Raising Hale - Latest Comments

Re: Shared Sacrifice or Sham?

zombie_woof — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 12:01:27 -0000

My understanding is that the savings from the suggestion box were based on estimates made by bean counters of suggestions that had not yet been made- and as far as I know still haven't and won't be- so I'm calling that $180 million smoke and mirrors. Additionally, adding together the figures from items that are not both going to be implemented- that is mutually exclusive is disingenuous when new tiers in a pension system eliminate savings from old tiers when the old system is abandoned but both numbers are added to the state figures- there does seem to be a dearth of hard numbers to back this up however.

The buzz word "shared sacrifice" is a manipulative bit from the liberal class warfare arsenal and when one stops to consider the sacrifice of ones employment becomes very real out here in the real world private sector it becomes more than a little insulting when Malloy's sweetheart deal with his union cronies guarantees a decade of job security.. I'd very much like to see a list of benefits specified in the collective bargaining agreement to do a comparison of things like employee health insurance

A good amount of the supposed savings amount to smoke and mirrors... and add to the mix the fact that the state turned in a deficit last year and the fact that Connecticut continues to hemorrhage jobs- meaning revenue shortfalls in less than expected income tax collections to come. Connecticut taxpayers need to brace for future tax and fee increases to come because Malloy has shown his refusal to effect any meaningful budget cuts and insists on placing the burden for legislative excesses on the backs of taxpayers.

Also- as long as most people are either unable or unwilling to question the propaganda fed to them through the mainstream media then they will willfully not see any reason to throw out the crooks and hucksters who have supplanted common sense with a sense of entitlement and stir up divisive class warfare amongst the masses as cover for an agenda that does away with our constitutional protections and grows government to an intrusive extent, we will be stuck with these political hacks whose rhetoric reflects an understanding of what we are dealing with but whose actions echo an unwillingness to actually do anything about it.

Re: Shared Sacrifice or Sham?

CTtaxpayer — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 10:09:53 -0000

We live in the land of Malloy's folly and corruption. If Folley had won and given big business the deals Malloy has given his big labor cash machine - the liberals would a hang him.

Re: COMMENTARY: Big-spending farm bill won’t help Connecticut farmers hit by drought

zombie_woof — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 22:02:44 -0000

Hillary Clinton has also expressed an appreciation for crises, "Never waste a good crisis" is a statement she made to a young European audience in 2009 in reference to the global warming issue which may or may not be scientifically founded but the greater point seems to be a mind set of those who have attained some measure of influence that a sense of panic can be utilized as a tool to manipulate the masses.

As for the spending bill- it seems to be a case of missing the forest for the trees if I read the legislative process properly... using the response to the economic collapse as an example, trillions of dollars thrown at the situation that in retrospect appears to have richly rewarded the very sector near the epicenter of the mess by handing a dollar amount that exceeds the annual GDP of many countries over with no strings despite being sold to a shocked and defrauded public on the premise that it would be loan ready cash cushion to minimize the effects of the housing market collapse and severe devaluation of the mortgage backed securities that our very own government willfully furnished deregulatory cover to enable them to be stuffed into innumerable retirements, stock portfolios,and otherwise representing a great proportion of the net worth of individuals as well as businesses- including banks.

That cushion of cash that we were told was going to avert a deep recession by being used for loans to businesses and consumers was instead handed over to the biggest banks- no strings... who then either sat on it or used it to buy up smaller banks in order to consolidate the industry- creating a less competitive environment from which they could more easily increase fees to consumers who by that time were already feeling the pinch.

Virtually no one in congress actually stood up for the taxpayer during this... and no one really questioned the fast tracking of the legislative reverse bank robbery that was TARP and corporate welfare that was BAILOUT. Further, no one did anything about the burgeoning debt beyond magnifying it and using it for political gain in order to cast rivals as either spending the US off a fiscal cliff or engaging in scripted laments about how the elderly and needy were being heartlessly thrown under the bus in the name of deficit reduction.

