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 JULY 26, 2009

Wall Street: Here comes the hard part, CNNMoney.com, July 26, 2009, 7 PM � Investors wade into the heaviest week of corporate reporting yet. Reports on GDP, housing, consumer confidence and manufacturing also due.� Continued at �.. http://money.cnn.com/2009/07/26/markets/sunday_weekahead/index.htm?cnn=yes

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STATE OF THE STATE

� Rell, lawmakers face deadline that carries $1 billion penalty, By Keith M. Phaneuf, Journal Inquirer, HARTFORD � The legislature and Gov. M. Jodi Rell have a new budget deadline bearing down on them in just five weeks.� And unlike past calendar benchmarks they�ve blown past without an agreement, this one would create a nearly $1 billion problem if not addressed by Sept. 1.� Specifically, unless Rell and lawmakers approve borrowing to cover last fiscal year�s deficit � soon � their plans to use the budget reserve to lessen what already is expected to be a significant tax hike this year will be thwarted.� State Comptroller Nancy Wyman wrote this week to legislative leaders and Rell, reminding them she�s required by law to use the reserve, commonly known as the Rainy Day Fund, to close the deficit if one exists two months after the fiscal year has ended.�� Continued at �.. http://ctact.org/default.asp?callcontent=yes&filename=ONEBILLION.htm%20%20%20&location=State_-_Budget&buttonname=State%20-%20Budget

� Connecticut Businesses Closing At Record Pace, By JANICE PODSADA, The Hartford Courant , July 2009 �. A record-breaking 6,944 Connecticut businesses closed in the first half of the year, the largest number of companies to call it quits since the state began keeping records in 2000, according to data released Monday by Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz. Business failures in the first six months were up 17 percent over the same period last year. If the trend continues, this year's business failures could exceed last year's record, a dismal 12-month period in which 13,456 Connecticut businesses closed, the largest number of shutdowns since 2000. Continued at �.. http://xml.courant.com/business/hc-business-stops0721.artjul21,0,6975865.story

� Rell, Legislature Finally Agree: Deficit Projected at $8.55 Billion, Christopher Keating, July 2009 Continued at �.� http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2009/07/rell-legislature-finally-agree.html

� Personal Bankruptcies In State Up 28% In 2nd Quarter, Ken Gosselin, Personal bankruptcy filings in Connecticut soared 28 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier as job losses and falling home values continued to take a toll on household budgets, according to a new report.� There were 2,638 personal bankruptcy filings in Connecticut in the three months ended June 30, compared with 2,054 for the same period in 2008, according to the report Tuesday from The Warren Group. Continued at �. http://www.courant.com/business/hc-bankruptcy0722.artjul22,0,4472758.story

� Connecticut Tax Revenues Plunge More Than 11 Percent In First Quarter Of 2009 , By DON STACOM ,The Hartford Courant�� Connecticut's tax revenues plunged more than 11 percent in the first quarter of the year, part of a nationwide trend that showed the steepest drop in more than 40 years, according to a new study.�� Continued at �. http://xml.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-connecticut-tax-revenue-0721.artjul21,0,5559252.story

� State workers making six figures, in retirement, By Don Michak, Journal Inquirer, �Nearly 200 retired state employees or their spouses are receiving, or are about to begin receiving, annual pensions of more than $100,000 � including two former University of Connecticut professors and the wife of a third who are paid benefits of more than $200,000, state records show.� Continued at �. http://ctact.org/default.asp?callcontent=yes&filename=Pensions.htm%20%20&location=State_-_Budget&buttonname=State%20-%20Budget

� Rell popularity takes tumble, legislators in free-fall Rell, a Republican, scores highest in her own party, with an 81 percent approval rating, and among independent voters, with 70 percent. Among Democrats, 49 percent approve of Rell and 45 percent disapprove.� Keith M. Phaneuf - Journal Inquirer - July 2009, Continued at �. http://ctact.org/default.asp?callcontent=yes&filename=RellPopularity.htm%20%20%20&location=State_-_Budget&buttonname=State%20-%20Budget

� Pratt & Whitney Jobs Headed To Georgia, Singapore, Union Officials Say, http://www.courant.com/business/hc-pratt-whitney-jobs-0724,0,1608703.story

Contained in this edition of Tax Talk�.

