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

July 6, 2011

Courts Rule Public Employee Pensions can be Cut Back � Read more at� Two Rulings Find Cuts in Public Pensions Permissible

CHECK IT OUT�.. CONNECTICUT�S NEW TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE�..� �Welcome to http://transparency.ct.gov/html/main.asp , the official transparency website for the State of Connecticut. This site was created in accordance with Public Act 10-155, An Act Requiring the Establishment of a Searchable Database for State Expenditures. This Public Act requires the Office of Fiscal Analysis to establish and maintain a website for the purpose of posting state agency expenditures, including contracts and grants. The Office of Fiscal Analysis (OFA) is a nonpartisan office that supports the Connecticut General Assembly. To read more about us, please visit our website at http://www.cga.ct.gov/ofa/. To learn where your tax dollars are going, click one of the options on the left or use the Get Started search in the upper right corner of this page. http://transparency.ct.gov/html/main.asp

Questions� surface on State Plan to take over Bridgeport Schools�� Foster files FOI on BOE takeover plan July 5, 2011 at 4:28 pm by Linda Conner Lambeck Mary Jane Foster, a vice president at the University of Bridgeport and a candidate for mayor, says she has filed Freedom of Information requests with city and state agencies to get to the bottom of the plan to have the state take over city schools. She may have to stand in line. The Post requested such correspondence a week ago and is still waiting: Here is the news release from the Foster camp: http://blog.ctnews.com/education/2011/07/05/foster-fois-info-on-boe-take-over-plan/

Executive Pay Up 23 Percent Over Last Year, Despite Weak Economy ...

With budgets tight, some districts chafe at special ed spending

By Jacqueline Rabe� Facing a major cut in funding for the schools in Bristol, Superintendent Philip Streifer has cut electives, scaled back four-hour kindergarten to two hours, pruned athletics and cut other costs everywhere he can. But his hands are tied to reducing costs to the fastest growing section of his budget--special education. Read more at

http://www.ctmirror.org/story/13093/special-education

Supreme Court sides with pharmaceutical industry in two decisions

100 of the Top Delinquent Income Taxpayer Accounts
Deficient in Excess of 90 Days as of June 1, 2011

http://www.ct.gov/DRs/cwp/view.asp?a=1453&q=296114

Questions Surround Cost, Feasibility of Bioscience Connecticut The bill that gave birth to Bioscience Connecticut leaves legislators with questions

Cathryn J. Prince | Jul 5, 2011 | In the last days of the 2011 legislative session, lawmakers approved "Bioscience Connecticut," an $854 million plan to expand UConn�s medical and dental schools, construct a 100-bed in-patient tower on the Farmington campus� John Dempsey Hospital and inject millions of dollars into bioscience research and development. Yet exactly how this vision will become reality and how the health center will end its troubled financial history, particularly at a time when the state�s coffers aren�t flush with cash, remains a puzzle.� Read complete report at http://darien.patch.com/articles/questions-surround-cost-feasibility-of-bioscience-connecticut?ncid=M255#comments

CT Unions Fear Political Clout Has Suffered by Associated Press
Posted: Jul 5, 2011 5:26am State employee unions in Connecticut might not just lose 6,500 jobs after recently rejecting a labor savings and concessions agreement. They're also risking their considerable clout with the General Assembly. http://www.courant.com/community/union/hc-ap-ct-unioncloutjul02,0,6746088.story

Union-Busting is a "Godsend"; Elimination of Collective Bargaining is the Single Best Thing one Can do for School Kids

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/07/union-busting-is-godsend-elimination-of.html

Exxon Mobil Must Pay $1.5 Billion For Gas Station Leak

Comptroller Warns of Surplus �Mirage�, OPM Prepares For Layoffs

by Christine Stuart | Jul 5, 2011 5:00am Posted to: Labor | State BudgetState Comptroller Kevin Lembo told Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week that the state ended this fiscal year with an $85.5 million surplus, but warned the rosy outlook is the � financial equivalent of gluing petals back onto a flower in order to address a budget crisis.� http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/comptroller_predicts_surplus_opm_prepares_for_layoffs/

Embroiled in Controversy, Federal Gun Agency Has Long Been Leaderless and Hamstrung �by Marian Wang | @mariancw July 5, 2011

As criticism grows over an anti-smuggling operation that backfired, the federal agency that ran the surveillance program�the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives�is facing serious questions about its leadership. http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/embroiled-in-controversy-federal-gun-agency-long-been-leaderless-hamstrung

As Budgets Are Trimmed, Time in Class Is Shortened

Counties sue Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac over taxes - Oakland, Ingham say U.S.-backed mortgage lenders owe millions RoNeisha Mullen/ The Detroit News� June 24, 2011 Pontiac �Government-backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the targets of lawsuits from two county governments claiming they owe millions of dollars in taxes. Oakland and Ingham counties have filed suit seeking to recoup taxes the lenders allegedly failed to pay on property taxes. Oakland County Treasurer Andy Meisner claimed the companies played a key role in the foreclosure crisis and are skirting taxes that could go to public schools. "They have to pay the same taxes any other private company would pay," Meisner said during a news conference Thursday. "Right now our taxpayers are picking up the tab. This lawsuit ensures that it is the wrong-doers that pick up that tab." Continued at http://www.detnews.com/article/20110624/METRO/106240366/1409/METRO/Counties-sue-Fannie-Mae--Freddie-Mac-over-taxes

America's Troubling Investment Gap ��By David Malpass And Stephen Moore� July 5, 2011 Wall St Journal For the first time in decades, America is on net losing, not attracting, growth capital. Full report at

