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Home
October 21, 2016

October 21, 2016

 

 

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

 

 

RECENT HEADLINES EXPOSE

 

CONNECTICUTS FISCAL CRISIS

 

 

BREAKING: 

 

CTs fiscal woes could mean higher municipal borrowing costs

 

 

By Keith M. Phaneuf, CtMirror.org, Oct 20, 2016

 

A major Wall Street credit rating agency warned Thursday that Connecticuts state budget woes and dim economic growth could make it more costly for its cities and towns to get credit.

In a new report titled Connecticut Budgetary Pressures and Dim Economic Growth Dampen Local Government Credit, S&P Global Ratings cited high property tax burdens, potential cuts in municipal aid and rising pension costs in municipal budgets as additional factors that could boost borrowing costs or otherwise make it harder for communities to get credit. Read on



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Detroit Bankruptcy: 6 Lessons For Hartford

 

Hartford Courant‎ - 8 hours ago

 

Cities rightly fear bankruptcy because it sends them running naked under harsh light, a cry for help exactly as they are asking people to move in. But the national shame is more about the colossal mess that leads up to bankruptcy than the petition itself — which sends a signal that the city is finally facing its crises. Read More

 

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Hartford Mayor, Staring at Insolvency, Wants Regional Solution-Fidelity Investments

 

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New Pew Trust Report: Connecticut Has One of Highest Public Debt to

Personal Income Ratios

 

CTNewsJunkie.com reports Connecticut has one of the highest ratios of debt to personal income and the fifth highest ratio of state retiree health care liabilities to income, according to a Pew Charitable Trusts report released Tuesday.

 

The report, which measured each states pension, health care and debt costs as a percentage of personal income, put Connecticuts total liabilities at $67.5 billion dollars or 30 percent of personal income. The ratio of public debt to private income is 8.8 percent, which ties Connecticut with Massachusetts for the second highest rate of public debt.

 

When pension, healthcare and public debt are totalled, Connecticut has the fifth highest rate of unfunded liabilities. Connecticuts pension woes are well documented. The states pension obligations are about 40 percent funded, according to the 2015 actuarial valuation of the fund. Only 7 other states have a higher rate of unfunded liabilities.  Continue reading at http://www.ccm-ct.org/pewreportctdebt

 

 

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Accounting Group Says Connecticut Has Second Highest Tax Burden

 

 

CTNewsJunkie.com reports Connecticut has the second-highest taxpayer burden in the nation, according to a report released this week by a think tank.

 

The states tax burden the amount each individual taxpayer would have to pay the state treasury for the state to be debt free is $49,000, according to Truth in Accounting (TIA), a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that analyzes government financial reporting. Continue reading at http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/accounting_group_says_connecticut_has_second_highest_tax_burden/

 

 

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 Connecticut rainy day reserve among the lowest in the nation 

 

 

Connecticut was the 7th lowest-ranked state in the country for state budget reserves even before it drained another $170.4 million out of its rainy day fund last week to close a deficit at the end of the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to a recent report from Pew Research. Read more at http://trendct.org/2016/10/04/connecticuts-rainy-day-still-below-pre-recession-levels/

 

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Report ranks Connecticut last in fiscal health

 

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In Bridgeport, Property Values Plummet, but Taxes Soar for Some

 

New York Times

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Moodys Drops Hartford Bond Rating Again

 

 

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STATE DEBT AND DEFICITS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE

 

CONNECTICUT AND ITS TAXPAYERS  

 

 

 

The States $71 Billion Debt according to the Latest Fiscal Accountability Report is due to what Taxpayers owe State Retirees for Pensions and Healthcare

 

STATE DEBT

 

 

$71 BILLION DOLLARS

  

 

As noted within the States latest

 

 

 [PDF]Fiscal Accountability Report - Connecticut General Assembly

 

 

 The majority of state debt is due to lucrative pension and healthcare benefits promised by legally binding contracts to public employees as noted below in red.

 And Taxpayers Are Forced to Pay the Bill!!!!

 

  

STATE OF CT LONG TERM DEBT OBLIGATIONS IN BILLIONS

 

 

 

 

Unfunded Liabilities

Nov. 2014

Nov. 2015

Difference

Debt Outstanding

$21.3

$22.8

$1.5

State Employee Retirement System (SERS)

13.3

14.9

1.6

Teachers Retirement System

10.8

10.8

0

State Post Employment Health and Life

19.5

19.5

0

Teachers Post Employment Health

2.4

2.4

0

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Deficit

1.1

0.7

-0.4

TOTAL

$68.4 BILLION

$71.1 BILLION

$2.7 BILLION

 

 

 

A Fiscal Tsunami is about to Descend upon our State

As 14 State Union Contracts are About to be Negotiated.
The Federation of CT - Taxpayer Org - September 2016