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 SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

A State Budget can be Expensive!

Playing Solitaire while Negotiating a State Budget, Priceless!!!

Sept 1, 2009�. House Minority Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr., R-Norwalk, far right, speaks while colleagues play solitaire on their computers as the House convenes Monday night to vote on a new budget. (AP) http://www.courant.com/

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Senate Approves Budget Shortly Before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday By

Christopher Keating, on September 1, 2009 2:29 AM �..

The bill was approved, largely along party lines, by 22 to 13 shortly before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Sen. Joan Hartley of Waterbury was the only Democrat who voted against the budget - joining all 12 Republicans. Sen. Andrew Maynard of Stonington was traveling out of the country and missed the vote. Republicans complained that the two-year, $37 billion budget would increase spending by more than $800 million over two years, while Democrats said they had cut $3.1 billion from the "current services'' budget that counts lower-than-expected increases as cuts. Those spending cuts represent 35 percent of the state's projected $8.5 billion deficit, according to the legislature's nonpartisan fiscal office. Despite those figures, Republicans said that the budget had "no real cuts'' and simply had accounting maneuvers and money transfers. Continued at �. Continued at �. http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/09/senate-debating-new-state-budg.html

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There�s always room for pork: �Crisis� budget still contains earmarks for Democratic districts, By Keith M. Phaneuf, Journal Inquirer September 1, 2009 11:38 AM EDT, HARTFORD � A budget that includes cuts to social services and town aid along with the largest tax hike in state history didn�t stop the Democrat-controlled General Assembly from endorsing nearly $1.5 million for pet projects in lawmakers� home districts. Continued at �. http://ctact.org/default.asp?callcontent=yes&filename=PorkJI.htm%20%20%20&location=State_-_Budget&buttonname=State%20-%20Budget

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New budget leaves a huge mess to clean up in 2011, "If anyone thinks we've solved this economic crisis with this budget bill - you're kidding yourself." -Rep. William A. Hamzy, By Keith M. Phaneuf, Journal Inquirer, , September 1, 2009 11:38 AM EDT, HARTFORD � Though the $1.2 billion of tax hikes in the new state budget dominated debate at the Capitol, the same package digs a fiscal hole more twice that size. Continued at �. http://ctact.org/default.asp?callcontent=yes&filename=Mess.htm%20%20%20&location=State_-_Budget&buttonname=State%20-%20Budget

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The following is also contained in today�s Tax Talk:�

� Hartford Mayor Perez Says He'll Fight New Criminal Charges

� State Gets Time To Appeal Campaign Finance Ruling

� �Meltdown 101: Earning profits on bailout money

� House Democrats Plot Health Care Comeback

� Grassley Says Deficit Will Limit Scope of Health-Care Overhaul

� Leverage Rising on Wall Street at Fastest Pace Since �07 Freeze

� Is our Justice Department corrupt?

� Reuters: Democratic fund-raiser charged in Citigroup fraud.�

� Blackwater Tapped Foreigners on Secret CIA Program

� SEC�s Schapiro Calls Derivatives Data �Critical� for Probes

� AFL-CIO, Democrats Push New Wall Street Tax

� Sen. Grassley: No public option in health reform

� Forbes Magazine: �The Spend-And-Borrow Economy

� Education Commissioner Says SAT Scores Show Need For School Reform

� The 'Free Choice' Act and Binding Arbitration

� Court Orders Fed to Disclose Emergency Bank Loans

� The Party Of Medicare

� Attorney General Blumenthal rules on use of retirement fund assets

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Hartford Mayor Perez Says He'll Fight New Criminal Charges By JEFFREY B. COHEN and STEVEN GOODE The Hartford Courant

September 1, 2009, HARTFORD � - After announcing Monday that he would be arrested for the second time this year and face more criminal charges, a defiant Mayor Eddie A. Perez said he was innocent, "confident" he'll be acquitted and committed to staying in office. Continued at �.

http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-perez0901.artsep01,0,6988514.story

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House, Senate Vote to Borrow $950 Million to Cover Deficit By

Christopher Keating on August 31, 2009� the House of Representatives voted Monday afternoon to borrow about $950 million to close the deficit for the fiscal year that ended June 30. http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/08/house-begins-debating-budget-d.html

