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Thank you.
February 26, 2012
From The Federation of Connecticut
Taxpayer Organizations, Inc.
Contact Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
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BP OIL SPILL TRIAL TO BEGIN
8:41AM: It's been nearly two years since the
Deepwater Horizon disaster, but the legal battle over the spill is just
beginning. More
Gas
prices keep climbing | Check
prices
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Teacher Ratings Aired in New York By STEPHANIE BANCHERO Feb 25, 2012 Wall St
Journal The release of a trove of data
evaluating New York City teachers on their ability to boost student test scores
represents a potentially powerful new tool for parents to assess their
children's public schools.
Live Chat on Feb. 27 Ask former D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee about teacher rankings and education policy. Leave
your questions.
Nationally, teachers unions have
staunchly opposed releasing such information, and even some supporters of
linking teacher evaluations to student-test scores worry the data could be
misunderstood or misused. If school districts across the U.S. were to begin
taking similar actions, it could add to pressure on school administrators to
improve or to remove their weakest teachers.In New
York, the nation's largest school system, the teachers' union opposed release
of the data on 18,000 public-school teachers. A state court ordered the release
in response to a public-records request by The Wall Street Journal and other
news organizations. It comes 18 months after the Los Angeles Times published a
database, calculated by the newspaper, of teacher rankings in Los Angeles, the
nation's second-largest school district.Read
complete article at …… http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203918304577243591163104860.html?mod=ITP_pageone_0
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Survey on teachers who don't belong in the classroom By Jacqueline
Rabe Thomas Feb 24, 2012 11:35am "We all know there are teachers in
the classroom who don't belong there." That was the message Gov. Dannel P. Malloy brought to legislators this week to sell
his education reform package to them. A survey released Friday by the New
Haven education reform group ConnCAN
indicates teachers and other educators agree. Fifty percent of the 400 surveyed
responded that they agree there are ineffective teachers in their school who
should not be teaching. Continued at ….. http://www.ctmirror.org/blogs/political-mirror
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From The Connecticut
Tea Party
3rd Anniversary Rally on Monday, February 27
Time: 11 AM to 1 PM, Place: Connecticut
Supreme Court
front steps, 231 Capitol Avenue, Hartford (across from the State Capitol)
Parking: http://www.enjoyhartford.com/pdfs/parkingmap.pdf
Guest Speakers: Martha Dean
and Peter Wolfgang
Contacts:
bobmac@rightprinciples.com, wayne@fullcirclewood.com, hartfordteaparty415@gmail.com,
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From the Yankee Institute:
Heritage President Ed Feulner Coming to
Stamford
The Yankee Institute is pleased to host Dr. Ed Feulner
on Monday, March 5, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. at the Stamford Sheraton at 700 East Main
Street, Stamford, CT.
The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and include hors d'oeuvres
and free parking. Click to visit our site to register
now. All questions should be directed to Jessica at (860) 282-0722
or jessica@yankeeinstitute.org.
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The Connecticut
Mirror Presents...
Early Childhood Education: Connecticut’s
Future An Education Forum
Thursday, March 8, 2012, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
At The Lyceum, 27 Lawrence Street, Hartford, CT
Contact Paula Stabnick,
Event Coordintor
The Connecticut
Mirror
Register at …. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5kln1tqfe98ce66&llr=eco8pgdab
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Steven Greenhut: Bankruptcy may be only way … out
for cities, states By STEVEN GREENHUT Special to the Register letters@ocregister.com Feb 25, 2012
The problem in the public sector is that government never is allowed to
fail. There never is a day of reckoning no matter how poorly government
provides its so-called services. Read complete report at
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/bankruptcy-341825-unions-reform.html
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The Heritage Foundation on Social Security Reform: True Insurance for Seniors and
Retirees Our plan transforms the main federal
entitlement programs - Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - into real
insurance programs. We provide financial security to retirees, guarantee
assistance to people who need it, and reduce government payments to those who
are truly prosperous. Read their complete report at http://savingthedream.org/about-the-plan/
About the Heritage
Foundation - Conservative Policy
Research and Analysis The Heritage
Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research
institute, with nearly 700,000 individual, foundation and corporate donors. Continued at ….. http://www.heritage.org/
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3 of 4 GOP candidates would add to deficits - Feb. 23, 2012
By Jeanne Sahadi @CNNMoney February 23, 2012: 1:57 PM ET……a
preliminary analysis by the independent Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget | released Thursday estimates that the three
candidates' plans could add between $250 billion and $7 trillion of debt over
the next nine years. By contrast, the proposals of Ron Paul could reduce the
debt by $2.2 trillion, the group estimated. Read complete report at http://money.cnn.com/2012/02/23/news/economy/gop_candidates_deficits/index.htm?iid=HP_Highlight
Who is The Committee for a
Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) – CRFB runs a
number of ongoing projects. Among them include US Budget Watch (www.usbudgetwatch.org),
a project funded by Pew Charitable Trusts which has reported on important
fiscal issues through and beyond the 2008 Presidential election. Through
generous support from the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and Pew Charitable
Trusts, CRFB also runs the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform. Another
CRFB project is Stimulus.org (www.stimulus.org), which monitors the
extraordinary actions taken by the government during the current economic
crisis and puts out regular reports and releases on various budgetary issues.
