From The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
May 4, 2011
State Democrats approved a $40.1 billion biennial budget containing the
Largest Tax Increase In State
History and
No Agreement with the Unions
We commend Senate Democrats Joan
V. Hartley of Waterbury, Edward Meyer of Guilford
and Gayle Slossberg of
Milford in opposing the budget as did
the 15 fiscally conservative Democrats led by
State Rep. Linda Schofield of Simsbury and Representatives Mary Fritz of
Wallingford, Claire Janowski
of Vernon, Ed Jutila of
Niantic, Frank Nicastro of
Bristol, Kim Fawcett of Fairfield and Steve Mikutel of Griswold.
We also commend the State Republicans for their efforts in proposing a
fiscally responsible budget.
http://ctmirror.com/story/12442/senate-poised-approve-malloys-first-budget
http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2011/05/house-of-representatives-debat.html
List of 2011 State Pensions
Upon Review 411 Retirees Receive Pensions From $100,000 to
$266,295; 2,592 receive $75,000 to $100,000; and 6,181 receive $50,000 to $75,000
http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\20112.xls
Mayor says Danbury pensions are 'unsustainable' Dirk Perrefort, Staff Writer May 3, 2011 DANBURY -- Within the next eight
years, the city would have to contribute at least $16 million annually to its
pension funds -- an amount Mayor Mark Boughton said is not sustainable.
While the city is in negotiations with its six bargaining units, Boughton said he's made no secret
about the need for change.
"We are
really concerned about the long-term financing of our pension system,"
he said. In the coming year, the amount the city must pay to keep the
pension plan solvent will jump from some $5.3 million to $7.7 million.
Read complete article at
http://www.newstimes.com/default/article/Mayor-says-Danbury-pensions-are-unsustainable-1363140.php
As the Mayor of Danbury declares that Danbury pensions are unsustainable, the Federation is calling upon the governor to empanel a Blue Ribbon
Commission to assess the ability of the State and towns to continue to sustain
public sector pensions. We look for solutions to lessen the burden on state and
municipal taxpayers, such as eliminating
overtime from being factored into pensions.
The Federation believes the State Budget as approved is flawed as
we had noted within our April 28, 2011 Letter to Governor Malloy which can be
accessed at http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\LtrtoMalloy.htm.
In our letter, we
asked the Governor to cancel the April 29, 2011 Bond
Commission Vote, to place a moratorium on future bonding, to give state
employee unions a 48 hour notice to return to the bargaining table and to allow
the public access to those negotiations.
Our letter concluded that if the unions failed to cooperate with Governor
Malloy that he begin the process to end Collective Bargaining which has put
unions in control of our state and town budgets resulting Connecticut's State
and Local Tax Burden being the Third-Highest in the Nation according to the Tax
Foundation. http://www.taxfoundation.org/taxdata/show/445.html
. The introduction to our Letter to
Governor Malloy read ….
Please Cancel the April 29, 2011 Bond
Commission Hearing,
Put a One Year Moratorium on
Bonding, and
Walk Away from the Unions,
and Assume Control of our State!
Begin by removing the
negotiations table from behind the
closed doors of secrecy and placing
it in the light of public debate.
If unions refuse, work to end
Collective Bargaining!
Read our Letter at http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\LtrtoMalloy.htm.
Senate
Passes Budget 19-17 by Christine
Stuart, CTNewsJunkie.com, May 3, 2011 3:12am, There wasn’t much Senate
Republicans could do in order to change the destiny of the two year, $40.11
billion budget adopted by the Senate Tuesday morning. But
they tried offering 18 amendments, 17 of which were defeated along party lines
and one which was ruled out of order. ….. The budget passed by the Senate
Tuesday morning also doesn’t include the $2 billion Malloy plans on getting in
labor union concessions. Language requiring the General Assembly to return if
the Malloy isn’t successful in those negotiations was debated at length Monday
and Tuesday by Senators. Continued at …. http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/senate_passes_budget_19-17/#more
Faulty Public Pension Accounting: A Problem too Big to Ignore by Ivan Osorio on April 28, 2011 One reason the
ongoing debate over collective
bargaining for government employees has been so loud is that the stakes are so
high — for unionized government employees on one side and for taxpayers on the
other. Read more at …. http://www.openmarket.org/2011/04/28/faulty-public-pension-accounting-a-problem-too-big-to-ignore/
Robert Reich | The Oil Company Gusher Robert Reich, Robert
Reich's Blog:
"Exxon-Mobil's first quarter earnings of $10.7 billion are up 69 percent
from last year. That's the most profit the company has earned since the third
quarter of 2008 - perhaps not coincidentally, around the time when gas prices
last reached the lofty $4 a gallon. This gusher is an embarrassment for an industry
seeking to keep its $4 billion annual tax subsidy from the US government,
at a time when we're cutting social programs to reduce the budget deficit. It's
especially embarrassing when Americans are paying through their noses at the
pump." http://robertreich.org/post/5021907727
Lawmaker Attempts to Hide From Angry
Taxpayers Resorts to a drastic measure so he
won't be recognized in public. Apr 27, 2011 A
Connecticut
legislator has taken a drastic measure to avoid people on the street
complaining to him about increased taxes. By LeAnne Gendreau How much are
legislators feeling the pressure of voting on a budget that raises taxes during
an economic crisis? Rep. Zeke Zalaski,
a Democrat from Southington, has taken the legislative plates off his car
because of complaints he gets about taxes when he fills up with gas, he told
NBC Connecticut
Wednesday. Read complete article at …… http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Lawmaker-Attempts-to-Hide-From-Angry-Taxpayers-120807769.html
Powell: Political patronage gets
immigration law waived...
