Mark Trumbull, Staff writer, Christian Science Monitor / August 9, 2010 The mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac reported a $4.7 billion net loss for the second quarter Monday, due to a rise in home loans that ended in default. The report, following a similar loss at sister company Fannie Mae last week, underscores that the US housing market remains a central trouble spot in the economy. Because these government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) sit at the heart of the housing market, it also means the taxpayer tab is rising for keeping these firms afloat. Continued at �. http://www.csmonitor.com/Money/2010/0809/Freddie-Mac-reports-loss-seeks-another-1.8-billion-in-taxpayer-bailout

Read: Regulators' Deepwater Drilling Document Is "at War With Itself" ��By Marian Wang, ProPublica, Aug 9, 2010, A decade-old environmental assessment by offshore drilling regulators called for more research on Corexit dispersant, warned that deepwater spills were difficult to stop, and cautioned that such spills could "permanently cover water bottoms and wetlands."At the same time, it cited industry speculation that a deepwater blowout could stop itself in a matter of days and concluded that deepwater spills were "a very low-probability event [1]." The document, written in 2000, was mentioned in Sunday's New York Times [2] story about the Minerals Management Service and its record of drilling oversight. The Times called the environmental assessment a "document at war with itself" that reflects the regulatory agency�s conflicting mandates: facilitating energy production and royalty collection while ensuring that offshore drilling is done safely, with proper environmental consideration and review. Continued at.. http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/read-regulators-deepwater-drilling-document-is-at-war-with-itself

Despite Extra Help, Weakest Bailed-Out Bank Is Still Among the Worst ��By Marian Wang, ProPublica, Aug 20, 2010, At the center of the ethics controversy enveloping Rep. Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, is OneUnited [1], the nation�s largest African-American-owned bank. The House ethics committee announced three charges [2] against Waters today, alleging that she improperly used her office to help the bank, in which her husband had a financial stake. Continued at �. http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/weakest-bank-to-get-bailout-funds-despite-extra-help-is-still-among-the-wor

Fed expected to downgrade US growth outlook, Aug 9, �Federal Reserve's interest rate-setting panel will meet Tuesday, under pressure to bolster a weak economic recovery that many fear is grinding to a halt. The 10-member body is expected to downgrade its assessment of the health of the world's largest economy, as it keeps interest rates at historic lows. The Fed's policies have come under the microscope in recent months, as investors asked whether the central bank has been overly rosy in its previous assessments, calling its credibility into question. http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.2267033ea5e4a89c39757ee49f007d7b.b11&show_article=1

Senate�s Costs for Foreign Travel May Set Record By Paul Singer
Roll Call Staff Aug. 9, 2010, 12 a.m. House Won�t Follow Feingold�s Lead on Pay Raises The Senate is on pace to set an all-time high for foreign travel costs this year, with a burn rate that is 30 percent higher than the first half of last year. �According to travel disclosures published in the Congressional Record, from Jan. 1 to July 1 the federal government spent $2.6 million to cover the costs of overseas travel for Senators and their staff. Over the same period last year, the Senate reported foreign travel costs of just more than $2 million. �At the current rate, the Senate�s reported travel tab for the year would exceed $5 million for the first time, and that number dramatically understates the true costs to taxpayers of the chamber�s trips abroad. http://www.rollcall.com/issues/56_19/news/49105-1.html?mostread=1

Arianna Huffington: Third World America: Chronicling the Assault on America's Middle Class...and the Solutions

From foreclosures to unemployment to household debt to bankruptcies, the American middle class is under assault -- and America is in danger of becoming a Third World nation. That's why HuffPost is launching a "Third World America" section to bear witness to what is happening to the American middle class in small towns and big cities all across the country. Every day, we will also focus on the solutions that are making a difference in the lives of ordinary Americans, and offer many ways for you to get involved -- things we can all do to make sure we never find ourselves living in Third World America. Start by watching this video, taking our Pledge for the America Dream, and sharing your story.

'Third World America' Excerpt: Michigan Father Commutes To Chicago For Work

In Third World America, her forthcoming book about the gradual demise of the United States as an industrial, political, and economic leader, Arianna Huffington profiles middle-class American families struggling to recover from the recession

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/08/third-world-america-excer_n_675434.html

Hartford Council Approves Purchase Of 'Butt Ugly' Building HARTFORD � � Hartford Courant, August 10, 2010, The city has taken the final step toward purchasing the property at 1161 Main St. � known as the "Butt Ugly Building" � and tear the structure down. The city council on Monday voted in favor of allowing the Hartford Redevelopment Agency to buy the land and its decrepit building for $625,000. City leaders plan to knock down the five-story structure in late September. The cost of the property and demolition of the building � an additional $300,000 to $500,000 � will be covered by city bond money. http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-hartford-butt-ugly-0810-20100809,0,5750946.story

Jobs Report Brings More Bad News for the Unemployed By Murrey Jacobson on August 6, 2010 Heading into Friday morning, no one was expecting much good news from the July jobs report. Unfortunately, the picture it provided of the jobs market is even worse than many expected. Payrolls shrank by more than projected. Roughly 130,000 jobs were lost last month (much of it due to the end of the census), but estimates for losses had been more in the range of 60,000 or so. There was some pickup in the private sector. But even those numbers provided little reassurance. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/mt4/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=29&tag=ECONOMY&limit=20

PATCHWORK NATION -- August 9, 2010 at 1:00 PM EST

Property Taxes Emerge as Latest Front in Housing Crisis

By: Lee Banville �http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/08/property-taxes-emerge-as-latest-front-in-housing-crisis.html

Problematic contract lurks in intelligence nominee's past

August 01, 2010|Ken Dilanian, Tribune Washington Bureau, WASHINGTON � In December 2001, shortly after James Clapper took the helm of the Pentagon's mapping intelligence agency, the agency privatized its information technology functions, giving 600 employees the choice of being laid off or going to work for a private contractor.Now called the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, it awarded a no-bid, 15-year deal worth up to $2.2 billion to NJVC, a joint venture of two Alaska Native corporations. The privatization was set in motion by Clapper's predecessor, but Clapper endorsed it, saying it would allow the agency to take advantage of the "best commercial practices." http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/01/nation/la-na-clapper-20100801

The following articles can be found in Tax Talk August 9, 2010

� OP-ED: The Truth about �Jobs� Governors

� German police have shut down the Hamburg mosque where the 9/11 hijackers met before their suicide attacks on the US in 2001.

� BP oil spill costs pass $6bn mark

� Lindsay Lohan, 24, gets her name and face all over the news because she went to jail. The following are Marines that gave their lives for you this week.

� Pricey Projects: A Look at Where Taxpayer Dollars are Going Aug 6, 2010,

� Oil Spill Disaster in Gulf Hurt Obama, but Governors Came Out Ahead,

� Appropriators Beware: Primaries Spell Defeat for Some

� The Net Neutrality Spat Explained �

� Corporations Donate in Honor of Lawmakers to Win Favors: More in Money and Politics,

� The U.S. Government has taken too much of the State of Utah�s Property!

� The Spill, The Scandal and the President

� Spending Binge, Part Deux, Fiscal schizophrenia reigns in the White House.