From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer
Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
TAX TALK
AUGUST 18, 2010
Deficit in July Totals
$165.04 Billion By JEFF BATER And DARRELL A. HUGHES Aug 11, 2010, The U.S.
government spent itself deeper into the red last month, paying nearly $20
billion in interest on debt and an additional $9.8 billion to help unemployed
Americans. Federal spending eclipsed revenue for the 22nd straight time, the
Treasury Department said Wednesday. The $165.04 billion deficit, while a bit
smaller than the $169.5 billion shortfall expected by economists polled by Dow
Jones Newswires, was the second highest for the month on record. The highest
was $180.68 billion in July 2009. The government usually runs a deficit during
July, which is the 10th month of the fiscal year. So far in fiscal 2010, the
government spent $1.169 trillion more than it made. That figure is about $98
billion lower than during the comparable period a year earlier. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704901104575423601722830706.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read
Culture of corruption intensifies
August 11, 9:40 PM
Ocean County Conservative ExaminerPaul
Williamson House Republican leader John Boehner posted When Does It End? Top 10 Reasons to
Oppose Speaker Pelosi's 'Stimulus' Bailout for Union Bosses. The
10th reason makes note of the fact that no name was attached to the bill. But
there are much more substantive reasons to excoriate the bill. The first reason
alludes to a rampant culture of corruption, to borrow a phrase coined by
Michelle Malkin in the title of her best selling
book. Democrats used legislative power to funnel money toward the rehiring of
members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Huge amounts of money are earmarked to further the agenda of a powerful union
needed by Democrats in the coming election. Federal revenue is used as
political payback. When business executives unethically enhance their bottom
lines Democrats cry foul. But what is ethical about using the federal treasury
to reward your friends and punish those who are not? http://www.examiner.com/x-33290-Ocean-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m8d11-Culture-of-corruption-intensifies
When
Does It End? Top 10 Reasons to Oppose Speaker Pelosi's 'Stimulus' Bailout for
Union Bosses
Washington (Aug 10)
Nearly 18 months to the day after Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) forced a trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ through the House
with boasts it “can be summed up in one word: jobs,” she has
called a special session to pass more ‘stimulus’ spending demanded by union
bosses and paid for on the backs of American workers. This bill can also be summed up in one word:
bailout. Following are 10 reasons to oppose Speaker Pelosi’s
‘stimulus’ bailout for union bosses:
1. Speaker Pelosi is
acting on orders from union bosses dangling the promise of “campaign
machinery.” Acting Ways and Means Chairman Sander Levin (D-MI) said on
C-SPAN this morning that “the notion that this is just unions, no… I
think this is pressure from the public…” But as The Hill reported shortly after
Speaker Pelosi announced the special session, “a K Street lobbyist said the American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees (AFSCME) pushed Pelosi to call back the House for the vote.”
Union bosses also pledged to “rev up their campaign machinery” on account
of the vote. The Las Vegas Review Journal noted in an editorial late last week that “at a time when
private-sector taxpayers across the country are struggling to keep their jobs,
pay their mortgages and put food on the table, congressional Democrats blithely
shake them down for even more tribute in order to ensure their political
supporters in the public employee unions can avoid the pain of the current
economic disruption.”
2. Washington Democrats are doubling down on
their failing ‘stimulus’ policies. On the same day the Federal Reserve is
set to downgrade its outlook for the economy’s health,
Washington
Democrats are doubling down on the same failing policies that have led to fewer
jobs and more debt. The Washington Post noted in an editorial late last week that “the crusade for an education jobs bill … has
always struck us as more of an election-year favor for teachers unions than an
optimal use of public resources.” One congressional expert told McClatchy that “traditionally this is the
kind of vote Democrats lick their chops over, but you don't know if it's still
as potent as it was 20 or 30 years ago. People fear we’re spending too much."
3. Speaker Pelosi’s
‘stimulus’ bailout for union bosses includes permanent tax increases on America’s
job creators. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Business Roundtable (BRT), Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), and the Promote America’s Competitive Edge (PACE) Coalition
have all expressed serious concerns about these anti-competitive, job-killing
international tax changes. Business groups, representing tens of millions of
employees, have voiced their opposition to the $9,642,000,000 tax increase in
this bill, noting it will jeopardize jobs, reduce American competitiveness,
discourage investment and thwart economic recovery.