Check out Page 1 to 8 How Washington F@#$%! the budget Since 2001, lawmakers time and again have cut taxes or
increased spending without finding ways to pay for their decisions. Both
parties share the blame. Read at http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/news/economy/1104/gallery.budget_spending/index.html
As economic downturn lingers, help runs
out for the unemployedBy Jacqueline
Rabe http://ctmirror.org/story/12437/economic-downturn-lingers-help-runs-out-unemployed
Banks Play Shell Game with Taxpayer Dollars April 26, 2011 A
study requested by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) found numerous instances during the financial
crisis of 2008 and 2009 when banks took near zero-interest funds from the
Federal Reserve and then loaned money back to the federal government on
sweetheart terms for the banks.The
banks pocketed interest on government securities that paid rates up to 12 times
greater than the Fed's rock bottom interest charges, according to a Congressional Research Service
analysis conducted for Sanders. http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=bf584e1c-ff74-4ded-9049-eb4aef4bdf92
Public Pensions, Once Off
Limits, Face Budget Cuts Michael Cooper and Mary Williams Walsh, When an arbitrator
ruled this month that Detroit could reduce the pensions being earned by its
police sergeants and lieutenants, it put the struggling city at the forefront
of a growing national debate over whether the pensions of current public
workers can or should be reduced. Conventional wisdom and the laws and
constitutions of many states have long held that the pensions being earned by
current government workers are untouchable. But as the fiscal crisis has
lingered, officials in strapped states from California
to Illinois
have begun to take a second look, to see whether there might be loopholes
allowing them to cut the pension benefits of current employees. Now the move in
Detroit - made possible, lawyers said, because Michigan's
constitutional protections are weaker - could spur other places to try to
follow suit." http://www.theledger.com/article/20110426/ZNYT02/104263010/1005/news02?Title=Public-Pensions-Once-Off-Limits-Face-Budget-Cuts
Unions in Familiar Fight With New FoeA5
Wall St. Journal Massachusetts Democrats lead effort to curb
health-benefits negotiations. April 30, 2011, Wall St Journal By KRIS MAHER and AMY MERRICK Unions are facing off against an unlikely foe
over a now-familiar issue, as Democrats in Massachusetts move to limit municipal
workers' power to negotiate their health benefits. The effort is the latest by
lawmakers in a budget jam to roll back public-union rights. In a state where
Democrats control the House and the Senate as well as the governor's office, it
shows how the pressures of skyrocketing health care costs on state and local
budgets are undermining labor's political clout even in traditional union
strongholds. Complete article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703567404576293360097309874.html
A State Manager Takes Over and Cuts What a City Can’t BENTON HARBOR, Mich.
— Every first and third Monday of the month for as long as anyone can remember,
this city’s elected commissioners have gathered in their musty second-floor
chambers to contend with issues large and small — reports of gaping potholes,
proposals to sell city land, an annual budget plan. But as of this month, they
are literally powerless, and hold no authority to make any decisions. Not even
on potholes. The city is now run by Joseph L. Harris, an accountant and auditor
from miles away, one of a small cadre of “emergency managers” dispatched like
firefighters by the state to put out financial blazes in Michigan’s most troubled cities. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/us/27michigan.html
State Pensions and Retiree Health Benefits: The Trillion Dollar Gap $1 trillion. That’s the gap at the end of fiscal year 2008 between the
$2.35 trillion states had set aside to pay for employees’ retirement benefits
and the $3.35 trillion price tag of those promises. Why does it matter? Because
every dollar spent to reduce the unfunded retirement liability cannot be used
for education, public safety and other needs. Ultimately, taxpayers could face higher taxes or cuts in
essential public services. http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=56695
U.S. Corporations Pay $100 Billion in
Taxes on Foreign Profits http://taxfoundation.org/news/show/27238.html
California - Bill to dissolve city of Vernon is
approved by state assembly 89.3
KPCC April 29, 2011 For over 100 years,
the tiny city of Vernon, tucked away in a pocket below the 10 freeway, has
served as a small, business-friendly enclave….But in recent years, the criminal
indictments of three of the city’s top officials have brought to light decades
of corruption, insider dealings and lavish spending by Vernon’s ruling class.