� By Dowd Muska: If You Can�t Outsource Lunchlady Doris �

� Web Wealth: Various web sites providing transparency of stimulus spending

� Rich Have Highest Wealth, Lowest Taxes Since 1929

� Federalist Society expands their Global Governance Watch web site.

� NO GAIN FOR DODD: Five-term Democrat Dodd still lags behind Simmons, although his approval rating is up

� The huge sums of money being spent on bailouts and the stimulus appear to have raised the ante on government waste

� Obama Health Policy Czar Led Companies in Trouble

� GE Promotes Manufacturing Jobs in US, Then Ships 'Em Overseas

� House Committee Backs Obama Student Loan Reform

� Obama Needs a Move to the Middle

� TIME MAGAZINE�.Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days

� House Passes Increase for Housing, High-Speed Rail�

� Analysis: Obama putting more emphasis on restraint

� Report: New York, New Jersey Immigration Raids Violated Rights

� The Coming Collapse Of The Middle Class (video 57:37)

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To Find Your State Legislator �.. http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/CGAFindLeg.asp

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Congratulations to Dowd Muska on an excellent report�.

By Dowd Muska: If You Can�t Outsource Lunchlady Doris� Think it will be easy to break public-employee unions� grip on Connecticut government? Listen to a recent tale from Windham. The municipality has a problem. The budget for food services in its government schools has ballooned, causing a loss of $210,000 between 2006 and 2008.�We can�t continue to do business like this,� said the school board�s chairman. Apparently, it can. On July 14, a proposal to replace in-house cafeteria work with Sodexo, a firm that promised a first-year savings of $141,000, was unanimously defeated by the board. Public-employee unions� standard dishonest, demagogic, and downright pathetic tactics dominated the non-debate. �The children� would suffer -- possibly by eating poisoned food imported from China! Hiring an outside entity would �add an extra layer of bureaucracy.� Do you know how badly Sodexo treats its employees? And besides, haven�t you seen our billboards? Privatization Equals Corruption Continued at �. http://dowdmuska.com/

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Web Wealth, By Reid Kanaley, Inquirer Columnist, http://www.philly.com/inquirer/business/tech/20090726_Web_Wealth_.html

Finding out about how the federal government is spending those billions targeted at reviving the economy is no easy task. As the promised transparency remains a fog, these sites help to clear it.

ProPublica. The public-interest journalism site ProPublica has a growing effort to track stimulus and bailout spending. With details coming at a trickle from official sources, ProPublica is enlisting the public's help, for example, in a "stimulus spot check" that would put volunteer trackers on a sample of 500 highway and other transportation projects allotted stimulus money. Sign up by clicking "I'm on it" for a project near you.� www.propublica.org

Librarians unite. University librarians have banded together to run this freegovinfo.info site that promotes access to U.S. government information for citizens, watchdog groups, journalists, and others. The "Bailout" page features posts about the trouble researchers are having in tracking bailout funds, and links to sites that post results from inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. The site's "Docuticker" lists latest postings. The top one, when we looked, was an alarming report: "Nerve Gas Leak Detectors Inoperative for Years."

http://go.philly.com/freegovinfo

Rummaging around. The Government Attic site publishes more results from FOIA requests, and many have to do with the economy, banking, and related money issues. These include e-mail culled from the Federal Reserve concerning the processing of FOIA requests from Bloomberg News seeking missing bailout documentation, and post-mortem reviews of failed credit unions. Wide-ranging information requests also delve into Secret Service logs, investigations of American Indian tribal businesses, and the Iraq war.� http://Governmentattic.org

Recovery central. This is Washington's detail-challenged site dedicated to tracking the spending of recovery funds. The site is promising to post reports from stimulus recipients "beginning in October."� www.recovery.gov