4. Speaker Pelosi’s ‘stimulus’
bailout for union bosses only increases states’ dependence on the federal
government. Giving states another $10 billion to temporarily boost
school spending does nothing to avert future layoffs and other belt-tightening
needed to bring state budgets back into balance. Even Mark Zandi, a favorite economist of President Obama and Washington
Democrats, has conceded that the bill “won’t spare thousands more from pink slips.”
In fact, spending more today could actually worsen the education “funding
cliff” by allowing states to add new teachers and district spending they cannot
afford in the long term – which will lead to state property tax increases in
the future. As Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the top Republican on the House
Education and Labor Committee, told CQ, “Continuing to prop up state
budgets will merely postpone the tough decisions while making states more
dependent on the federal government — and more susceptible to its political
whims.”
5. Billions in
‘stimulus’ education funds are still unspent, contradicting Democrats’ talk
about an “emergency.” States and the federal government are
sitting on more than $30 billion
in unspent “education stimulus” out of the $100 billion provided last year. At the same time,
states and districts from coast to coast are announcing plans to “rehire” teachers and other
personnel laid off earlier this year – even without the help of another
bailout. How is this really an “emergency”?
6. Speaker Pelosi’s stimulus’ bailout for union
bosses violates their PAYGO rules. The Associated Press notes that whether this
bill is actually paid for is “a
source of contention.” Indeed, large portions of the cuts
target spending designated as ‘emergency’ cannot be used to offset new spending
under PAYGO. According to an analysis by House Budget Committee
Republicans, Speaker Pelosi’s ‘stimulus’ bailout for union bosses increases the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go deficit
by $19.767 billion for fiscal years 2010-14, and $12.634 billion for fiscal
years 2010-20, the applicable enforcement periods. DCCC
Chairman Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) added to the
uncertainty surrounding the bill’s spending cuts by saying “lawmakers could reverse those cuts later.”
7. Speaker Pelosi’s ‘stimulus’ bailout for union
bosses hijacks the budgets of cash-strapped states. For
instance, as Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour (R) noted in a statement this morning, Speaker
Pelosi’s ‘stimulus’ bailout for union bosses will force his state to
essentially “rewrite” its budget: “Preliminary estimates of the Mississippi
Department of Finance and Administration show that we will now have to spend
between $50-100 million of state funds – funds that must be taken away from
public safety, human services, mental health and other state priorities and
given to education – in order for an additional $98 million of federal funds to
be granted to education. There
is no justification for the federal government hijacking state budgets, but
that is exactly what Congress has done.”
8. Speaker Pelosi’s ‘stimulus’ bailout for union
bosses assumes all states are the same – except one. Speaker
Pelosi’s ‘stimulus’ bailout presumes every state faces the same fiscal
challenges – using a population-based funding formula for across-the-board
state budget inflation. Clearly, this is not a response to specific
funding shortages or jobs at risk. The only exception is Texas,
where President Obama paid a visit yesterday to talk
about education. Because Texas has prioritized education funding in
recent years, it will be forced to meet a much higher standard to receive
federal dollars, which no state can refuse. The federal government is
penalizing a state that has invested in education during tough economic times
while rewarding states living beyond their means.
9. Speaker Pelosi’s
‘stimulus’ bailout for union bosses comes with another poorly conceived
Medicaid bailout. Washington Democrats claim
that spending an additional $180 million per day on Medicaid will somehow
create jobs when it is in reality a giveaway to state bureaucrats at the
expense of American taxpayers. While Democrats want to add another $16
billion to the cost of the Medicaid program, states would be better off if
Congress would simply help them address the 40 percent of their Medicaid
expenditures that are either criminally fraudulent or simply unnecessary.
In fact, Democrats’ Medicaid bailout proposal does not even require the states
to spend the bailout funds on Medicaid beneficiaries or health care in
general. A state could take all of its additional federal money and
spend it on just about anything – including bloated state employee salaries.
10. Speaker Pelosi
wants to use a bill no one named to bail out a bill no one read. Washington Democrats were in
such a rush to force this ‘stimulus’ bailout through Congress that they forgot to name the bill. It is known
officially as H.R. 1586, the ____ Act of ____. Using a bill no one named to bail out a bill
no one read is a fitting metaphor for an out-of-touch Democratic Congress that
refuses to listen to the American people and abandon its job-killing agenda.
