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Report: Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors find blood clot

 

Report: Hillary Clinton hospitalized after doctors find blood clot

 

 

December 30, 2012 

 

 

From:  The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact:  Susan Kniep, President
Website:
http://ctact.org/
Email:
fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032

 

 

FISCAL CLIFF! 

 

WILL THERE BE A

 

$$$ DEAL OR NO DEAL $$$

 

 

 

Senators told not to make New Year's Eve plans as talks continue

 

 

 

On Sunday, Dec 30, 2012 at 8:24pm EST, Reuters reported Washington pushes United States to edge of "fiscal cliff"  noting:  Lawmakers pushed the country to the edge of the "fiscal cliff" on Sunday as they struggled to reach a last-minute deal that could protect the world's largest economy from a politically induced recession. Democratic and Republican leaders in the Senate had hoped to clear the way for swift action that would avert sweeping tax increases and spending cuts due to kick in on Tuesday. But with the two sides still at loggerheads in talks, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid postponed any possible votes and the Senate adjourned until Monday, leaving mere hours to pass any deal that may emerge through both chambers of a bitterly divided Congress. "There are still significant differences between the two sides," Reid said on the Senate floor.  Continue to read the article at http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCABRE8A80WV20121231

 

 

As the deadline grows near which could bring us over the Fiscal Cliff, news reports focusing on Connecticut note that  State's unemployed will be first to feel fall over the 'fiscal cliff' | The  , Connecticut defense firms first in line to fall over fiscal cliff | The ...  putting more than 36,000 jobs in Connecticut at risk, and  UConn journal: Job growth may lag until second half of 2013 -- or later if fiscal cliff isn't averted, and  Why Connecticuts Deficit Keeps Reappearing

 

 

Although today a Deal reached for stopping spike in milk prices, The Hill reported at 7:30 PM  House Democrats urge GOP to allow vote on Obama's $250K tax-break threshold ….  urging Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to stage a vote on President Obama's proposal to extend tax breaks only on incomes below $250,000. The Democrats insist that Obama's bare-bones legislation – which also includes provisions to extend emergency unemployment benefits – represents the best chance for Congress to prevent tax hikes from hitting middle-class workers on Jan. 1, as current law dictates. Continue reading at http://thehill.com/homenews/house/274931-house-dems-urge-vote-on-obamas-250k-tax-break-threshold

 

Prior to the 7:30 PM report, at 4:30 PM The Hill reported that Spending sequester emerges as key to deal noting: A Senate fiscal cliff deal on Sunday appears to be threatened more by differences on spending cuts rather than on whose taxes will go up on Jan. 1.  Senate Democrats and Republicans are hung up on how to deal with $109 billion in sequester cuts to defense and non-defense spending that forms part of the fiscal cliff.  Senators and their aides say that both sides are closer on how to extend the Bush era tax rates, with Democrats willing to back off their demand that taxes go up for everyone making more than $250,000 per year.   “That is gone. The president already said $400,000,” Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) told reporters.  While Hutchison and other Republicans want to keep the estate tax as is—with an exemption to $5.2 million—the GOP is also showing flexibility. “It can’t go to a million,” she said.   But the sequester is proving to be a hard nut to crack. Hutchison said Democrats are demanding that the deal turn off two years of automatic spending cuts, not just those in 2013.  Continue reading at http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/budget/274919-spending-sequester-emerges-as-key-to-deal

 

 

The Hill also reported that Senate inches toward fiscal deal noting:  Senate Republicans say Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is willing to drop his demand to curb the growth of Social Security cost-of-living increases. The demand from McConnell had thrown a wrench into talks Sunday on a “fiscal cliff” deal, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Nev.) and other Democrats quickly balked at the request, which they said they could not accept. But a number of Senate Republicans said it was not a core demand of their conference, suggesting taking it out of a deal would not prevent a last-second agreement from being reached. Continue reading this article at http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/274917-mcconnell-talking-to-biden-willing-to-drop-social-security-demand

 

 

As Americans remain at risk of being pushed over the Fiscal Cliff (What is the Fiscal Cliff?) and landing on billions of dollars in tax increases and spending cuts, members of Congress  joined federal workers in seeing their pay increase by 0.5 percent as reported by The Hill  in their article Congress, federal workers to get raise  

 

 

As the Huffington Post reported “the 112th Congress is set to end the session as the most unproductive since the 1940s, with only 219 bills passed by the body becoming law” some might feel that the increase for Congress was not based on merit.