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Rich Have Highest Wealth, Lowest Taxes Since 1929 � David Sirota, Coloradaoan.com: "Here's a truism: The wealthiest 1 percent have never had it so good. According to government figures, 1 percenters' share of America's total income is the highest it's been since 1929, and their tax rates are the lowest they've faced in two decades." http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20090724/COLUMNISTS91/907240312

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Congratulations to THE FEDERLIST SOCIETY for their Expansion of the Federalist Society�s Global Governance Watch web site. http://www.globalgovernancewatch.org

The following is a message from Brian Freeman, Chairman of the Connecticut Chapter of the Federalist Society. Brian provides further insight into this excellent web site which should be accessed frequently to keep current on global events and issues to include their impact on the United States and Connecticut.�

From Brian Freeman:� The Federalist Society's Global Governance Watch� website is the best source for information relating to the global governance efforts of the United Nations, its various agencies, non-governmental organizations, international courts, and treaty bodies.

About a year ago,� the Federalist Society, in collaboration with the American Enterprise Institute, launched its Global Governance Watch� website. This website grew out of the former NGOWatch project. Rather than simply looking at the work of NGOs in isolation, AEI and the Federalist Society felt that it would be of greater value to study the growing trend towards global governance as a whole. Global Governance Watch� (GGW) was created to examine issues of transparency, accountability and national sovereignty as they pertain to the global governance movement.

The GGW website studies the global governance movement by focusing on four thematic areas: Human Security (i.e., human rights), Global Regulation (especially with respect to the environment and health), Development (including economics and corporate social responsibility), and National Security. For an example of the types of articles featured on the website, please click here. I encourage those who are interested to review the entire GGW website at http://www.globalgovernancewatch.org/.

You are welcome to sign up to receive weekly GGW updates at http://www.globalgovernancewatch.org/my_ggw/.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at bfreeman@rc.com.

Thank you for your interest in the Federalist Society and I encourage you to access our web site frequently to keep current on global issues.�� Brian Freeman

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NO GAIN FOR DODD: Five-term Democrat Dodd still lags behind Simmons, although his approval rating is up, Journal Inquirer, July 24, 2009� A new poll suggests that the state�s many independent voters continue to spurn U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, the five-term Democrat the survey shows trailing potential Republican challenger Robert R. Simmons by 48 percent to 39 percent.

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THEIR OPINION: It's 'only' a few million, July 26, 2009, The huge sums of money being spent on bailouts and the stimulus appear to have raised the ante on government waste. By: The Bismarck Tribune, Bismarck

BISMARCK � The huge sums of money being spent on bailouts and the stimulus appear to have raised the ante on government waste.� The national debt, driven by enormous deficits, will reach the $1 trillion mark this year. A great deal of this red ink has been a response to a meltdown of financial markets and the failure of �too-big-to-fail� companies. The federal government has taken over General Motors and Chrysler. It has bailed out Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. A wave of stimulus funds, exceeding $700 billion, has local and state governments awash in cash. And unemployment is creeping toward 10 percent nationally. Continued at �.. http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/127627/

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Obama Health Policy Czar Led Companies in Trouble
Fred Schulte, American University: "Nancy-Ann DeParle, President Barack Obama's health policy czar, served as a director of corporations that faced scores of federal investigations, whistleblower lawsuits and other regulatory actions, according to government records reviewed by the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31566399/ns/health-health_care/

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GE Promotes Manufacturing Jobs in US, Then Ships 'Em Overseas, July 22, 2009,� Mike Elk, The Huffington Post: "Jeffery Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, has led the outsourcing charge in the past. So commentators were shocked last month when, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, Immelt said that the United States needs to invest in American manufacturing in order to get out of our current economic crisis.... Immelt should heed his own advice." Continued at �. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/ge-promotes-manufacturing_b_241944.html

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House Committee Backs Obama Student Loan Reform, July 21, 2009, �
Reuters: "The $92 billion US college student loan market would be fundamentally reshaped under a bill approved on Tuesday by a Congressional committee, which sent the measure on to the full House of Representatives."� Continued at �.. http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE56K5PS20090721