CRFB also runs the Fiscal Roadmap project, created to help
policymakers navigate the country's serious economic and fiscal challenges.
Finally, CRFB's two most recent
projects are the Moment of Truth Project and the "Go Big" initiative.
The Moment of Truth Project is a non-profit, non-partisan
effort created to use the findings of the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform to spark a national discussion on the need to
implement a comprehensive budget fix and to help further develop policy reform
ideas to improve the nation’s fiscal outlook. Through the Go Big
initiative, CRFB is working to urge the Joint Select Committee on Deficit
Reduction to exceed its savings mandate of $1.5 trillion and enact a
bipartisan, comprehensive fiscal plan large enough to stabilize and reduce debt
as a share of the economy. Continued at …… http://crfb.org/about-us
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Crony Capitalism Corruption « The Talk Radio News
Service By Ernest Istook| Crony
capitalism has turned into corruption of the free enterprise system. In crony
capitalism, politicians give government grants, subsidies and advantages to
their friends and donors. And the favored companies return the favor with
political support and contributions. This corruption doesn’t hide in the
shadows, but is trumpeted in broad daylight. One example is bailouts of banks,
insurance companies, automakers and others. Another example of corrupt crony
capitalism is the “green jobs” scam. The Solyndra
scandal cost taxpayers over half a billion dollars. And so far reporters have
tracked almost $4-billion dollars in green jobs grants that went to 21 firms
with close ties to the Obama Administration.
Continued at ….. http://www.talkradionews.com/newscommentary/2012/02/16/crony-capitalism-corruption.html
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From the
Federation: SOCIAL SECURITY FRAUD COSTING BILLIONS
Today, as the debate regarding the Solvency of
Social Security continues, it is important to reflect on the impact of fraudulent
Social Security Disability Claims. The
following articles written in 2010 and 2011 provide some insight into the
issue.
Social Security makes $6.5B in overpayments - USATODAY.com WASHINGTON
— Social
Security made $6.5 billion in overpayments to people not entitled to
receive them in 2009, including $4 billion under a supplemental income program
for the very poor, a government investigator said Tuesday. In all, about 10 %
of the payments made under the agency's Supplemental Security Income program were
improper, said Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr., the Social Security inspector general.
Continued at http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/retirement/2011-06-14-social-security-overpayments_n.htm
Thousands of
Healthy Workers Still on Disability: GAO - CNBC In the report, the GAO found that 1,500 people improperly
collected disability payments even though they had federal government jobs. In
addition, 62,000 private-sector employees in 12 states were healthy enough to
get licenses to drive trucks or buses, even as they were collecting disability
payments. All in all, in 2008, workers owed the government $10.7 billion for
overpayments that were made by the Social Security Administration. Continued at http://www.cnbc.com/id/38555593
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Banks
Colluding with Insurers to Rip Off Homeowners, Lawsuit Alleges by Cora Currier | @coracurrier Feb 24,
2012 ProPublica
A class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo and QBE Insurance sheds light on how
homeowners may have been forced to buy more than $50 million in insurance
premiums. As American Banker reported [1], a federal judge in Miami
on Tuesday opened the door to a class action against Wells Fargo. More than 20,000 Florida homeowners can now sue Wells Fargo
and an insurance company, QBE, for allegedly overcharging for insurance. More
than $50 million in insurance premiums are at issue, according to American
Banker. Continued at ….. http://www.propublica.org/article/banks-colluding-with-insurers-to-rip-off-homeowners-lawsuit-alleges
More coverage: Foreclosure Crisis: Banks and
Government Fail Homeowners
Bank Lobby Widened Volcker Rule, Inciting Foreign Outrage Bloomberg By Yalman Onaran - Feb 23, 2012 3:56
PM ET U.S.
