The Coming Pension
Earthquake: Federal Corporate Insurer PBGC Has $23
Billion Liability (editorial - Washington Times)
Obscure government
corporation has taxpayers on the hook for billions
August 24, 2011
From The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact Susan Kniep
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032
Wall Street rises but investors wary about Fed
Wall Street Aristocracy Got $1.2 Trillion From Fed
Next congressional crisis: The federal gas tax?
18.4-cent
levy on every gallon expires on Sept. 30
State employees will still get raises after all
By Don Michak,
Journal Inquirer
August 20, 2011
http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2011/08/21/page_one/doc4e4fcd3612787598790223.txt
Tax Structure Shifts Over Two Decades
Bogus Labor Deal Numbers Will Come Back To Bite Us
The Hartford Courant Aug 21, 2011
By State Senator Len Suzio
of Meriden
http://articles.courant.com/2011-08-21/news/hc-op-suzio-malloy-unions-deal-budget20110821_1_sebac-deal-cost-savings-state-employees
The 50 Richest Members
of Congress (2011) August 19, 2011 To determine the richest
lawmakers, Roll Call adds up the minimum value of total assets reported
by each Member on their annual financial disclosures and subtracts the minimum
liabilities. Percent change refers to the change since last year's disclosure
forms.
http://www.rollcall.com/50richest/the-50-richest-members-of-congress-112th.html
Malloy Vows
Crackdown On Overtime Pay
Check out Connecticut’s New Transparency Website
They have
it all – pensions, salaries and more
http://transparency.ct.gov/html/searchPayroll.asp
Why We Don't Need An Infrastructure Bank? Japan Is Why
Forbes A president who preaches internationalism must look to the
experiences of other countries. Japan
is a mega model for state infrastructure banks. Its Japanese Postal Bank (JPB),
with its 25,000 branches, is the world’s largest bank. JPB attracts about one
out of every three yen of household savings. It is the world’s largest holder
of personal savings with household deposits of some $3.3 trillion. Japan
has the JPB. It also has high speed trains. The model looks like a good fit for
us. Right? It so happens that JPN is also the world’s largest political slush
fund. Politicians at all levels direct its
funds to voters, constituents, friends, and relatives for infrastructure,
construction, and business loans. They basically use it to buy votes, curry
favor, and get rich. They waste depositor money for political gain. If
there are losses, we have enough reserves to cover them. Continued at
http://www.forbes.com/sites/paulroderickgregory/2011/08/21/why-we-dont-need-an-infrastructure-bank-japan-is-why/
Moody's cuts Japan rating
Labor peace fleeting as troopers, prison guards rally
against Malloy
Thousands of Connecticut Workers Evacuated After Earthquake -
News ...
REUTERS: Happening Now: Follow our live coverage and updates on the unrest in
Libya
As Qaddafi Falls, K Street Rises By Chris Frates National Journal August 24, 2011… In March, The Boston Globe reported that Monitor Group, a consulting
firm founded by Harvard professors, had received $250,000 a month between 2006
and 2008 for services intended to generate good press and “international
appreciation of Libya.” Read complete
article at
http://nationaljournal.com/as-qaddafi-falls-k-street-rises-20110823
*************
UPDATED: Contribution Profile of Members of the Deficit 'Super Committee' Submitted by Emilie Middlesworth
on Aug 15, 2011
Aug. 15, 2011 - MapLight has
conducted an analysis of campaign contributions to the 12 members of Congress
appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. The members
of the so-called "Super Committee" are Sens.
Pat Toomey
(R-Pa.), Jon Kyl
(R-Ariz.), Rob Portman
(R-Ohio), Patty Murray
(D-Wash.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Reps. Jeb Hensarling
(R-Texas), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen
(D-Md.), Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.).
To download a spreadsheet
featuring an analysis of contributions from PACs to Super Committee members
(not including employee contributions) click here.
