From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations, Inc. (FCTO)
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
email: fctopresident@aol.com
860-841-8032
December 10, 2008
Please Send to Your
Family, Friends and Business Associates!
Welcome
to Tax Talk 127
THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT HAS MASSIVE
DEBTS. PER THE STATE’S 2006 FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY REPORT* THAT DEBT WAS
ESTIMATED TO BE $49 BILLION. ON FRIDAY,
DEC 12, THE STATE BOND COMMISSION WILL MEET TO VOTE ON MORE DEBT! EXAMPLE:
$500,000 FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO A BASEBALL FIELD!
*View the Full Report at the following link ….. http://www.ct.gov/opm/LIB/opm/Budget/FiscalAccountability/FiscalAccountability2006Report.pdf
Many Connecticut residents are losing their jobs,
their homes and their savings. Their
future is uncertain as Washington
is using taxpayer dollars to fuel the Bailout Express to Success for the
mortgage, banking and auto industries.
Due to the aforementioned, today, The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations directed
the following letter to Governor Rell …..
Dear Governor Rell:
According to the Office of
Policy & Management, the State Bond Commission is scheduled to meet on
December 12, 2008 at 10:30 AM in Room 1E of the Legislative Office Building,
300 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT.
The Federation requests that you
attend this meeting and ask that the Bond Commission not go forward at this
time with the approval of the bonds denoted on their agenda which follows and
which includes such expenses as $500,000 for improvements at a baseball
field. http://www.ct.gov/opm/lib/opm/budget/capital/cy2008/sbc_agenda_dec.12.2008.pdf
The State’s bonded debt is one of the
highest in the country. Our State is facing high deficits as your constituents
are losing their jobs, homes and savings.
Unless there is an emergency, future state
bonding should be carefully scrutinized and delayed or eliminated until our
economy improves.
We would further request that the State Bond
Commission amendment is policies and allow for a Public Hearing on agenda items
prior to voting on them.
Thank you for your consideration of our
requests. Sincerely, Susan Kniep, President, On
Behalf of the Officers and Board Members of The
Federation of CT Taxpayer Organizations
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House passes
Detroit bailout, Bill would provide $14 billion
in loans to keep GM, Chrysler out of bankruptcy. But
Republican opposition in Senate threatens chances of approval. By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: December
10, 2008: 10:39 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The House passed a stopgap $14
billion bailout to U.S. automakers Wednesday evening, but Republican opposition
cast doubts about its fate as it moves on to the Senate. The House vote came in the wake of an
agreement on the measure earlier in the day between Democratic Congressional
leaders and the Bush administration. The
bill is designed to keep General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) and Chrysler LLC out of bankruptcy
through at least March to give the new Congress and Obama
administration a chance to craft a more long-term solution.
The measure passed by a count of 237 to 170 thanks to
overwhelming Democratic support. But only 32 Republicans joined Democrats in
voting for the bill.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/10/news/companies/auto_bailout_legislation/index.htm?postversion=2008121022
Click to read the House auto bailout bill
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Nobel
winner: U.S. auto industry
will likely disappear STOCKHOLM (AP) — Dec 7,
2008 …. Nobel economics prize winner
Paul Krugman said Sunday that the beleaguered U.S. auto
industry will likely disappear.
"It will do so because of the geographical forces that
me and my colleagues have discussed," the Princeton
University professor and New York
Times columnist told reporters in Stockholm.
"It is no longer sustained by the current economy.” Krugman won the
$1.4 million Nobel Memorial Prize in economics for his work on international
trade patterns. Some of his research on economic geography seeks to explain why
production resources are concentrated in certain locations. Speaking to
reporters three days ahead of the Nobel Prize ceremony, Krugman
said plans by U.S.
lawmakers to bail out the Big Three automakers were a short-term solution,
resulting from a "lack of willingness to accept the failure of a large
industry in the midst of an economic crisis." Continued ….
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2008-12-07-nobel-auto_N.htm
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43 states in
financial trouble, The recession has most states unable to cover expenses,
according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and states should
expect tough times ahead. By Catherine
Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer, Last Updated: December 10, 2008: 7:01 PM
ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) --
The recession has state-level fiscal budgets in crisis mode, according to a
report released Wednesday. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, an
organization that works on the state and federal level on policy research and
analysis, said 43 states are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this year
and/or next year. Most state budgets start on July 1, which means they are
nearly half-way through their fiscal year. Continued … http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/10/news/economy/state_budgets/index.htm?postversion=2008121019
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Why Chris
Dodd is gunning for the banks
Detroit may get its bailout at last - but Wall Street could pay the
ultimate price.By Nina Easton, Washington editor, December 10, 2008: 1:55 PM ET WASHINGTON, D.C.
(Fortune) -- If and when Detroit's automakers actually get their
taxpayer-funded lifelines, Senator Christopher Dodd will be remembered for his
tough-guy demand that General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner be shown the nearest
exit. No one will remember Dodd's full-throttled threat, issued just last week, that an auto bailout bill should "also place
tougher conditions on any loans to financial firms." With Tuesday's
compromise between Democrats and the White House over emergency loans for
Detroit, it's clear that the Senate Banking Committee chairman wasn't able to
follow through on his threat to stretch the bill to apply to bailed-out banks
too. If he had, banks would have been forced to start lending their taxpayer billions
and to go easier on homeowners facing foreclosure.