 

 

On the home front, other benefactors of government money were those who benefited from Governor Malloy’s giveaway of millions of Connecticut taxpayer dollars based on speculative job creation as noted within  State focuses on bankrolling businesses .

 

 

Bloomberg news recently focused on Governor Malloy, the former Mayor of Stamford, giving a $20 million loan to UBS to keep at least 2,000 of their employees in Stamford.  The Bloomberg article captioned UBS Gets Loan While Connecticut Economy Falters: Muni Credit further notes that the loan will be forgiven if the 2,000 employees remain in Stamford until the year 2017, emphasizing that Malloy “in his first two years in office gave companies a record amount of tax incentives, only to see the economy stall and the state budget fall into deficit. “Connecticut doesn’t seem to be yet fully on top of what the competitive world looks like,” said Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. “Financial services is like manufacturing. It’s not a sector that’s going to be a job creator.”  

 

 

Bloomberg further notes that Connecticut:  has one of the nation’s highest jobless rates, at 8.8 percent in November, compared with the 7.7 percent U.S. average. It had 87,000 fewer jobs last month compared with the peak in 2008 after the 18-month recession began. According to the state Labor Department, among the weakest areas has been finance, which includes banks and insurers. The industry lost 3,000 jobs in the last year, even with the governor’s efforts. Continue reading the article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-24/ubs-gets-loan-while-connecticut-economy-falters-muni-credit.html

 

 

Recently, the Federation noted: State Cannot Pay Its Bills, Governor Authorizes Over 500 Million Dlrs Credit  as we also reported on the The State of  Connecticut’s recently released

 [PDF]   Fiscal Accountability Report - Connecticut General Assembly - C which illustrates the State of Connecticut’s significant debt.

 

 

 

State Budget Outlook (in millions)

 

FY 13 $

FY 14 $

FY 15 $

FY 16 $

Estimated Expenditures

19,335.8

20,861.7

22,048.7

23,070.7

Estimated Revenue

19,015.1

19,723.6

21,032.3

22,136.6

Surplus/(Deficit)

($320.7)

($1,138.1)

($1,016.4)

($934.1)

% of Estimated Expenditures

-1.7%

-5.5%

-4.6%

-4.0%

 

 

While Bloomberg places Connecticut in the national spotlight,  Arielle Levin Becker of CTMirror.org writes  Audit cites Department of Public Health procedural weaknesses noting…. The state Department of Public Health issued licenses to day-care facilities without the needed criminal background checks on employees, failed to take action against a dentist despite four complaints, and paid more than $25,000 to volunteer stem cell grant reviewers that it might not have had the authority to spend, according to a state audit released Thursday. The audit, which covered the period from July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2009, also raised concerns about the department's oversight of contracts and overtime payments, and inadequate membership of licensing boards and commissions….. The auditors also raised concerns about the handling of contracts for human-service programs. During the period covered by the audit, DPH approved 807 contracts for $192.6 million. But only 7 percent of those contracts were approved before their official start date. And 362 of the contracts -- nearly 45 percent -- were approved between 91 and 548 days after the contractual start date. Continue reading this article at http://www.ctmirror.org/story/18575/dph-day-care-background-checks-audit

 

 