LISTENING AND OFFERING
BETTER SOLUTIONS. The American people are asking ‘where
are the jobs’ and all President Obama
and Washington
Democrats have to offer is more of the same failing ‘stimulus’ policies.
Republicans are listening to the American people through America
Speaking Out and offering better solutions to cut spending
now and get people working again. Last December, House Republican Leader
John Boehner (R-OH) and House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) presented
House Republicans’ “No Cost Jobs Plan” to President Obama. They sent a follow-up letter last month urging the president
to abandon his job-killing agenda and work with Republicans to “enact policies
that encourage private sector job creation.”
******************************************
Message from the National
Taxpayers Union
Our federal government is already in the hole, but now it
stands at the edge of a fiscal abyss from where there’s no escape. Only “people
power” is strong enough to pull it back! So please, make your plans to attend this year’s 9/12 March today. http://action.ntu.org/site/MessageViewer?dlv_id=7041&em_id=3381.0
Did the Stimulus Help? A New View By SEWELL CHAN,
NYTimes, Aug, 2010, When an economist named Saving writes about fiscal policy, it’s hard not
to listen. But we digress…
A new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas finds that the $787
billion stimulus program approved by Congress shortly after President Obama took office in 2009 probably fostered economic
growth in the short run. But the study, by Jason L. Saving,
a senior research economist, also concluded that there was no meaningful way to
determine how the economy would have performed in the absence of the stimulus
program. Moreover, Mr. Saving found that the stimulus program had worsened
short-term fiscal pressures. The paper — titled “Can the Nation Stimulate Its
Way to Prosperity?” — is a response of sorts to a much-discussed report [pdf] by the
economists Alan S. Blinder and Mark Zandi. That
report concluded that the stimulus program, and to an even larger extent the
Wall Street bailout of 2008, helped to avert a second Depression. The White
House seized on that report as support for its economic agenda, which
Republicans in Congress have called a failure. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/13/did-the-stimulus-help-a-new-view/?src=busln
Attacking Social Security, Paul Krugman, August
15, 2010 Social Security turned 75 last week. It should have been a joyous
occasion, a time to celebrate a program that has brought dignity and decency to
the lives of older Americans. But the program is under attack, with some
Democrats as well as nearly all Republicans joining the assault. Rumor has it
that President Obama’s deficit commission may call
for deep benefit cuts, in particular a sharp rise in the retirement age. Continued at ….. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/opinion/16krugman.html?_r=1
Two TARP "dividend deadbeats'' were cited for unsound
practices prior to getting taxpayer aid by Ryan Holeywell | August 12, 2010 Two banks that
are failing to make quarterly dividend payments to the Treasury Department
on the taxpayer money they received through the Troubled Asset Relief Program
were cited for having "unsafe" and "unsound" banking
practices shortly before they received the aid. One recipient - Seacoast National Bank in Stuart, Fla.
- was cited by regulators just two days before it got its TARP money. The other
- OneUnited Bank in Boston - received its capital infusion from
Treasury just weeks after regulators ordered the bank to stop providing its
executives excessive compensation and benefits. Continued at ….. http://bailoutsleuth.com/news/2010/08/-two-banks-that-are/
Return of the Killer Trade Deficit August 15, 2010 New York Times
The world economy is falling back on very dangerous habits.
The United States
is tentatively emerging from recession but is still at risk of another dip. Yet
trade statistics released last week indicate that American consumers are sucking
in large quantities of imports as spending recovers, while weak demand in the
rest of the world is crimping American exports. Continued at …. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/16/opinion/16mon1.html?hpw
United Patriots of America Message from Ron
Bass
Extracted from Article I, Section 10 of the U.S.