The majority of those in government either couldn't care less about the economic state of the union or see it as too much of a political gold mine to do anything meaningful about it. The nature of these spending bills reflects a disregard for the interests of the people when the contents of the proposed legislature belie the altruistic sounding titles that clearly are calculated to convey to a constituency seen as gullible the idea that the government is at all concerned about them. It is the same with regard to spending bills sold as intended to improve education but whose implementation effectively hands over the increased tax monies to public sector unions, to bloated teacher salaries through collective bargaining and to union labor which wins the union only bidding for work on new facilities that is "for the children" and will little if any devoted toward updating curriculum or making any other changes that would actually impact the learning experience of the actual students whose situation gets shamelessly exploited.

The fast tracking of any bill should be a tip-off that those pushing for it are well aware of the true contents and they do not want to give any time for anyone to actually read and comprehend what the spending is really for. It is how they work... remember Nancy Pelosi ahead of the ramming through of "Obamacare"? "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it."

The bill has been law for a while now and we're still waiting to find out what's really in it. If it wasn't something they knew we'd hate then we'd already have the information. So despite the law's moniker, there's likely nothing affordable about it. My sense is that its full implementation will make life UNaffordable for most.

The point is that our legislature may well NEED to rein in reckless spending but their actions indicate that they have no intention of doing so... and with the MSM firmly in their laps there's no reliable way of getting information to the general population that will be seen as credible. Selling their excesses and waste under the false pretense that it is for our benefit or to address a crisis that we've been conditioned to feel panic about is a tried and true way of doing business as usual.

Re: There is no teacher shortage in Connecticut

Matthew Davis — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 11:15:05 -0000

Do we actually know that of the 16,000 jobs lost, most were teachers? How many were planners, DPW workers, Parks and Recreation workers, cops, fire fighters, clerical and other "general government" positions? I suspect quite a large percentage were not teachers. Second as for "teachers" perhaps if we stopped morphing our public school systems into do-all nanny state utopias, and focused on relevant skills and knowledge, we'd have more efficient and cost effective public schools. Personal transportation, medical services, subsidized breakfast, lunch and now in some places an after noon "snack," counseling, etc, are taking over (have taken over) from academics. Metrics are simplistic and quantitative. The issue is qualitative. How do we explain the simple fact that a guy like John Larson, who is obviously of superior intelligence and possessing exceptional cognitive ability, rises to the very highest levels of American governance, despite having been taught in classrooms which I suspect had no fewer than 30 kids per teacher. And I'm pretty sure the only "counseling" he received was via the back hand of a nun.

Re: Blumenthal inheritance 1, Norwalk 0

zombie_woof — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 08:49:38 -0000

Isn't Blumenthal one of those contemptible "millionaires and billionaires" that Obama is trying to incite popular class warfare against as a distraction from his agenda of economically sodomizing the middle class?

Re: Study: Poorest saw welfare reform job gains

zombie_woof — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 08:47:10 -0000

Statistics can be creatively spun to suit any agenda.... to quote Mark Twain (I believe), "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics"

Re: Source: NVCC dumping good equipment

zombie_woof — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:08:39 -0000

I have just three words:
Record
Tax
Increase

Re: Source: NVCC dumping good equipment

Mike — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 07:02:12 -0000

Talk about deflecting the question: (Asked why the college was getting rid of monitors still new enough to
donate, O’Leary said “the latest round of computers that we bought have
been all-in-one computer/monitor, eliminating the need for separate
monitors.”)
Why are you DUMPING them??? CT Taxpayers hard earned money paid for these. Is there no CT school - Urban, suburb, magnet, vocational- that could use them? No non-profit, no homeless shelter, women's shelter?
Is there no used-electronics firm that could take them & recoup a fraction of their value?
Hello E bay?

(BTW Thank you Zachary for all your investigative work, especially with regard to the Communist Party Building in New Haven)

Re: Commuter rail to Springfield still waiting for millions, but building plans continue

zombie_woof — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 17:07:05 -0000

The railway makes more sense than the half billion dollar bus way between Hartford and New Britain but with revenue in such short supply wouldn't it make more sense to take the $409 million we do have and invest it in repairing the existing infrastructure? I'm sure the Connecticut motorists negotiating the pothole collection that is the on-ramp from 84W to rt 2 have all they can do to contain their glee that their tax dollars are being spent on new projects whose primary purpose is to swell the egos of the poli-tricksters who approved them in the face of deficits instead of mitigating the obstacle course we must negotiate to go about our daily business.

Oh- and this being an election year it would be dubious at best to count on federal funding until we knew the composition of congress and how amiable it will be to funding pork barrel projects when it is pretty common knowledge that the fed is up to its eyebrows in red ink.