Now, in an unprecedented move, California’s
state Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a bill to dissolve the city
charter…. http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2011/04/29/vernon-disincorporation/
Are States' Pensions the Next Crisis? APRIL 28, 2011 Just as America is
finally showing signs of digging out of the financial meltdown and the Great
Recession of 2008, there are already warning bells being sounded for the next
possible scare: government pension programs. Earlier this week, the Pew Center on the States issued the results of
its “fiscal stress test” of the 50 state pension programs, and the results are
troubling to say the least. All told,
the Pew center estimates that government pension funds and health care programs
are underfunded by more
than $1.2 trillion today, a clear sign that something must be done now to avoid
a great deal of misery down the road.
Full report at …. http://pensionpulse.blogspot.com/2011/04/are-states-pensions-next-crisis.html
Democrats joining GOP on anonymous donor bandwagon
By Michael Regan Apr 29, 2011 11:00am After seeing Democratic candidates battered
in 2010 by Republican groups that raised money from anonymous donors,
supporters of President Barack
Obama are forming similar organizations in preparation for
his 2012 re-election bid, Jeanne Cummings reports at Politico. The move
reflects a reversal of Obama's
past rejection of outside money and criticism of anonymous donations made legal
last year by the Supreme Court's Citizens United
decision, Cummings says. http://www.ctmirror.org/blogs/editors-choice
State of Connecticut
Report - Commissions on Enhancing Agency Outcomes http://www.cga.ct.gov/gae/CEAO/docs/2010/CEAO%20Final%20Report%20Tuesday%20Jan%203.pdf
California Prison Academy: Better Than a
Harvard Degree Prison guards can retire at the age of 55 and earn 85% of their
final year's salary for the rest of their lives. They also continue to receive
medical benefits. By ALLYSIA FINLEY Wall St Journal May 1, 2011 As a California prison guard, you can make six
figures in overtime and bonuses alone. While Harvard-educated lawyers and
consultants often have to work long hours with little recompense besides
Chinese take-out, prison guards receive time-and-a-half whenever they work more
than 40 hours a week. One sergeant with a base salary of $81,683 collected
$114,334 in overtime and $8,648 in bonuses last year, and he's not even the
highest paid. Read complete article by Ms. Finley
assistant editor of OpinionJournal.com. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704132204576285471510530398.html
Governments repeating old mistakes with
pensions 5/2/2011 2:11:50 PM by Christine Erickson ……despite all attention to underfunded pensions, some state
and local governments continue to opt to skip or short their pension payments
in order to balance their budgets. When digging through places to cut, pension
payments seem like they would have little immediate effect since the make-up
payments are spread out over many years. However, failure to make the full
payment over multiple years results in contribution levels that grow
exponentially. ….According to a new report from the Pew Center
on the States, for fiscal year 2009, states only contributed 83% of the amount
recommended by their own actuaries. Between fiscal years 2008 and 2009, the
unfunded liability of these plans grew by just over $200 billion, a 46%
increase, to where states now have combined unfunded liabilities of $660
billion. In the mean time, the funding level for these plans dropped from a
combined 84% in 2008 to 78% in 2009. As of the time of writing, 16 states had
2010 data available and the average funding level of these states fell further
to 75%. These are the states own admitted funding ratios using average
discount rates of 8%. Many economists and renowned investment gurus, including
Warren Buffett, believe
these rates are way too aggressive. A FEN-consulted actuary believes that the
true funding ratios are half (39% for 2009 declining to 37.5% in 2010) of those
presented when a more conservative treasury discount rate is used. http://www.thefreeenterprisenation.org/blog/FEN-Blog/May-2011/Governments-repeating-old-mistakes-with-pensions.aspx
The State Pension Time Bomb Poor accounting rules and flagrant irresponsibility have
sped up the states’ day of reckoning. Veronique de Rugy from the April 2011 issue http://reason.com/archives/2011/03/08/the-state-pension-time-bomb
82,981 of 132,502 Illinois Teachers Pay
Nothing or Little into Their Pensions - Illinois teachers qualify for a full 75
percent pension after working only 27 years. April 05, 2011 http://www.championnews.net/article.php?sid=3277
ORIGIN OF THE UNIFORM
STATEWIDE PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT RATIO http://www.cga.ct.gov/2011/rpt/2011-R-0064.htm