Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

Do you think that the biggest conflict in America is between the rich and the poor? If so, join the club: According to a recent poll published by the Pew Research Center, nearly two-thirds of Americans believe that the wealth gap is the greatest cause of tension in America.� Continued at �. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/01/13/its-official-wealth-gap-has-turned-america-into-a-seething-pit/

GOP maps strategy in wake of payroll tax debacle

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Regulators face pressure from both GOP, Dems on implementing �Volcker Rule�� Peter Schroeder - 01/16/12 05:30 AM ET�� The Volcker Rule, named for the man behind the idea, former Federal Reserve Chairman and Obama adviser Paul Volcker, is aimed at a relatively simple goal � keep federally-insured financial institutions like banks from getting in deep with a slew of risky investments. Lawmakers were eager to avoid a repeat of the broad-based financial crisis, and hoped to ensure banks could weather financial storms caused by riskier investments. The rule as envisioned in the law seeks to ban �proprietary trading� by such institutions, which is when banks make financial trades with their own cash for their own profit, not at the request of clients. Furthermore, the rule seeks to set up a firewall between those institutions and riskier investment shops like hedge funds and private equity firms. Both provisions carry some exceptions. However, turning that idea into a reality has been a massive headache for regulators. As proof of how complex it is to make that fundamental idea into actionable rules, one need look no further than the original proposal put forward by most regulators in October; it spans nearly 300 pages and asks for the public to weigh in on almost 400 specific points as the rule-writers still are trying to work out the kinks. Business and financial groups, as well as congressional Republicans, have told regulators to slow down on the rule, arguing a shoddy implementation would do far more harm than good. Continued at �.. http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/banking-financial-institutions/204251-regulators-face-pressure-from-both-gop-dems-on-implementing-volcker-rule

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Governor promises Sunday liquor sales, lower prices in sweeping regulatory overhaul 'Mom-and-pop' package stores offered inducement to cash out By Mark Pazniokas CtMirror.org �By Mark Pazniokas on January 14, 2012� Enfield -- Alcohol laws proposed Saturday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would change the retail market in Connecticut by lifting rules that have long protected package store owners with tight controls on prices, ownership and hours and days of operation.�� Malloy said his proposals are intended to make Connecticut merchants competitive in price and convenience with liquor stores in New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Connecticut package stores could stay open daily until 10 p.mAn industry dominated by small "mom and pops" most likely would see a new era of competition from larger companies running mini-chains of up to nine stores, a challenge likely to force a sale or closure for some of the state's 1,228 package stores. Current law allows common ownership of just two stores Malloy is offering some consolation for package stores: the ability to slightly expand their product lines to include snack foods, and the creation of a statewide medallion system intended to increase the value of present store permits.

By requiring a medallion to open a new store, anyone trying to establish a chain would be forced to buy a medallion from an existing owner. The medallions could be used anywhere within the state, subject to local zoning. They appear to be an enticement for some owners to exit the business. "What I am saying to the owner of the shops is that I am working with you," Malloy said. "A lot of these folks are going to retire at some point."�� Continued at �..

http://www.ctmirror.org/story/15059/governor-proposes-sunday-sales-and-lower-prices-alcohol

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Special Master�s Redistricting Plan Changes Little

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FBI Probe of Developer Heads To New Haven City Hall

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Foley's back (sort of) By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas on January 13, 2012� Tom Foley's back, and the public policy group he formed after losing a close gubernatorial race is focusing on jobs and education.

