Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

CPAs to Lawmakers: The State Is Broke by Christine Stuart | CTNewsJunkie Apr 6, 2011 The Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants were at the Capitol Tuesday trying to give legislators the courage to do the right thing by getting rid of the s

From The Federation of Connecticut

Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.�
Contact Susan Kniep, President

Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com

Telephone: 860-841-8032

April 11, 2011

A Message from the Tea Party

Rally on Friday April 15

Tax Day Tea Party

Hartford Capitol, 12 Noon to 3 PM

newhaventeaparty@gmail.com

We�ve Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers | United States ...� By STEPHEN MOORE Wall St. Journal, April 2011, More Americans work for the government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined. If you want to understand better why so many states�from New York to Wisconsin to California�are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government. It gets worse. More Americans work for the government than work in construction, farming, fishing, forestry, manufacturing, mining and utilities combined. We have moved decisively from a nation of makers to a nation of takers. Nearly half of the $2.2 trillion cost of state and local governments is the $1 trillion-a-year tab for pay and benefits of state and local employees. Is it any wonder that so many states and cities cannot pay their bills? If you want to understand better why so many states�from New York to Wisconsin to California�are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider this depressing statistic: Today in America there are nearly twice as many people working for the government (22.5 million) than in all of manufacturing (11.5 million). This is an almost exact reversal of the situation in 1960, when there were 15 million workers in manufacturing and 8.7 million collecting a paycheck from the government. Full story at �.. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704050204576219073867182108.html

Supreme Court upholds tax break for Arizona religious schools April 05, 2011|By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau, LATimes, The ruling amounts to implicit approval of similar laws in other states that offer tax credits for those who support religious schools. http://articles.latimes.com/2011/apr/05/nation/la-na-court-religion-20110405

Committee OK�s Amazon Tax

by Christine Stuart | CTNewsJunkie.org �Apr 7, 2011 �Finance, Revenue, and Bonding Committee voted 38 to 14 Thursday in favor of a bill that would require Internet stores, such as Amazon, with no physical presence in the state to collect sales tax on purchases by Connecticut residents. Article is continued at http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/committee_oks_amazon_tax/

Debt Ceiling Looms as Next Battle

The U.S. had $14.212 trillion in debt as of Thursday,

putting it $82 billion under the ceiling.

Article on Debt Ceiling continues�.. April 9, 2011Wall St Journal By DAMIAN PALETTA Wall St Journal The brawl in Washington over how to fund the government through September has served as a dry run for looming fights with higher stakes, particularly the debate over whether to raise the limit on how much the government can borrow. The divisive fight has raised concerns among lawmakers and government officials that Democrats and Republicans in Congress will find it even harder to decide whether to increase the federal debt ceiling above $14.294 trillion in the next few weeks. And after that, they will have to turn to crafting a government budget for 2012 and eventually to tackling the long-term federal deficit. Read Complete article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704843404576251213484999994.html?mod=WSJ_WSJ_US_News_5

Layoff Instructions Sent To Agency Heads

by Christine Stuart | CTNewsJunkie.org �Apr 6, 2011 2:10pm
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/layoff_instructions_sent_to_agency_heads/

COULD YOUR PROPERTY BE AFFECTED�..NEWS ALERTS TO Residents of Andover, Avon, Bloomfield, Bolton, Canton, East Granby, East Hartford, East Windsor, Ellington, Enfield, Farmington, Glastonbury, Granby, Hartford, Hebron, Manchester, Marlborough, Newington, Rocky Hill, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Stafford, Suffield, Tolland, Vernon, West Hartford, Wethersfield, Windsor, and Windsor Locks.� CRCOG proposing to amend the Capitol Region Transportation Plan. �A meeting to receive input on the DRAFT Plan and the associated AQCA is scheduled for: April 25, 11 a.m. at CRRA Recycling Center, 211 Murphy Road, Hartford. The DRAFT Transportation Plan is available on CRCOG�s website at www.crcog.org or by calling: (860) 522-2217, x210. Comments on the DRAFT can be emailed to: kolson@crcog.org faxed to: (860) 724-1274, or mailed to: CRCOG, 241 Main Street, Hartford, CT 06106. Written comments will be accepted until May 4, but you are encouraged to submit them by April 20 to allow time for full consideration. The Policy Board is scheduled to act on the Transportation Plan at the May 4 meeting.