NOTE: Maplight reports that the 10 biggest organization
contributors (this includes PACs and Employees) to Super Committee Members are:
Club for Growth, $990,066; Microsoft Corp., $810,100; University of California,
$629,495; Goldman Sachs, $592,684; EMILY's List,
$586,835; Citigroup Inc., $561,081; JPMorgan Chase
& Co., $494,316; Bank of America, $349,566; Skadden,
Arps, et al., $347,356; General Electric, $340,935
...
Who is Bankrolling Congress?
http://maplight.org/us-congress/legislator
Google settles pharmacy charges for $500 million: report
It’s a Flawed Settlement NYTimes Editorial Aug 22, 2011
The Obama administration has turned up the
heat on Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, to go along with a proposed
settlement with the nation’s largest banks over dubious foreclosure
practices. Mr. Schneiderman should stand his ground
in not supporting the deal. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/23/opinion/its-a-flawed-settlement.html?amp;amp
GE moving X-ray business to China. What message is sent to U.S.?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty: Read
complete article at http://caffertyfile.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/27/ge-moving-x-ray-business-to-china-what-message-is-sent-to-u-s/
CLICK TO VIEW MAJOR FOREIGN HOLDERS OF
TREASURY SECURITIES
(in billions of
dollars)
http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
Al Franken:
The Corruption of the Credit Rating Agency Industry
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-19/opinion/franken.rating.reform_1_jeffrey-manns-credit-rating-rating-agencies?_s=PM:OPINION
STIMULUS FUNDING IN CONNECTICUT
Connecticut’s Federal Stimulus Funding Website http://www.ct.gov/recovery/site/default.asp
July Report 2011
Where’s the Syria plan? - The Washington Post Eugene Robinson, The Washington
Post Writers Group: "It's hard to argue with President Obama's
call for Bashar al-Assad,
the bloodthirsty Syrian dictator, to step down. But it's also hard to discern
any logic or consistency in the administration's handling of the ongoing tumult
in the Arab world." http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/wheres-the-syria-plan/2011/08/18/gIQAE7IWOJ_story.html
My Response To Buffett And Obama Before you ask
for more tax money from me, raise the $2.2 trillion you already collect each
year more fairly and spend it more wisely by
Mr. Golub, a former chairman and CEO of American
Express, currently serves on the executive committee of the American Enterprise
Institute. …. Governments have an obligation to spend our tax money on programs
that work. They fail at this fundamental task. Do we really need dozens of
retraining programs with no measure of performance or results? Do we really
need to spend money on solar panels, windmills and battery-operated cars when
we have ample energy supplies in this country? Do we really need all the
regulations that put an estimated $2 trillion burden on our economy by raising
the price of things we buy? Do we really need subsidies for domestic sugar
farmers and ethanol producers? Continued
at ……. http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424053111903639404576516724218259688-lMyQjAxMTAxMDIwMjEyNDIyWj.html?mod=wsj_share_email
Will Clarence and Virginia
Thomas succeed in killing Obama’s health-care
plan? by Jeffrey Toobin August 29, 2011 As the Justice
has assumed an influential role on the Roberts Court, his wife has helped lead
the public war against the Administration. It has been, in certain respects, a
difficult year for Clarence Thomas. In January, he was compelled to amend
several years of the financial-disclosure forms that Supreme Court Justices
must file each year. The document requires the Justices to disclose the source
of all income earned by their spouses, and Thomas had failed to note that his
wife, Virginia, who is known as Ginni, worked as a
representative for a Michigan college and at the Heritage Foundation. The
following month, seventy-four members of Congress called on Thomas to recuse himself from any legal challenges to President Obama’s health-care reform, because his wife has been an
outspoken opponent of the law. At around the same time, Court observers noted
the fifth anniversary of the last time that Thomas had asked a question during
an oral argument. The confluence of these events produced the kind of public
criticism, and even mockery, that Thomas had largely managed to avoid since his
tumultuous arrival on the Court, twenty years ago this fall. Continue reading at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/08/29/110829fa_fact_toobin#ixzz1Vlr5EhCw