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State Gets Time To Appeal Campaign Financ Ruling By EDMUND H. MAHONY The Hartford Courant September 1, 2009 The federal judge who last week threw out Connecticut's landmark campaign finance reform system gave the state at least a two-week reprieve to allow it to appeal, state officials said. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill granted the two-week stay during a Monday morning teleconference with state officials and the minor-party political officials whose suit resulted in Underhill's legal opinion Thursday that the reforms are unconstitutional. Continued at �. http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-campaign_finance0901.artsep01,0,1498420.story

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�Meltdown 101: Earning profits on bailout money, By MARCY GORDON (AP) � Sept 1, 2009, WASHINGTON � A gaggle of big banks have repaid their loans to the government under the $700 billion financial rescue. Is there a chance taxpayers will eventually recoup the rest of the money spent on this and other bailouts � and maybe even take in a little profit? Here are some questions and answers about recovering bailout money. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jMg0i4hAtcDtXBpBtPt4wZEbB86QD9AE4U0G4

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House Democrats Plot Health Care Comeback, Sept 1, 2009,�
Alex Isenstadt and Martin Kady II, Politico: "Democrats lost the month of August - not just in the polls and at town hall events but also within their own caucus. The question now is whether they can win September ... " http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26643.html

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Grassley Says Deficit Will Limit Scope of Health-Care Overhaul Bloomberg Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, one of three Senate Republicans negotiating on health care, said the soaring federal budget deficit �puts a stake in the heart� of $1 trillion measures being considered by lawmakers. Continued at �. http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20090828/pl_bloomberg/a52zhqshgvw_1

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Leverage Rising on Wall Street at Fastest Pace Since �07 Freeze,

By Kristen Haunss and Jody Shenn� Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Banks are increasing lending to buyers of high-yield company loans and mortgage bonds at what may be the fastest pace since the credit-market debacle began in 2007. Continued at �.. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a_XpcU5pY0f4

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Is our Justice Department corrupt? August 30, 5:54 PMLouisville City Hall ExaminerThomas McAdam� The motto of the United States Department of Justice is: �Qui Pro Domina Justitia Sequitur� (who prosecutes on behalf of justice). Under the present Attorney General, however, that motto is fast becoming an ironic oxymoron. Continued at �. http://www.examiner.com/x-3747-Louisville-City-Hall-Examiner~y2009m8d30-Is-our-Justice-Department-corrupt

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Reuters: Democratic fund-raiser charged in Citigroup fraud. �Aug 25, 2009, �A major fund-raiser for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other Democrats was charged by federal prosecutors in New York in connection with a scheme to defraud Citigroup Inc (C.N). Hassan Nemazee, 59, was accused of one count of bank fraud for allegedly seeking a fraudulent $74 million loan from Citigroup�s banking unit, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday. Nemazee was a national finance chair of Hillary Clinton�s 2008 presidential campaign, and a supporter of Sen. John Kerry�s run for the White House in 2004. He typically donates more than $100,000 annually to Democratic political candidates, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Charles Schumer, and sits on the board of the Iranian American Political Action Committee. . . . Nemazee is listed as having been among the top �bundlers� of contributions to Obama�s presidential campaign, according to OpenSecrets.org, a website maintained by a nonpartisan research group, the Center for Responsive Politics.� Continued at �. http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSN2521648320090825

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Blackwater Tapped Foreigners on Secret CIA Program, Aug 30, 2009,
Adam Goldman and Pamela Hess, The Associated Press: "When the CIA revived a plan to kill or capture terrorists in 2004, the agency turned to the well-connected security company then known as Blackwater USA." Continued at �.. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090830/ap_on_go_ot/us_cia_secret_program

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SEC�s Schapiro Calls Derivatives Data �Critical� for Probes Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro said it�s �critical� for regulators to gain more access to information on derivative transactions in order to police market abuses.�� Regulators need �information that allows us to construct an audit trail, so that we can find insider trading, manipulation and other concerns that can reverberate through the entire marketplace,� Schapiro said in an interview for Bloomberg Television�s �Conversations with Judy Woodruff� airing tonight. That ability �is really going to be critical.� Continued at �. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKOAX86H8NxY

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Sen. Grassley: No public option in health reform Mike Glover, 9/1/2009,The Associated Press: "Iowa Republican Sen. Charles Grassley said Monday he remains hopeful a limited health care reform measure can be negotiated, but that a small bipartisan group of senators working on the issue agrees a government-run public option won't be part of the package." Continued at �. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090901/ap_on_go_co/us_grassley_health_care;_ylt=AnD._i4SvwXl4HTYgf2tiCxBXYh4;_ylu=X3oDMTJxbDFiZ2JkBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwOTAxL3VzX2dyYXNzbGV5X2hlYWx0aF9jYXJlBGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA3NlbmdyYXNzbGV5bg--