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Wall Street Journal:� Obama Needs a Move to the Middle , By Michael J. Boskin, July 23, 2009�� While strong recoveries sometimes follow deep recessions, historically recoveries following financial crises have been slow and painful. The specter of massive future tax hikes and inflation is worsening the outlook. We need a better, more coherent policy path back to a strong market economy�not to a European style social-welfare state, permanent government lifelines and stagflation. The last time we had a comparable economic crisis�the double-digit inflation, 20% interest rates, near 11% unemployment, and even larger inflation-adjusted stock market decline of the late 1970s and early �80s�a new policy path was charted consisting of low tax rates, sound money, slower spending growth, free trade and less intrusive regulation. Those policies pulled us out of stagflation and led to a quarter-century of growth. Moving so far in the exact opposite direction invites eventual disaster for American workers and firms. Half a year and two million lost jobs since the stimulus bill was passed, less than 10% of the funds have been disbursed and what has been been saved, not spent, by consumers. Out of the $320 billion increase in personal disposable income, some from the increased transfer payments in the stimulus bill, personal consumption outlays have risen only $1 billion. That�s far short of President Barack Obama�s promised �immediate� help. Nor has there been the promised �multiplier� on every stimulus dollar spent. Infrastructure spending in the pipeline will likely deliver more than this, but a lot less than advertised. Score the stimulus a very expensive, tragically wasted opportunity.

Pressure is building from the left for a second stimulus program. That would make the $787 billion stimulus bill one of the most expensive mulligans in history. We should be wary of expensive additional fiscal stimulus. Unless it consists of the permanent tax rate cuts that history teaches are most effective and is accompanied by real future spending cuts, such a stimulus is unlikely to decrease unemployment much.� Continued at �.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574302332578189864.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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TIME MAGAZINE�.Inside Bush and Cheney's Final Days, July 23, 2009,� ��
Massimo Calabresi and Michael Weisskopf, Time Magazine: "Hours before they were to leave office after eight troubled years, George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney had one final and painful piece of business to conclude. For over a month, Cheney had been pleading, cajoling, even pestering Bush to pardon the vice president's former chief of staff, I. Lewis (Scooter) Libby. Libby had been convicted nearly two years earlier of obstructing an investigation into the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity by senior White House officials. The Libby pardon, aides reported, had become something of a crusade for Cheney, who seemed prepared to push his nine-year-old relationship with Bush to the breaking point - and perhaps past it - over the fate of his former aide. 'We don't want to leave anyone on the battlefield,' Cheney argued."

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1912297,00.html

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House Passes Increase for Housing, High-Speed Rail , July 24, 2009,
Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press: "The Democratic-dominated House Thursday approved generous funding for housing subsidies for the poor and President Barack Obama's initiative to build high-speed railroads."� Continued at http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gBPaHA8wyvhZsKWPW8Uxp30QpfqgD99KFFKO1

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Analysis: Obama putting more emphasis on restraint, The Associated Press, July 23, 2009, The deficit in the current budget year is now estimated to come in at more than $1.8 trillion, pushed higher by the stimulus spending, bailouts �. An Associated Press-GfK Poll shows public confidence has reversed on whether the president's $787 billion stimulus package, passed by Congress in February, will ultimately work to improve the economy.� In January, 58 percent were confident it would. Now, it's the opposite, with 58 percent saying they doubt the stimulus will bring any significant improvement. Continued at �. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMwaHmDXVie0-ZCXhzIiPq1hKAUAD99KDNR03

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Report: New York, New Jersey Immigration Raids Violated Rights, July 22, 2009, Deepti Hajela, The Associated Press: "Immigration agents raiding homes for suspected illegal immigrants violated the US Constitution by entering without proper consent and may have used racial profiling, a report analyzing arrest records found."� Continued at �. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jE_zsdA7eB5XpncPXAxlqGHIwufAD99J8U602

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The Coming Collapse Of The Middle Class (video 57:37)
Distinguished law scholar Elizabeth Warren teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School. She is an outspoken critic of America's credit economy, which she has linked to the continuing rise in bankruptcy among the middle-class.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A

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