That's not entirely surprising, given Dodd's weak leadership
and the sheer legislative difficulty of turning his rhetoric into law. The
little-noticed episode outlines an emerging political reality: Just as the
automakers faced an especially severe drubbing because they were second in line
asking for taxpayer support, lenders - and their lifeguard, Treasury Secretary
Henry Paulson - now face an especially cranky Congress in part because of the
strict conditions Detroit
will have to meet in order to qualify for emergency loans.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/10/news/economy/easton_dodd.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008121013
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U.S. deficit climbs to $402 billion
The budget gap racked up in
first two months of the fiscal year approaches the level recorded for all of
'08.
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com
senior writer , Last Updated: December 10, 2008: 3:31 PM ET NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Treasury
Department on Wednesday reported that $164.4 billion was added to the federal
budget deficit in November -- bringing the total deficit for the first two
months of the fiscal year to $401.6 billion.
By comparison, the budget deficit for all of fiscal year 2008 was $455
billion, according to the Treasury. http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/10/news/economy/treasury_budget_deficit_Nov08/index.htm
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AP IMPACT:
How Freddie Mac halted regulatory drive The Boston
Globe, Dec 7, 2008 … WASHINGTON—From a
hefty lobbying budget to the use of free baseball tickets, Freddie Mac fended
off any meaningful regulation in the years before the housing mortgage giant
crashed, records obtained by The Associated Press show.
When the Washington Nationals played their first-ever
baseball game in the nation's capital in April 2005, two congressmen who
oversaw Freddie Mac had choice seats -- courtesy of the very company they were
supposed to be keeping an eye on. Continued … http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2008/12/08/ap_impact_how_freddie_mac_halted_regulatory_drive/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Latest+news
From the Institute of Justice
who defended Susette Kelo
in her attempts to keep her home from Eminent Domain abuse.
Texas Developer
Files Lawsuits To Bulldoze Freedom of the Press
Targets Include Book Author, Publisher, Law Professor
Richard Epstein and Newspapers that Published Book Review
WEB RELEASE: December 10, 2008
Media Contact: John Kramer (703) 682-9320
[First Amendment]
Dallas, Texas—In perhaps the most striking example of a
disturbing national trend, Dallas developer H. Walker Royall
has launched a lawsuit spree to silence any media or public affairs commentator
who dares expose his attempted abuse of eminent domain. Similar suits
have been filed in Tennessee, Missouri and elsewhere
by developers and governments looking to silence critics of eminent domain for
private gain. http://www.ij.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2517&Itemid=207
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A Quiet
Windfall For U.S. Banks, With Attention on
Bailout Debate, Treasury Made Change to Tax Policy, By Amit
R. Paley, Washington Post Staff Writer, Monday,
November 10, 2008; A01…The financial world was fixated on Capitol Hill as Congress battled over the Bush
administration's request for a $700 billion bailout of the banking industry. In
the midst of this late-September drama, the Treasury Department issued a five-sentence
notice that attracted almost no public attention. But corporate tax lawyers
quickly realized the enormous implications of the document: Administration
officials had just given American banks a windfall of as much as $140 billion.
The sweeping change to two decades of tax policy escaped the notice of
lawmakers for several days, as they remained consumed with the controversial
bailout bill. When they found out, some legislators were furious. Some
congressional staff members have privately concluded that the notice was
illegal. But they have worried that saying so publicly could unravel several
recent bank mergers made possible by the change and send the economy into an
even deeper tailspin. Continued … http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902155_pf.html
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TRIBUNE OWNS HARTFORD COURANT ….
TRIBUNE FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
« Tribune files Chapter 11
http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2008/12/tribune_files_chapte.php
*Why Tribune
filed, Mark Lacter • Bio • Email
The parent company of the LAT and KTLA has nearly $13
billion in debt and $7.6 billion in assets, according to a court filing. The
biggest problem appears to be inadequate cash coming in. As reported by the NYT, there is a covenant on some of its debt that
basically requires the company to generate a certain amount of earnings.
Failure to maintain that level puts Tribune in technical default. http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2008/12/why_tribune_filed.php
TRIBUNE HISTORY http://www.tribune.com/about/history.html
WHOSE NEXT!!!!!!!!!!!
Tribune is
extreme, but more bankruptcies possible [AP
Financial News], 12/10/2008 10:38:00 AM, Associated Press, The
NEW YORK_Although Tribune Co. has
the distinction of being the first major newspaper publisher to seek bankruptcy
protection in this sour economy, it is hardly alone in facing the deadly
combination of high debt and declining advertising revenue. For a sense of who might be next, consider
publishers that have put individual papers up for sale or have had trouble
meeting their debt contracts.
Analysts said Tuesday that most publishers fall into that
category. The exceptions often cited: Gannett Co., whose $4 billion in debt is
reasonable for its size even though its revenue has shrunk, and McClatchy Co.,
which in September bought about two years of flexibility on $2 billion in debt
by agreeing to higher interest rates http://www.hoovers.com/free/co/news/detail.xhtml?ID=10971&ArticleID=200812101038AP______NEWS_____feef0035a004f6df_AP&source_type%5B%5D=
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