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AFL-CIO, Democrats Push New Wall Street Tax, By Alexander Bolton - 08/30/09, The Hill, The nation�s largest labor union and some allied Democrats are pushing a new tax that would hit big investment firms such as Goldman Sachs reaping billions of dollars in profits while the rest of the economy sputters.
The AFL-CIO, one of the Democratic Party�s most powerful allies, would like to assess a small tax � about a tenth of a percent � on every stock transaction.
Small and medium-sized investors would hardly notice such a tax, but major trading firms, such as Goldman, which reported $3.44 billion in profits during the second quarter of 2009, may see this as a significant threat to their profits.� Continued at �. http://thehill.com/homenews/house/56789-afl-cio-dems-push-new-wall-street-tax

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Forbes Magazine:� The Spend-And-Borrow Economy

What's the exit strategy from the monetary and fiscal easing?

Nouriel Roubini,�� Aug 27, 2009

�http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/26/stimulus-recession-fiscal-monetary-liquidity-taxes-opinions-columnists-nouriel-roubini.html

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Education Commissioner Says SAT Scores Show Need For School Reform, Hartford Courant, August 26, 2009 �. Although Nutmeggers outpaced the nation in reading and writing, they still trail in math, a fact that worries state Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan because math skills are essential to the state's economic future.� "We need to do more in math and science, and I view this with a sense of urgency," McQuillan said.� Some other states with similar demographics and percentages of students taking the SAT, such as Massachusetts and New Jersey, are shooting ahead of Connecticut. Continued at �. http://www.courant.com/news/education/hc-sat-scores-0826.artaug26,0,1937599.story

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The 'Free Choice' Act and Binding Arbitration By SHIKHA DALMIA

Big Labor is on a roll. With the installation of Minnesota Democrat Al Franken to the Senate this week, and another change of heart by Sen. Arlen Specter, the misnamed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) has just scored two more votes. To secure the remaining votes for a filibuster-proof majority, unions are planning a massive rally today in Arkansas to pressure Blanche Lincoln, the state's Democratic senator who has withdrawn her support for the bill, to pull a Specter and change her mind yet again.� Arkansas is ground-zero for unions because it is a right-to-work state with low union enrollment. EFCA's elimination of secret ballot elections for unionization has garnered most of the critical attention. But the bill contains another controversial provision: compulsory arbitration. This would be no less destructive to the rights of employers and workers, and the economy as a whole. Exhibit A: Michigan.� Continued at �. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124726442317425169.html

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Court Orders Fed to Disclose Emergency Bank Loans, Aug 25, 2009
Mark Pittman, Bloomberg News: "The Federal Reserve must for the first time identify the companies in its emergency lending programs after losing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Manhattan Chief US District Judge Loretta Preska ruled against the central bank yesterday, rejecting the argument that loan records aren't covered by the law because their disclosure would harm borrowers' competitive positions." http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a7CC61ZsieV4

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Forbes, August 28, 2009 - The Party Of Medicare Bruce Bartlett, 08.28.09, 12:00 AM EDT � That's the GOP, in case you hadn't noticed. John F. Kennedy made the establishment of Medicare a major focus of the 1960 presidential campaign, and his election led to renewed efforts to enact a health program for the elderly, an idea that had been kicking around Congress for decades. It also led the American Medical Association (AMA) to ratchet up opposition efforts. Among those the AMA recruited in its fight against Medicare was a Hollywood actor named Ronald Reagan. He recorded a speech in 1961 explaining that Medicare was not just the first step toward a total government takeover of medicine, but the imposition of socialism throughout the economy. Said Reagan, "Behind it [Medicare] will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country until one day, as [Socialist Party leader] Norman Thomas said, we will awake to find that we have socialism." Continued at �. http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/27/medicare-republicans-george-w-bush-opinions-columnists-bruce-bartlett.html

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Attorney General Blumenthal rules on the following: Whether the State Employees Retirement Commission may use retirement fund assets for the purpose of paying overtime to employees in the Office of the State Comptroller Retirement and Benefit Services Division to address a backlog of final audits for retired state employees.¹ We conclude that the payment of overtime to Retirement Division audit unit staff from retirement fund assets in the circumstances described is permissible under state law.

http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=1770&Q=440652