Foley's Connecticut Policy Institute -- which is described as a nonpartisan think tank -- in the last two days has asserted it wants to be a part of the discussion as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy moves forward with his jobs and education agenda.� On Thursday the group put out a policy brief on jobs. The next day it announced it would be hosting a forum on how school choice fits into education reform. Malloy has said the legislative session that begins in three weeks will be dedicated to education reform. The forum will be in New Haven at Yale University. Speakers include former Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Steven Adamowski, an official from the school choice advocacy group ConnCAN and Nate Snow, the executive director of Teach for America.� Continued at � http://www.ctmirror.org/node/15044

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Dems Line Up In Support Health Care Reform Act

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European Leaders Use Debt Downgrades to Argue for Austerity, and for Stimulus� By JACK EWING

Published: January 14, 2012�� FRANKFURT � European leaders sought to limit damage from a ratings agency�s downgrade of nine countries on Friday, or even turn the news to their advantage, saying that it showed the need to impose more austerity or else do more to stimulate growth. Continued at �. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/business/global/after-downgrades-european-leaders-argue-for-both-austerity-and-stimulus.html?src=recg

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Lowering state health costs by recouping what insurance should cover� By Jacqueline Rabe Thomas CTMirror.org� Jan 13, 2012 Connecticut's child welfare agency spends $16.4 million a year on mental and behavioral health services, a sum that translates to about $30,000 for each child. The problem, says the Department of Children and Families, is that one of every five children has private health insurance that is not covering what their doctors say is needed, leaving the state to pick up the tab. That's about to change, and other agencies, including the state's largest health care provider, are being pushed to follow suit ��.David Dearborn, a DSS spokesman, wrote in an email that the agency does not appeal. He said the contractor that DSS uses to handle claims "will re-bill the private insurance company" when someone is applying for DSS services but does not go through the whole appeals process if they again deny coverage. The re-billing recoups approximately $24 million a year of the more than $4.6 billion DSS spends on Medicaid. The Department of Developmental Services does not appeal insurance denials either. DDS provides services for 15,600 adults with mental and behavioral illness.� Continued at �.. http://www.ctmirror.org/story/15037/state-covering-children-health-insurance-remedy-action-one-agency-others-lag

State's failure to appeal health insurance denials cost millions

Governor promises Sunday liquor sales, lower prices in sweeping regulatory overhaul�� By Mark Pazniokas CTMirror.org�� Enfield -- Alcohol laws proposed Saturday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy would change the retail market in Connecticut by lifting rules that have long protected package store owners with tight controls on prices, ownership and hours and days of operation. An industry dominated by small "mom and pops" most likely would see a new era of competition from larger companies running mini-chains of up to nine stores, a challenge likely to force a sale or closure for some of the state's 1,228 package stores. Current law allows common ownership of just two stores. Continued at �.. http://ctmirror.org/story/15059/governor-proposes-sunday-sales-and-lower-prices-alcohol

OPINION:� New 5th District map shows gerrymandering live and well

http://www.registercitizen.com/articles/2012/01/14/opinion/doc4f11bdba5656e792675085.txt

States face uphill climb in suit over health law's Medicaid expansion Sam Baker ��01/15/12 The Hill By Sam Baker� The brief makes a concerted effort to link the Medicaid expansion to the individual mandate, arguing that states couldn�t exercise their legal right to leave Medicaid because it�s the only way for Medicaid-eligible residents to satisfy the mandate. �While the (Affordable Care Act) purports to leave States� participation in Medicaid nominally voluntary, multiple aspects of the Act evince Congress� keen awareness that, in fact, no State will be able to reject its new terms and withdraw from the program,� the brief says. �Most obviously, the ACA�s individual mandate requires Medicaid-eligible individuals to obtain and maintain insurance.� But most Medicaid-eligible people would be exempt from the mandate, said Timothy Jost, a law professor at Washington and Lee University and a supporter of the health law. People whose incomes fall below the federal poverty level are exempt from the requirement to buy insurance. The mandate also does not apply to anyone who couldn�t buy a specific type of plan without spending more than 8 percent of his or her income. Those two exemptions will capture nearly everyone who�s eligible for Medicaid, Jost said.� Continued at �. http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/legal-challenges/204191-states-face-uphill-climb-in-suit-over-health-laws-medicaid-expansion

Court filing claims 17 million young adults would lose coverage without health law ��By Julian Pecquet Jan 13, 2012� ��Seventeen million young Americans would lose promised access to health insurance if the Supreme Court strikes down President Obama's healthcare reform law, the consumer advocacy group Young Invincibles argues in a legal brief filed Thursday. Read more...

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