banks pushed regulators to widen proposed restrictions on trading and
hedge-fund ownership by foreign firms, then encouraged governments around the
world to complain about the rule’s reach. The two-pronged lobbying strategy
resulted in foreign officials
joining U.S. lenders to push back against the Volcker rule, named
after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volcker
and incorporated in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Read complete article at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/banks-lobbied-to-widen-volcker-rule-before-inciting-foreigners-against-law.html
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POLL: NJ Taxpayers Want Property Taxes Cut First
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Taking Stock of the Stock Act: A
Side-by-Side Comparison ProPublica by Lena Groeger | @lenagroeger The Stop
Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or Stock Act, recently passed in both the House and
Senate. The new law would make it easier for the SEC to prosecute federal
officials from all three branches who trade equities like stocks based on
nonpublic information they receive in the course of their duties. The versions
passed in each chamber are similar, but have notable distinctions that will
have to be hashed out when legislators from the two chambers eventually meet.
We break down the main differences, with a real-life
scenarios that illustrate activities the bill targets. Continued at ….. http://www.propublica.org/special/taking-stock-of-the-stock-act-a-side-by-side-comparison
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House passes emergency FOI fix By Keith M. Phaneuf
Feb 23, 2012 CTMirror.org The House of Representatives adopted an
emergency fix Thursday to the state's right-to-know law that could break a
legal logjam blocking the release of voter lists and other omnibus public
registries. The bill would allow public agencies to release voter and property
databases without the arduous task of identifying and redacting addresses of
police officers, prison guards and other "protected" public employees.
[How they voted]
But critics argued that the measure, adopted without a
public hearing, is technically flawed, and offers little security to those
employees hoping to keep their personal information private. http://ctmirror.com/story/15540/house-passes-emergency-foi-fix
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Chart: 'America’s Per Capita Government Debt …Worse
Than Greece’
Feb 23, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER
The office of Senator Jeff Sessions, ranking member on the Senate Budget
Committee, sends along this chart, showing that 'America’s Per Capita
Government Debt Worse Than Greece,' as well as Ireland, Italy, France,
Portugal, and Spain: To View Chart click the following web link
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/chart-america-s-capita-government-debt-worse-greece_631797.html
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Auto Bailout Now Backed, Stimulus
Divisive Mixed Views of Regulation, Support for
Keystone Pipeline Feb
23,2012 Pew Research Center for the People and the Press …..The latest national survey by the Pew
Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 8-12 among 1,501
adults, finds that 56% say the loans the government made to GM and Chrysler
were mostly good for the economy, while 38% say the loans to the automakers
were mostly bad for the economy. Read
the complete report at …… http://www.people-press.org/2012/02/23/auto-bailout-now-backed-stimulus-divisive/
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From CTMirror.org: The heads of the two
teachers unions denounced the governor's plans
to "intervene" in the state's lowest-performing schools, saying that
doing so would mean a return "to the dark ages of labor history."
Teachers' contracts would be "nullified" by the interventions, the
head of the CEA said, and her point appeared to be supported by the
legislature's nonpartisan research office, which said that such an action could
leave the state "vulnerable to a court challenge." The governor - following his pattern of
pushing for change in multiple directions - also proposed a cutting back of
funds going to the state's 18 smallest school
districts, at least some of which are spending more per pupil than
the state deems acceptable. His call
prompted a rebuttal by the first selectwoman of tiny Canaan,
which spends $22,450 for each of its 139 students. "Our town should be
commended for spending this much, for spending what is needed to provide an
adequate education," declared Patricia Ally Mechare.
And the unions also did an about-face
on their support of the governor's proposal to make teacher evaluations the yardstick for granting
tenure. As education write Jacqueline Rabe
Thomas wrote, "But teachers unions are now asking: What's the rush to tie
everything in education to the evaluations before it's proven that they work?
Malloy's proposed bill would have a teacher's certification, tenure and
potentially pay dependent on these evaluations." Check out more news on Education
in CT at http://ctmirror.org/education
Property tax relief bill worries Iowa education leaders By ROD BOSHART Journal Des Moines bureau Sioux City Journal |
Posted: Friday, February 24, 2012 -- A House-passed plan to delivery
property tax relief by having the state take over the full cost of financing
public K-12 schools while backfilling lost local government revenue has
education groups skittish. The plan has a $848 million
price tag through fiscal 2022, and education officials remain leery of the
state's recent rocky record of meeting it funding commitments. Continued at ….. http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/education/property-tax-relief-bill-worries-iowa-education-leaders/article_961c9039-8605-53e1-8aac-cebae3373662.html
Working families squeezed by housing costs in Connecticut
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Check Out Previous Tax Talk Publications by the
Federation at
State Budget Full Of Holes, Public Sector Unions Losing
Obama proposed budget a mixed bag for Connecticut