Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations

From: The Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations
Contact: Susan Kniep, President
Website: http://ctact.org/
Email: fctopresident@aol.com
Telephone: 860-841-8032

Metropolitan District Commission (The MDC )

Votes to Put $800 Million Dollar Bond Referendum on November, 2012 Ballot

http://cmgr.themdc.com//ucmprd/groups/public/documents/public/mdc_437793.pdf

Members Towns Include

Bloomfield, East Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor

FAQs | The Clean Water Project

Review Minutes of Previous MDC Meetings at

http://press-releases.themdc.com/MeetingMinutes.aspx?mtype=DBM

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State of Connecticut CMT and CAP Test Scores for 2012 - How Does Your Town Compare?�

Click the following web link:� http://www.ctact.org\upload\home\BOB2012CMT.xls

Contact fctopresident@aol.com or ryoung0@snet.net� with any questions.

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Romney Says He Would Keep Parts of Health Care Law

U.S. Debt Hits $16 Trillion

State learns price of universal preschool: $264 million

Retired state official told to repay $411,688 in disability payments

Survey finds manufacturing thriving in Connecticut; other businesses struggle more

Lembo says state must rein in spending to avoid another deficit

Lembo reported a $143.6 million General Fund deficit for the 2011-12 fiscal year.

What the Federal Budget Is Hiding

Inside Edition: Newport Beach Lifeguards Make $200,000 and Can Retire at Age 50

Ex-Mayor Of Bridgeport, Out Of Prison, Seeks Return To Law Practice

TAXPAYER BRAGGING RIGHTS!� The Federation will periodically recognize within its publications an effective Taxpayer or Taxpayer Group working to improve government.��

One such group is the Avon Taxpayers Association under the leadership of its President, Flo Stahl, who is also a Board Member of FCTO.� As union contracts are being negotiated in towns throughout the State, Flo in her article Let the Sunshine In �states her case for Transparency in Public Sector Union Contract Negotiations which are now held behind closed doors.� Flo notes the following�. What makes the practice of closed negotiations insidious is that it perpetuates a culture of mystery and opaqueness. This is the same culture that is charged with producing the equivalent of a financial hammer because we live or die by these contract decisions for years. When the secretly negotiated contract finally does become public, its opaqueness continues with language that almost always requires knowledge of prior provisions and terms to make any sense of it. Click Let the Sunshine In �to read Flo�s article in its entirety.

In addition to concerned taxpayers in Connecticut stepping forward to improve government, taxpayer advocacy is effective throughout the country as in Westerville, Ohio�

Taxpayer group is asking voters to strip $16 million from wasteful ... spending.� �The goal is to force school officials to address a history of questionable spending practices that have resulted in annual tax increases. The group leading the charge � Taxpayers for Westerville Schools � also wants the district to consider logical cost-saving measures that have been repeatedly suggested by local residents, but largely ignored by the school board.

Are you a concerned taxpayer or a member of a group working for reform?� We will be glad to highlight you in our next publication.� Write to fctopresident@aol.com

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Debt Collectors Cashing In on Student Loan Roundup� September 8, 2012 Andrew Martin, The New York Times News Service: � As the number of people taking out government-backed student loans has exploded, so has the number who have fallen at least 12 months behind in making payments � about 5.9 million people nationwide, up about a third in the last five years. In all, nearly one in every six borrowers with a loan balance is in default. The amount of defaulted loans � $76 billion � is greater than the yearly tuition bill for all students at public two- and four-year colleges and universities, according to a survey of state education officials. Continued at �.. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/business/once-a-student-now-dogged-by-collection-agencies.html

OECD downgrades outlook for world economy The Hill, By Erik Wasson Sept 6, 2012� By Erik Wasson�� The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday downgraded its outlook for the global economy compared to an earlier May assessment. The OECD said uncertainty resulting from the eurozone crisis and the �fiscal cliff� looming in the United States at the end of the year is particularly affecting the manufacturing sector and slowing growth. The report finds non-OECD developing countries becoming more effected by the languorous pace of global trade due to economic retrenchment in Europe. For the United States, the OECD predicts 2.3 percent gross domestic product growth in calendar year 2012, up from 1.8 percent last year. But the United States has the most robust growth, with the G-7 advanced developed countries averaging 1.4 percent growth.� Continued at �.. http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/economy/247709-oecd-downgrades-outlook-for-world-economy

As posted on CTNewsJunkie.com OP-ED | The State of Modern Capitalism �by Jonathan Pelto� Sep 6, 2012 The concept that Connecticut taxpayers need to pay the world�s biggest hedge fund $115 million dollars to stay in Connecticut is, understandably, a hard thing to truly understand. They managed to pay their CEO $3.9 billion last year and we have to cough up $115 million, or they�ll move?�� Read complete� report�� http://jonathanpelto.com/2012/09/06/connecticut-the-state-of-modern-capitalism/

