In This Together CT

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/carousel/x1671986663/Top-10-stories-of-2009-Recession-s-toll-felt-across-Eastern-Connecticut

By JAMES MOSHER
Norwich Bulletin
Posted Dec 26, 2009 @ 11:04 PM

For the second year in a row, the economy is the top story in Eastern Connecticut and around the world.

The inauguration of a Democratic president after two Republican terms was inextricably linked to the economy. President Barack Obama’s stimulus spending package and proposals to vastly change the nation’s health care delivery system reignited talk about whether government helps or hinders the economy, a debate at least as old as the New Deal. (more…)

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-christmas-sermons-1225.artdec25,0,3208105.story

CHRISTMAS SERMONS

By REGINE LABOSSIERE and MARA LEE
The Hartford Courant
December 25, 2009

The needy are needier than ever. Unemployment has soared. Preparations are ongoing to send more soldiers to war. Washington is polarized, and the state budget deficit remains daunting.

As religious leaders gather with their congregations this Christmas, they are reminding people that this is a season of hope, and that hope ultimately will help get them through difficult times. (more…)

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2009/12/28/leo_canty/doc4b3235311cf4a123922289.txt

CT@Work
By Leo Canty
Published: Thursday, December 24, 2009 12:06 PM EST

We may be at the cusp of an event that could reshape the season to be jolly for eons.

With all the talk about global warming, no one has yet asked the most important question: What will happen to the white Christmas in a warm world? What about Santa, the sleigh, tiny reindeer, and chimneys? The dire consequences from the impact of a balmy life on earth will surely put a damper on good will toward men. Laying off the winter legend because there’s no more winter would be just awful. (more…)

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-digbrflets1223.art2dec23,0,7233376.story

December 23, 2009

The Courant has a very short memory. The Dec. 11 editorial ["Something's Gotta Give On State Budget"] attacked one specific group in the complicated state budget maelstrom.

The Courant claims that with the budget in dire straits, everyone must sacrifice, but no one wants to do it. “Those who live off the state budget” are “digging in their heels,” it says. This means towns, people who use public services and state agencies. (more…)

http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2009/12/22/politics_and_government/doc4b30d67855d07289464111.txt

By Keith M. Phaneuf
Journal Inquirer
Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 10:09 AM EST

HARTFORD — Though she has little leverage to force further concessions, Gov. M. Jodi Rell on Monday asked state employee unions to return to the bargaining table to help balance the deficit-plagued state budget.

And though a spokesman for the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition said the unions would be willing to discuss their ideas to make government more cost-efficient, the prospects of any further savings coming from employee givebacks appeared murky, at best. (more…)

http://www.courant.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-connecticut-budget,0,1293963.story

SUSAN HAIGH
Associated Press Writer

9:59 AM EST, December 22, 2009

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Lawmakers passed a Democratic plan to close the state’s latest budget deficit, even though Gov. M. Jodi Rell and her fellow Republicans claimed it falls far short of what’s needed to balance the books.

The proposal by the majority Democrats, approved on Monday along mostly party lines, still leaves the state with a $137 million deficit — and the governor with the task of deciding how to cover the remaining red ink. (more…)

http://www.theday.com/article/20091222/NWS12/312229907/1018

By Ted Mann
Published 12/22/2009 12:00 AM

Hartford – As Connecticut’s fiscal 2010 budget slides further into deficit, a divided state legislature voted Monday evening to trim state spending and delay a scheduled tax cut on wealthy estates.

But Republicans and some members of the Democratic majority ripped the legislative effort as far too small – a roughly $40 million mitigation bill that cuts some programs and shifts cash to close the shortfall, and a $76.2 million tax bill that postpones changes to the gift and estate tax. (more…)

http://www.rep-am.com/

BY PAUL HUGHES
REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN
DECEMBER 22, 2009

HARTFORD — Democrats moved Monday to shave nearly $40 million from a projected state deficit that may be as high as $550 million.

The Democratic-controlled House and Senate voted to trim $12.4 million in state spending, transfer $23.1 million from a half-dozen special state funds and raise $4.2 million in additional revenues. The Democratic plan additionally delayed a scheduled reduction in the estate tax for two years. (more…)

Leaders of the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) today affirmed they are ready and willing to meet with the Rell Administration to discuss real solutions to the continuing economic crisis.

At the same time, SEBAC emphasized that they will not be returning to the bargaining table to negotiate additional concessions. At the beginning of the year, SEBAC and its thousands of members were responsible for providing Connecticut taxpayers with nearly $1 billion in savings to preserve critical public services. (more…)

http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news11400.html

OTHER VOICES

By Alicia Woodsby
December 21, 2009

The state’s recent cuts have overwhelmingly affected people who are the most poor and the most ill in Connecticut.

The continuous slash-and-burn cuts to the most in need are ineffective and costly public policy. Don’t be fooled. These are not real cuts — these are cost shifts. The state is shifting money from one place to another, and targeting services to those most marginalized. (more…)