Re: Malloy makes big investment in public housing despite problems at local authorities

zombie_woof — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:49:03 -0000

If Malloy's administration stopped obstructing individuals with punitive taxes; and business with high taxes and mandates there might be fewer low income families for which $500 million tax dollars will be dumped into low income housing. Beyond the standard of living imposed on Ct residents, why is housing so expensive that a crisis is created so "big benevolent government" is needed to effect a taxpayer funded rescue?

Re: Does CT have a long-term unemployment problem?

Straight Talk Public Relations — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:21:46 -0000

Have you looked into the Platform to Employment program at WorkPlace in Fairfield and New Haven counties? It specifically addresses long-term unemployment. See www.PlatformToEmployment.com. (Note: I am a consultant to WorkPlace.)

Re: Does CT have a long-term unemployment problem?

zombie_woof — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 19:59:55 -0000

Perhaps a look into the reasons that hiring may not be taking place would be in order here. I think Zach may be inadvertently suggesting the premise that most unemployed people are looking only for jobs that they have experience in and while that may well be true- at least during the first few weeks of joblessness my guess is that when the weeks become months and it is clear that there isn't any hiring in one particular field one will cast a broader net.

I spent nearly six months unemployed and I got very lucky because while I did not land a position that directly relates to anything in my history I did manage to secure a very good job in the manufacturing sector- something I may well not have been able to do had I not spent over a decade in manufacturing in one capacity or another.

That aside, my guess is that hiring is stagnant here largely because of the uncertainty of some political shoes that have yet to completely fall... the huge question mark of the dubiously constitutional Affordable Care Act and other likely changes in the tax structure as the federal government tries to figure out how best to surreptitiously transfer the burden of correcting a decade of government excesses on to the working class.while attempting to convince us that it is in our best interest- and if that fails to divert/distract us by pursuing their rather tired campaign of class envy.

At the state level, the costs of doing business are enormous. Our tax structure can be best described as punitive. We have the highest motor fuel taxes in the continental US... and that doesn't just hurt regular folks, it hurts any business that relies on transportation- of freight or people- by cutting into profits that might otherwise be used to take on an extra staff member or two... IF there's a call for it.

Private sector business relies largely on the old laws of supply and demand and when there's less spending then there's less call for people to handle merchandise and render service. Additionally, some businesses have discovered that, after trimming staff down, they can get just as much work accomplished and with lower payroll there's more profit- which is why businesses exist in the first place. They do NOT exist to hire people as some within the class envy party of our political witches brew seem to believe- or want US to believe. Connecticut has a number of mandates that apply to businesses employing fifty or more people... mandates that cut into the bottom line.

Within the next couple years we're going to find out what "Obamacare" is all about- and I fully expect that it will remain on the books, un-repealed- even if Romney wins the presidential election.... and even if republicans/tea party members gain super majorities in both houses. The Affordable Care Act is likely full of economic poison that will severely hurt- if not completely destroy the middle class.... and it's fairly clear to me that those who pushed for it understood that- as evidenced by the manner in which our representatives were cajoled into vote for it. "We have to pass the bill to find out what is in it" is the red flag quote form none other than Nancy Pelosi. If that doesn't indicate an understanding of exactly how negatively we'd react if we fully knew what the law contained then I don't know what does.

The fact that there's so very much uncertainty over the next couple years suggests to me that it will be after 2014 before we have any chance of seeing any meaningful rebound from this protracted period of high unemployment.

Re: Donovan special counsel Laura Jordan’s law license is suspended

Palin Smith — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:49:31 -0000

A lawyer who fails to pay a $110 license fee is a boob!

Re: State won’t release decisions giving employees accused of fraud their jobs back

George — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 21:28:02 -0000

They are "protecting" the guilty parties in a very real sense of the word.

Imagine if the public knew who these slags were...

The answer is to get rid of the thieves employed by the State, and the thieves elected by We The People.

Re: State won’t release decisions giving employees accused of fraud their jobs back

Northtexaslawyer — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 16:00:57 -0000

And the government employee unions wonder why people do not like government employees. What a crock - the offenders should be in jail no sucking on the public teet

Re: State won’t release decisions giving employees accused of fraud their jobs back

Not Surprised — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:26:59 -0000

So, if people like Bye and the other leftist apologists are going to get all 'legalistic' about this, isn't it obvious that those prohibitions and restrictions should be nullified in cases where the recipient made false claims in their applications? Huh? Isn't that fair and logical?