Get Your Daily Fix of CTNewsJunkie.com at http://ctnewsjunkie.com/

RPT-Chicago teachers, school officials resuming talks to avert strike

Gary Jason: The coming pension wars Sept 6, 2012� Current news reports remind us that, while our national attention is rightly focused on the upcoming election, the looming fiscal crisis caused by public-employee pensions grows ever closer. Moody's recently warned that the realistic and responsible accounting rules it is now applying to municipal and state governments are revealing that the unfunded public-employee pension liabilities at the state and local levels appear to be about $2.2 trillion, or nearly triple recent estimates. Moody's has warned that it will downgrade bond ratings accordingly for state and municipal governments. Continued at �.. http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/public-370675-billion-illinois.html

Defense contractors hesitate over layoff notices before election� By Jeremy Herb, The Hill,� Sept 9, 2012 - Lockheed CEO Bob Stevens first raised the prospect of mass layoff notices in June, when he said the lack of guidance from the Obama administration could compel the company to issue layoff notices to all 123,000 employees because it was unknown where the cuts would fall.� Continued at �� http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/industry/248313-defense-contractors-hesitate-over-layoff-notices-before-election

Is Connecticut's debt changing outlook for bonds on Wall Street? By Keith M. Phaneuf When measured against its sluggish economy, Connecticut's huge bonded and pension debt ranks worst among all states, a leading Wall Street publication asserted this week.�� Continued at �� http://www.ctmirror.org/story/17313/big-state-debt-changing-outlook-connecticut-bonds-wall-street

State Trooper Files Labor Complaint Over Dues by Hugh McQuaid | Sep 7, 2012 12:30pm A state trooper has filed a complaint with the Board of Labor Relations accusing the Connecticut State Police Union of denying him the right to know how union dues are spent.� The claim rests on case law that requires a non-union employee, who is nonetheless represented by the union in collective bargaining, to continue to pay a portion of their dues as a representation or agency fee. The law also requires the union to provide an explanation of how that money is spent.� The officer, Trooper First Class Marc Lamberty, made the complaint in late July following months of correspondence with the union�s president, Andrew Matthews. Lamberty resigned from the union in June 2011 in the midst of a vote by state employees on a concession package.� Continued at �.. http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/state_trooper_files_labor_complaint_over_dues/

Murphy, McMahon spar over personal financial woes

Feel Good Movie Angers Union Boss By Larry Sand On September 4, 2012 � Showing how painful the truth can be, AFT boss Randi Weingarten goes bonkers over a new film in which a teachers union is presented fairly. Won�t Back Down, a movie due to open nationally on September 28th, centers around two determined mothers, one a bartender and the other a teacher, who team up and try to transform their failing public school in Pittsburgh. Facing a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy, administrative corruption and the teachers union, they devote their lives to making a difference in the education and future of their children.� Continued at �.. http://unionwatch.org/feel-good-movie-angers-union-boss/

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From ProPublica� September 6, 2012� This article is part of an ongoing investigation:�� Eye on the Bailout� As big banks return their TARP money, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to be a drain.

The Bailout: By The Actual Numbers by Paul Kiel ProPublica, Sept. 6, 2012, 9:16 a.m. Quick, how many billions in the red are taxpayers on the bailout of GM? AIG? Fannie and Freddie? Is it true that the government has reaped a profit from bailing out the banks? It should be easy to find answers to such questions. But while it's a snap to find rosy administration claims about the bailout, finding hard numbers is much more difficult. That's why, since the bailouts began in 2008, we've maintained a frequently updated site to provide them. Now we've retooled our database to make it even easier to find these sorts of answers.� So you can effortlessly discover that it's $27 billion for GM, $23 billion for AIG, $91 billion for Fannie, $51 billion for Freddie, and yes, the bank investments have so far returned a profit of $19 billion.� We also make it easy for you to see which investments have resulted in losses (39 so far in total) and to sort bailout recipients by how far in the red or black they are. As always, our scorecard page adds it all up and shows where both bailouts � the Troubled Asset Relief Program, better known as TARP ($55 billion in the red) and Fannie and Freddie (negative $142 billion) � stand right now. Ultimately, the bailout of GM seems likely to result in the TARP's single biggest loss. But since the government still holds about a third of the company's stock (currently worth about $10 billion), we don't include it on our list of losers yet. It's possible the government will sell the stock for more than it's currently worth, recouping more of its investment. For now, the reigning bust is the $2.3 billion investment in the bank CIT, which landed in bankruptcy less than a year after its bailout. Second on the list is Chrysler, which resulted in a $1.3 billion loss. Continued at �� http://www.propublica.org/article/the-bailout-by-the-actual-numbers

The Bailout Scorecard

Our frequently updated database tracks every dollar. In the scorecard, we provide a summary generated from the latest numbers.