Constitution. "No State shall, without the Consent of Congress,
engage in War, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent Danger as will not
admit of delay." The Governor of Arizona
should declare Arizona to be in a state of
emergency because of the ongoing border invasion; declare war, and reject the
decision by the Federal Judge as obstructing Arizona's ability to defend itself. Arizona
should go to the mat on this one and let's have it out with the Feds once and
for all. Ron Bass
UNITED PATRIOTS OF AMERICA http://www.UnitedPatriotsOfAmerica.com
E-mail - info@UnitedPatriotsOfAmerica.com
Two Weblinks
provide information on Public auctions on foreclosed properties by town and
much more… https://sso.eservices.jud.ct.gov/foreclosures/Public/PendPostbyTownList.aspx and http://ct.mypublicnotices.com/PublicNotice.asp
Judge denies probation in Hartford
corruption case
US Soldiers' Mission
Showcases Afghan War's Hopelessness
Dion Nissenbaum, McClatchy
Newspapers: "After months of deadly and often demoralizing fighting
alongside mediocre Afghan forces in one of the Taliban's most intractable
strongholds outside Kandahar city, the Americans in
this Army company are asking themselves if it had been worth it. 'I'm ready to
get out of here,' said Sgt. Joshua Middlebrook, 25,
of Sanford, N.C., as the patrol made its way back to base after coming up dry
in the search. 'I'm tired of picking up body parts.'"
Read the Article
Calif. says Bell got $3M in
illegal property taxes, Associates Press,
August 14, 2010, By ROBERT JABLON (AP) BELL, Calif. — The tiny blue-collar city
that granted huge salaries to its top officials may have to repay nearly $3
million in illegal property taxes, a state official said Friday.An
audit showed that the Los Angeles suburb exceeded a state cap when it raised
its property tax rate in 2007 to pay for pension obligations, California
Controller John Chiang said.Chiang sent a letter
Friday to the Los Angeles County auditor-controller, instructing the agency to
reduce the tax rate. The drop would mean a $250-a-year reduction on the tax
bill for a $275,000 home, Chiang's office said http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iMcK7jSUn6TTLeVXuiL02gnLLA5QD9HIREFG0
NJ will borrow $2.25B to help with cash
flow The Star-Ledger - NJ.com Lisa
Fleisher/Statehouse Bureau Continued at ….
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/nj_will_borrow_225b_to_plug_bu.html
Huge Bonuses for Health
Insurance Execs as Rates Increase by Up to 39 Percent http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/10/AR2010081004201.html?hpid=topnews
Primer: Six Things Happening
Right Now With Financial Regulation
By Marian Wang ProPublica, Aug 10,
2010 How is financial reform actually being
implemented? We're tracking how the bill is being put into practice.
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/primer-six-things-happening-right-now-with-financial-regulation
BP Could Face Millions in Penalties For
Its Toxic Release in Texas City By Marian Wang, ProPublica, Aug 10, 2010, The state of Texas is suing BP
for a huge release of toxic chemicals—including benzene, a carcinogen—that went
on for 40 days at the company’s Texas City refinery last spring. The lawsuit
could result in civil penalties reaching into the millions. The release, as we have reported [1], started April 6, just two
weeks before the Deepwater Horizon explosion, when a key piece of equipment
failed and, rather than stopping production to fix it, BP attempted repairs [1] while operations were
continuing — resulting in a release of 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals.
http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/bp-could-face-millions-penalty-for-its-toxic-release-in-texas-city
After Fannie Error, Treasury Issues
Correction on Mod Program Default Numbers By Paul Kiel ProPublica,
Aug 10, 2010
The government's latest, promising numbers on its mortgage
modification program turn out to be wrong.
The following articles can be
found in Tax Talk August 17, 2010
Ø
There's always room for pork, even in a state budget crisis
Ø
MEXICO UNDER SIEGE - Mexico’s Other Border: Immigration and Drugs Along the
Mexico/Guatemala Border
Ø
PRI Begins its Ascent to Power as a Perplexed U.S.
Looks for Formula to Bring Down Mexican Drug Syndicates
Ø
Reforming Housing GSEs: A National
Priority
Ø
Stagnant private sector
Ø
Blagojevich's Defense Fund is Empty: Who Will Pay for His
Trial?
Ø
Stock Market Likely To Stay Difficult For Some Time
Ø
White House Under Fire for Unspent Infrastructure Cash
Ø
Tracking Stimulus Dollars
Ø
Graphic: Breaking Down the $862 Billion Stimulus
Ø
Chart: Full agency-by-agency breakdown of stimulus funds
appropriated, available and paid out
Ø
Obama pledges to defend Social Security,
Privatizing the retirement system, as some Republicans want, would be reckless,
he says on the 75th anniversary of the program.
Ø
What is The Real Rate of Unemployment in the United States?
Ø
Bank repossessions drive up July foreclosures
Ø
US probes corruption in big pharma
Ø
Tough Times Require Tough Decisions