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304584004576416202937808330-lMyQjAxMTAxMDAwNTEwNDUyWj.html

No recession for Obama's 454 White House aides: They'll make $37,121,463 this year� The staff names and salaries report, required annually by Congress, was released on Friday by the White House. Continued at

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2011/07/obama-white-house-salaries-soar.html

S&P: Investors could lose $100 billion if US rating downgraded

Investors with holdings in U.S. debt could lose $100 billion if the country�s credit rating is downgraded, a leading Wall Street forecaster says.� Standard & Poor�s predicts losses of that magnitude if the U.S. government�s perfect AAA credit rating is taken away over concerns about the federal deficit. http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/801-economy/168461-sap-investors-could-lose-100-billion-if-us-credit-is-downgraded

FBI agent who busted Conn. pols to run for House� Boston Herald� WATERBURY, Conn. � AP July 4, 2011 Mike Clark was a young FBI agent when he came to this long-struggling western Connecticut city, chasing a corrupt mayor through the streets and hauling him off to prison.� Some of the state�s most promising and ambitious young Republicans built their careers here, only to have Clark and the FBI�s corruption squad take them down. He helped send two Waterbury mayors to prison, and supervised an investigation that sent Gov. John G. Rowland, a beloved figure in this city, to prison for 10 months for corruption Continued at � http://news.bostonherald.com/news/national/northeast/view/20110704fbi_agent_who_busted_conn_pols_to_run_for_house/srvc=home&position=recent

Bachmann & Government Aid

Farm subsidies for the rich; no disclosure by the agency

Balanced budget or bust Dick Morris - 06/28/11 05:44 PM ET After the government has racked up a deficit of $1.5 trillion and over $14 trillion in debt, it�s obvious to most Americans that some fundamental reworking of the system that permitted such extravagance is desperately needed and quite overdue. To raise the debt limit in exchange for dollar-for-dollar cuts is one key element of an emerging deal. If Congress is to approve a $2.3 trillion increase in the debt ceiling, it must be matched by an equivalent amount of cuts in the 10-year budget. But what one Congress does, another can undo. And 10 years is a long time. Continued at �
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/dick-morris/168877-balanced-budget-or-bust

As Missouri floods, anger spills over at Army Corps

Carmakers and White House Haggling Over Mileage Rules

Rising Yellowstone to impede oil spill cleanup

Despite Troop Surge, Taliban Attacks and U.S ... Casualties Soared
By Gareth Porter* http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=56342

Lawmakers View 2011 Legislative Session Through Party Prism By Cathryn J. Prince | Email the author | June 20, 2011 Connecticut had either just passed the most far reaching, anti-business, left-leaning laws in its history�or it had enacted a rather progressive agenda that preserved programs while spreading the fiscal pain. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy was either a business killing bully or the state�s savior. In short, it seemed to come down to party perspective. Read complete report at http://darien.patch.com/articles/through-the-looking-glass-3

Chicago News Cooperative: Tackling Pension Crisis Is a Herculean Task �July 3, 2011 By DAVID GREISING Some state courts are stepping in, too. In the face of arguments that state laws and constitutions prohibit states from shirking their pension obligations, courts in Minnesota and Colorado last week said, essentially, that�s not right. The state ruling may clear the way for states to weigh their pension obligations against other demands on their resources, the courts ruled. Despite contractual obligations to pensioners, states could be allowed to take into account their competing duty to educate children and build safe roads. Read more at

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/03/us/03cncgreising.html?emc=eta1

Pay Frozen, More New York Judges Leave Bench By WILLIAM GLABERSON �The state�s judges, who have not had a raise in 12 years, are resigning in relatively large numbers, not to retire but to return to practicing law.

Case for a Balanced Budget Amendment; Charts of the Day: Transfer Payments (Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps, etc.) vs. Total Government Receipts Posted: 03 Jul 2011 07:59 PM PDT

Inquiring minds are investigating Personal Transfer Receipts.

Exxon Oil Spill Fouls Montana's Yellowstone River

Goldman Sachs: Power and Peril - CNBC �http://www.cnbc.com/id/37274104/

Third World America: Drowning in Debt and Choking on Lies

Janet Tavakoli, 06.24.2011� ��..Bonus-seeking bankers crashed into Main Street's economy and ran control frauds within banks that would have failed without taxpayer bailouts. Bureaucrats and elected officials bailed them out without demanding consequences. Bankers are revving their engines again in credit derivatives, currency derivatives, and commodities trades. "Financial reform" addresses none of the latter problems.� Arianna Huffington's Third World America: How Our Politicians are Abandoning the Middle Class and Betraying the American Dream explains that the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the bank bailout package also known as TARP, allotted only $72 billion to ��infrastructure projects. Another feature of the bill was to have banks agree to lend money to medium and small sized businesses to stimulate the economy. That didn't happen and official unemployment numbers remain above 9%, while unofficial figures for underemployed Americans soar above 20%. The number one stimulus for any economy is not consumer spending, although that is a powerful secondary effect. The number one stimulus is capital spending, investment in the production of real goods and consumables. As Third World America explains: "There were three flaws with the old economy that has crashed. It favored consumption over production, debt over small savings, and environmental damage over environmental renewal." Our ongoing bank bailouts included the mispricing of around $4 trillion of toxic assets that the banks cannot afford to honestly price, since bank capital would be wiped out sparking another global financial meltdown. We continue to provide cheap taxpayer funding through the Fed. Continued at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/janet-tavakoli/third-world-america-drown_b_883782.html