http://www.westhartfordnews.com/articles/2011/04/09/news/doc4d9f92163240d142388614.txt?viewmode=fullstory

US Sees Array of New Threats at Japan's Nuclear Plant by James Glanz and William J. Broad, The New York Times April 5, 2011 "United States government engineers sent to help with the crisis in Japan are warning that the troubled nuclear plant there is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable, according to a confidential assessment prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission."�
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/asia/06nuclear.html?_r=2&ref=global-home

Qaddafi Paid Millions to US Firms to Polish His Global Image http://articles.cnn.com/2011-04-06/world/libya.gadhafi.image_1_moammar-gadhafi-libyan-opposition-global-image?_s=PM:WORLD

Off-the-Charts Income Gains for Super-Rich
Read the Article at Yahoo! News

Boehner Declares That He Stands With the Tea Party
Read the Article at Politico

A Sunday at the union hall with Malloy By Mark Pazniokas on April 10, 2011 NEW BRITAIN--As he presses state employees for givebacks, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy stood in solidarity Sunday with union leaders in their contract fight with the American Red Cross, putting his complicated relationship with organized labor on public display. Read more http://www.ctmirror.org/story/12185/sunday-union-hall-malloy

In GOP's new plan, big health cost shift to elderly� Apr 06, 2011A report from the Congressional Budget Office provided added fodder for critics, after nonpartisan experts concluded most future retirees would pay considerably more for health care under the GOP approach � which turns Medicare into a voucher-like plan for those now 54 and younger. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42420995

The tense dance of Dan Malloy and organized labor By Mark Pazniokas on April 8, 2011 State employee unions spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year to elect Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Now, they must decide if it is worth $1 billion in concessions to make him a success. Read more at http://www.ctmirror.org/story/12157/tense-dance-dan-malloy-and-labor

Ubi�as: Police Nepotism Puts Public Safety At Risk� If Windsor Locks Wasn't Convincing Enough, Now There's Meriden April 10, 2011 http://www.courant.com/community/windsor-locks/hc-ubinas-nepotism0410-20110410,0,6121207.column

U.S. Nuclear-Disaster Preparedness Hobbled by Uncertain Chain of Command�� by Sasha Chavkin, ProPublica, and Sheri Fink, Special to ProPublica

Emergency plans call for local officials to take charge first in a radiological disaster. How and when the federal government would step in isn't so clear. Continued at �. http://www.propublica.org/article/u.s.-nuclear-disaster-preparedness-hobbled-by-uncertain-chain-of-command

House Calls for Drastic Cuts in Hospital Preparedness Funding by Sasha Chavkin The House of Representatives passed a budget measure that would cut the federal Hospital Preparedness Program by $185 million, a 44 percent reduction from last year's budget. Continued at �. http://www.propublica.org/article/house-calls-for-drastic-cuts-in-hospital-preparedness-funding

More coverage: Nuclear Crisis

Justices OK Tax Credit to Aid Religious Schools - GovCentral.com The 5-4 decision is a major win for those who support the �school choice� movement and aid to parochial schools, and a potentially far-reaching loss for defenders of the separation of church and state. Complete report at http://govcentral.monster.com/news/articles/28340-justices-ok-tax-credit-to-aid-religious-schools

A Look At The Federal Budget The Market Ticker � - Commentary on The Capital Markets April 8, 2011 Let's start a real discussion on this issue. As said on CNBC this morning, our government continues to play "powder puff" instead of dealing with the issue Continued at �.. http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=183855

The tense public dance of Dan Malloy and organized labor By Mark Pazniokas April 8, 2011 State employee unions spent hundreds of thousands of dollars last year to elect Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Now, they must decide if it is worth $1 billion in concessions to make him a success. Continued at �. http://www.ctmirror.org/story/12157/tense-dance-dan-malloy-and-labor