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State funding for Communist Party building in New Haven delayed
The Connecticut Bond Commission delayed a vote Friday on a $300,000 grant for the New Haven People’s Center, according to the CTMirror. Raising Hale reported on the item before the commission meeting this morning. More from the Mirror: “An organization like this...
It could happen here: Blog police
California politicians are getting into the business of regulating websites that earn money from political campaigns, according to CalWatchdog, a brazen attempt at interfering with the most important kind of speech. Talk about the fox guarding the chicken coop....
Bond Commission to vote on $300,000 grant for left-wing hub in New Haven
The Connecticut Bond Commission will consider a $300,000 grant Friday to the New Haven People’s Center, an organization with ties to the Communist Party. According to the commission’s agenda, the center will use the money for “exterior masonry repairs, new roofing,...
Each Connecticut resident owes $5,800 for state retiree healthcare, down $2,000 since last estimate
Connecticut’s long-term liabilities went in the right direction for a change, according to a draft report by the state’s new healthcare actuaries, falling from about $8,700 per person to $5,800. Medical and prescription drug benefits for a 50-year-old retired state...
Health Spending Doesn’t Equal Better Health
My latest post for HealthJusticeCT attacks two aspects of government health spending. First, buying healthcare for people is inefficient because they may prefer to have something else. This inefficiency is part of the reason taxpayers don’t get their...
Audit finds sign-language interpreters overbill clients
An audit of the Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired found certain interpreters overbill the agency which leads to higher costs for clients who use their services. The Auditors of Public Accounts said interpreters employed by the commission use labor grievances...
It could happen here: Doubled taxes
The Japanese government wants to raise sales taxes twice before 2015, doubling rates from 5 percent today to 10 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Journal reports that Japanese officials are short half the dollars they want to spend this year. Doubling...
Connecticut middle class pays marginal income tax rates of up to 10 percent
When average Connecticut taxpayers completed their returns for the deadline earlier this week they may have paid marginal rates higher than the state’s top tax bracket because of the way the state phases out certain deductions. Marginal taxes determine how much of the...
Interview with Prof. William Butos: marginal tax rates
What is the difference between a marginal tax rate and a tax bracket? A tax bracket is a range of taxable income that is subject to a specific tax rate. The Federal income tax, for example, currently has six tax brackets, ranging from 10 percent to 35 percent: Let’s...
It could happen here: State employees planning your retirement
Former Connecticut Secretary of the State Miles Rapoport proposed a state-run pension plan in a Hartford Courant op-ed last month. You might be asking, “Don’t we already have a pension plan?” Rapoport suggests creating a new plan that any state resident can buy into:...