Is there anyone in the state legislature, or the US Congress with the common sense and the cajones to push for a change in the law and regulations governing government handouts? It's OUR MONEY we're talking about and it's being stolen by fraud.

If you're a private citizen and you commit fraud, your name gets plastered about in all sorts of public records. Why should it be any different for public sector employees? After all they work for US.

Re: State won’t release decisions giving employees accused of fraud their jobs back

Not Surprised — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 16:30:48 -0000

So, they're our employees - they work for US the TAXPAYERS - and the chief counsel of the chief executive of the state says, "No, you're not entitled to know anything about your employees who stole your money."

Does anyone else other then me see that something's wrong here?

Time for another revolution.

Re: State won’t release decisions giving employees accused of fraud their jobs back

equal_rights_for_all1 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 15:13:07 -0000

It seems that regulation about not disclosing names would only apply to those who legally are destitute and meet state requirements for these welfare payments. Those who stole from the taxpayers (while being paid by those same taxpayers) are thieves and should be exposed. Too many honest people are out there to replace them in their jobs.

Re: CT pensions worth about 50 cents for each $1 in pay

Scott2014 — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:00:41 -0000

The percent doesn't make mathematical sense unless it includes other amount not releated to normal contributions. I looked at the actuarial report from 2011. The ARC (Annual Required Employer Contribution) for the pension has a normal rate is 7.14 and the Accrued liability percent is 21.72. I don't know why the numbers are so different.

Re: Strike-related sabotage may have risked lives of nursing home residents

Richard Lewis — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 05:51:00 -0000

Yes, there was proof of the damage and both the Governor and Attorney General's office were aware of that BEFORE they were on the picket line. While we all know that the Governor was put into office on the backs of 1199, it is another thing to actually walk the picket line. Politicians should remain a neutral, mediating force during these times. This is tough on the employer, tough on the strikers, but mostly tough on the residents and families. While the company may have gone to an extreme in this case, these employees paid NOTHING for health insurance for YEARS AND YEARS. How many of you pay NOTHING for health insurance?????? Striking is the worst offense in health care because no one wins. When the strike is over, the people on the outside will continue to be people on the outside because they have been replaced. Was it worth having no job? Check out ALL of the nursing homes in CT which have closed during the past 5 years. Anyone want to know what they ALL have in common?? They were all 1199 facilities. Wethersfield closing right now-- 1199. Rocky Hill and West Hartford last year--1199. Get real people---more building WILL be closing in the next two years--- anyone have any guesses about what they all have in common?

Re: Strike-related sabotage may have risked lives of nursing home residents

Jenn Chewy73 — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 22:00:33 -0000

Isn't it interesting how we didn't hear about any of this alleged sabotage until AFTER the Governor and Attorney General showed their support to the union... Hmm..?

Re: Strike-related sabotage may have risked lives of nursing home residents

Luvumb — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:53:26 -0000

GRRR THESE ARE NOT LAZY PEOPLE!!! Healthbridge only wants to put more money into their own pockets. The management are the ones that are LAZY!!!

Re: Strike-related sabotage may have risked lives of nursing home residents

Luvumb — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 18:47:32 -0000

Well said Jen!!!

Re: Strike-related sabotage may have risked lives of nursing home residents

Jenn Chewy73 — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:28:44 -0000

Did it ever occur to you people that Healthbridge is scrambling to look good in the publics eye since they broke the law by implementing an unnegotiated contract thinking they would get away with it but it backfired and city and state officials are finally realizing what a corrupt company Healthbridge is??!! I don't believe those accusations because as an employee there myself I have heard many lies from them! We love our residents and would much rather be inside caring for them as we have for many years! Healthbridge should be ashamed of themselves and get out of this business because they absolutely put profit before patients!!!

Re: Strike-related sabotage may have risked lives of nursing home residents

Danielle Fischer — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 15:44:59 -0000

Good for Healthbridge! I used to pay nothing for insurance (as did many American's I assume). I now pay about $400 a month for my family. Those same picketers probably voted for Obama and thought that everyone would get free health care. Grr, lazy people are amazing!