Bailout Recipients

Our bailout recipient list tracks the companies to which Treasury has committed money.

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Divided by Immigration Policy John Leland, The New York Times News Service, Sept8, 2012 "The outpouring was intense this summer when President Obama announced that his administration would temporarily stop deporting many illegal immigrants who came to the United States as children�. Now, friends, siblings and spouses who for years shared the same precarious status find themselves on opposite sides of a divide, one preparing for lawful work or access to student loans, the other bracing for the tap of an immigration official.�� .� �the Obama administration deported 1.1 million illegal immigrants, more than any presidential administration since the 1950s.�� Read complete article at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/nyregion/divided-by-immigration-policy.html?pagewanted=all

Reuters Reports: BP sought to blame blue-collar workers: U.S. By David Ingram� WASHINGTON | Thu Sep 6, 2012�� - BP executives wanted to concentrate blame for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster on "blue collar rig workers" in order to save themselves, U.S. government lawyers wrote in a court document that until Thursday was partially redacted. According to the newly public and complete version of the court document, Justice Department lawyers are taking an even harsher tone against BP Plc for the 2010 oil spill than previously thought, invoking the language of class conflict. The August 31 document from the Justice Department was already notable for its strong wording about what the government considers gross negligence on the part of the London-based oil giant and its management.� Continued at �.. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/06/us-bp-oilspill-blue-collar-idUSBRE8851DF20120906

US lays out examples of "gross negligence" by BP

Chicago braces for possible teachers' strike -- its first in 25 years ...� By Faith Karimi, CNN�� September 7, 2012� Chicago is bracing for a teachers' strike that could affect hundreds of thousands of students next week in the nation's third-largest school district. Teachers and support staff set a walkout date for Monday, which would mark the first time they have gone on strike in 25 years. "This is a difficult decision for all of us to make," said Karen Lewis, the union president . "But this is the only way to get the board's attention and show them we are serious about getting a fair contract which will give our students the resources they deserve." If it happens, it will affect about 400,000 students, including some from neighborhoods struggling with crime and gang problems.� Continued at http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/07/us/illinois-teachers-strike/index.html

After Failed Congressional Bid, Donovan Is Left With Campaign Debt by Christine Stuart, Sep 7, 2012, He may have dropped his third party bid, but House Speaker Chris Donovan is still working to raise money to pay off what could be about $84,000 in campaign debts, according to the Federal Election Commission.� Continued at �� http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/after_failed_congressional_bid_donovan_is_left_with_campaign_debt/

What bankruptcy means for Journal Register Company newsrooms ..� Journal Register Company, which owns the New Haven Register, Middletown Press and Register Citizen, filed for bankruptcy on Thursday in an effort to shed �legacy obligations� that include significant debt, pension liabilities and expensive long-term leases on buildings we no longer use.� What does this mean for the newsrooms that I lead as editor of JRC�s newspapers in Connecticut? Continue reading at �.. http://connecticutnewsroom.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/what-bankruptcy-means-for-journal-register-company-newsrooms/

Student Loans: Debt for Life ��Even if you buy into the notion that education debt is good debt, at what point does it become too much of a good thing? Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, which researches financial aid, estimates that student debt, compounded by rising enrollments, is growing by nearly $3,000 a second. Read complete article at http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-06/student-loans-debt-for-life

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Visit the Federation�s Website for Previous Publications

http://ctact.org/

The following are articles you may find of interest from a previous publication:

Are You a Proud CT Property Owner Keeping Your Property In Pristine Condition �You could find your property defined under State Law as Deteriorated, Deteriorating, Substandard or Detrimental to the safety, health, welfare or general economic well being of the community.

Report: Connecticut Economy Weaker Than Experts Believed

Sane politics: Don't follow Connecticut | New Hampshire OPINION01

For U.S. unions, holiday begins somber election countdown

Rentschler field piling up financial losses | WTNH.com Connecticut

Baldwin leaves state holding the bag For more than 250 Thousand Dollars �

Who Pays for Party Conventions?� Taxpayers may be surprised to learn that at least in part, they do.

Connecticut General Assembly: How They Voted

How the state Senate voted on key bills >>

How the state House voted on key bills >>

SmartTowns website http://www.smarttowns.org/.

Memoir of a nuts & bolts prosecutor

Do Naugatuck Valley tax scandals point to wider issues? | The ...��