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Federal Judge Upholds New York Gun Curbs - WSJ.com
A federal judge in Buffalo on
Tuesday upheld most of New York's
2013 gun-control law as constitutional, handing a victory to gun-control
advocates and to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who signed the bill into law last January. In a
54-page ruling, U.S. Judge William M. Skretny ruled
that several key provisions of New
York's so-called SAFE Act didn't run afoul of the
right to bear arms, as outlined in the Second Amendment. Judge Skretny upheld an expanded ban on semiautomatic weapons,
which includes some popular models like the AR-15, as well as a ban on
magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition. Continue reading at ……. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304361604579292810694517646
January 1, 2014
From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
STATE DEFICITS! HIGH SIX FIGURE PENSIONS!
HIGH
SIX
AND SEVEN FIGURE SALARIES!
HIGH PROPERTY TAXES!
BROKE TAXPAYERS!
As we leave 2013 behind, we carry into 2014 much of the
State’s debt, deficits and unsustainable pensions and salaries as many
taxpayers remain unemployed or underemployed while burdened with high state and
local property taxes.
In November, 2013, it
was reported the State of Connecticut’s Nonpartisan analysts: $1 billion deficit awaits winner of CT's ... gubernatorial election and Getting Connecticut's books in order
requires half a billion in state bonds
With many Connecticut workers unemployed or underemployed as
noted within CT jobless rate: near 11% had 60,000 not left workforce, in December, we learned some Connecticut employees just can’t
get enough as one State Retiree Wants a Pension of $367,000 as noted within the
article Six-Figure State University Retiree Wants More - Collections
and it appears the State Board is Considering
the Pension Request from David Carter.
Mr. Carter’s name had surfaced in 2009 in the article
captioned Rell
asks CSU to reduce raises for chancellor and ... - The CT Mirror
. The article noted that “Gov. M. Jodi Rell asked Connecticut
State University
officials Friday to reduce pay raises granted this month to top managers,
calling the raises "excessive" and "intolerable"
in light of the state’s fiscal crisis”. “The
governor took the action a day after the Mirror disclosed that raises, some as large as 10
percent, had been granted to non-union managers, including high-ranking
officials such as Chancellor David G. Carter and the presidents of CSU's four campuses.”
We also
learned UConn officials get raises, many topping $10,000 | The CT Mirror noting: Warde Manuel, the
university's athletic director, saw his salary jump by $22,500, which brought
his annual pay to $472,500. John
Elliott, the dean of the business school, got a $17,550 raise, which brought
his salary to $407,550.
In April we learned CT News Junkie | $18.3M In Longevity Payments Go To State Employees... noting: This week, 29,789 state employees who have worked
for the state for more than a decade will each be rewarded with a “longevity”
bonus in their paycheck. An estimated
$12.2 million will go to 26,553 union employees, and about $6.2 million will go
to 3,236 non-union employees and political appointees. The average payment for
union employees is about $458 and the average payment for non-union employees
is about $1,913, according to information provided by the state comptroller’s
office.
This is on top of the 9% wage
increase over 3 years State employee unions received along with a no layoff
clause as Governor Malloy Raised $1.5 Billion in New Taxes.
And we even made the national news publication
– Forbes – in an article captioned
How Did Rich Connecticut Become One of Americas Worst
Performing Economies
****************
And You - Fellow Taxpayers –
Get to Pay for All of This, As
Connecticut Now
Pays Pensions as
High as $276,000!!!!
In Calendar Year 2012, the State of Connecticut paid 44,216 Retirees pensions totaling
$1.4 BILLION!!! The following link illustrates those who received from
$50,000 to the highest pension at $276,364.
Click to View…… http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\StatePensionFinalFinal.xls
To learn more about State of CT Employee Pensions
click http://transparency.ct.gov/html/searchPensions.asp.
Connecticut Now
Pays Salaries as
High as
$2.9 Million!!!!
In Fiscal Year 2013, the State of Connecticut paid 94,919 Salaries
Totaling $5.6 BILLION!!!
The following link illustrates those who
received from $250,000 to $2.9 Million.
Click to View…… http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\2013Salaries.xls
To learn more about State of CT Employee Salaries and Benefits
Click to View… http://transparency.ct.gov/html/searchPayroll.asp
**************
In 2013, we also learned
Auditors:
State agency doled out $37M while violating public notice law
Two State Quasi Public Agencies are Referenced
Connecticut Development
Authority (CDA)
Connecticut Innovations (CI)
Check out CDA and CI Salaries and Benefits
at
http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\CDA
CT INNOVATION SALARIES.xls
**************
As a Taxpayer Paying State
Employee Pensions, you may be asking what is the status of the state’s pension
plan, what do the State Employees pay toward their pensions and how many more
of these high pensions can I be expected to fund through my tax dollars? The following provides some insight into
those questions….
Of the 10 Most Threatened State Pension Plans
Connecticut Ranks Number 2
**************
The following Publications by the State of Connecticut’s Office of
Legislative Research Lend Insight into
STATE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS IN NORTHEASTERN STATES
Feb 20, 2013
Check out Connecticut below and then
Click on the following web link
for information on Other States
http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/rpt/pdf/2013-R-0139.pdf
CT State Employee
|
|
Contribution as Percent of Salary
|
|
|
|
Tier I (hired before July 2,
1984)
|
2%
|
Tier II (hired July 2, 1984 -
June 30, 1997)
|
0%
|
Tier IIA (hired July 1, 1997 -
June 30, 2011)
|
2%
|
Tier III (hired after June 30,
2011)
|
2%
|
*********************
OLR BACKGROUNDER: STATE EMPLOYEE DEMOGRAPHICS
This
report describes the age and gender demographics of state employees as of
November 15, 2013.
Based on data we received from the comptroller’s office, there are 54,903 full time
state employees, of which 26,452 (48.2%) are male and 28,438 (51.8%) are female
(the data does not identify the gender of 13 employees).
Roughly 28% of the employees are under 40 years old; 60% are
between 40 and 60; and 12% are at least 60 years old. Female state employees age 50 - 54 outnumber
males in the same age group by 971, the largest gender differential
among any age group. Over 53% of employees age 65 and
over are male. Continue reading at …. http://www.cga.ct.gov/2013/rpt/pdf/2013-R-0458.pdf
*********************
State of our State
|
1 Bil Dlr Deficit Awaits Next
Governor Also CT Worst Performing Economy and More News on the State of our
State
The Federation of - CT Taxpayer
Org - Dec 2013
|
PENSION CRISIS IN CHICAGO
|
19.5 BILLION
DOLLARS SHORT, IS IT TIME TO END COLLECTIVE BARGAINING....
The Federation of - Ct Taxpayer
Org - Dec 2013
|