Also reported by CTMirror.org was Panel: Pay raises of college system's central office unnecessary noting that ….Eighteen of the 21 controversial pay raises unilaterally approved last year by the state's former college president have been determined to be inappropriate.  Basically, the salaries were competitive before the raises," said Naomi K. Cohen, the chairwoman of the panel tasked by the Board of Regents for Higher Education to examine the $299,532 in raises awarded earlier this year. "Workload increases, by themselves, do not justify [salary] increases," the review by Owen-Pottier Inc. concluded.  The 18 raises that the panel has decided to stall indefinitely would have cost the system $131,700 a year. Another $120,000 in raises, however, are moving forward for three top central office officials. Elsa Nunez will make $347,460 a year for her joint role as president of Eastern Connecticut State University and the system's vice president for state universities. David Levinson, Norwalk Community College President and the system's vice president for community colleges will make $252,188 a year. Braden Hosch, the director for policy and research will make $149,000 a year, a $24,000 a year boost for temporarily taking on the responsibilities of the director of academic programs and student services. Continue reading this article at http://www.ctmirror.org/story/18563/panel-pay-raises-college-systems-central-office-unwarranted

 

 

Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, writes that 5% Think Congress Is Doing A Good or Excellent Job With the nation teetering on the brink of the "fiscal cliff," Congress' job approval ratings have fallen back to the lowest level of the year.  Read More 

 

As US Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner Warns Lawmakers Debt Standoff Risks U.S. Default, check out How Much the 'Fiscal Cliff' Will Cost You - Rick Newman (usnews.com) as the tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect total more than $600 billion per year—with tax hikes accounting for most of that.

 

As USNews Reports ….So while the policies under debate are somewhat arcane, the outcome could lead to tax hikes for virtually every American if Congress plunges over the fiscal cliff, even temporarily.

[The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center says that if all the scheduled tax increases occur, the average household would have to fork over an extra $3,400 to Uncle Sam next year. Here's the average hike taxpayers would face, broken down by income group:

  • Lowest fifth of households (average income: $11,239): $412
  • Second-lowest fifth (average income: $29,204): $1,231
  • Middle fifth (average income: $49,842): $1,984
  • Second-highest fifth (average income: $80,080): $3,540
  • Highest fifth (average income: $178,020): $14,173
  • Top 1 percent (average income: about $1.3 million): $120,537

The biggest hit for most people would come from the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, which would raise income-tax rates for everybody by 3 to 5 percentage points, depending on the tax bracket. Continue reading at http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/rick-newman/2012/11/12/how-much-the-fiscal-cliff-will-cost-you

 

With only hours to go, have you placed your bet on whether or not we will tumble off the Fiscal Cliff?    Scott Rasmussen of The Rasmussen Report offers his opinion as to why Tax Reform Works for Voters, Not for Political Class: By Scott Rasmussen while noting “The ability to control deductions allows politicians to direct money into politically approved areas of the economy or to help the politically well connected”.   It’s also interesting to reflect on the many multi millionaires we have in Congress who could be working toward their own financial interest.

 

 

In the article captioned Tax Bracket Calculator Brings Perspective to the Fiscal Cliff, its author Ross Kenneth Urken notes the following: Tax brackets are moving targets, shifting as the years go by in the eternal political tug-of-war. That's the story of the fiscal cliff, with Democrats generally championing tax hikes for the rich and Republicans favoring decreased governmental aid to the less fortunate. With Pres. Barack Obama returning from his holiday in Hawaii to try to resolve the fiscal cliff conflict, we thought it was worth sharing this interactive chart created by Ritchie King at Quartz. You can type in your taxable income and see your tax rate in any year, going all the way back to 1913. Although many are arguing that tax rates are too high, a historical glance at effective income tax rates -- defined as what you pay in federal taxes divided by your taxable income -- indicates that current percentages for top income earners are significantly lower than in decades gone by. During the 1950s and '60s, for example, the top income tax rate was over 90 percent. The article is continued at http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/12/27/tax-bracket-calculator-brings-perspective-to-the-fiscal-cliff/

 

 

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Visit the Federation’s Website at

http://ctact.org/