Jonathan Kantrowitz

Run, Ron, run! (A third party race would be so great) Actually, we need it to be a 4th party race with a “true conservative” also running.

Jon Huntsman endorsed Mitt Romney today. But why? Here’s what he had to say about him before today:

and here’s are some great ads from Huntsman:

Registration on-line, election day registration, expanded access to absentee ballots among the proposals

In commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman joined Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, and Common Cause Board Chair Dr. Bilal Sekou to call for preserving voting rights and expanding access to voter registration.

To make registration more efficient and create a more accurate voter file, proposed legislation would create web-based voter registration for Connecticut citizens who have a valid and current driver’s license; allow for Election Day registration to improve voter turnout; and call for absentee ballots to be governed by statute, which would give legislators the ability to adopt laws that address voters who cannot get to polling locations on Election Day. The legislation would also increase penalties on any effort to block or impede voter access.

“Today, I can think of no better statement to make in memory of Dr. King than to expand and assure access to voting rights, given everything he stood and worked so hard for,” said Governor Malloy. “While some states are suppressing voter turnout, we are moving in the opposite direction and working to improve access to elections and align our electoral system with 21st century technology. Voting is a great responsibility, and an enormous opportunity, and, following in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we have an obligation to make every effort to preserve citizens’ access to the polls.”

“Voting is power, and these reforms will give more Connecticut residents the power to decide who they want to represent them in government,” said Lt. Governor Wyman. “That means more of our residents will have a voice in how their tax dollars are spent, what kind of health care system we have, how their children are educated, and so many other aspects of their lives. This is a proposal that will allow their voices to be heard in a place where it truly matters – the voting booth – and the importance of that cannot be overstated.”

“In the spirit of Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., we have a tremendous opportunity this year to expand access to the ballot box to the many citizens of our state who face barriers to voting because their busy working lives make it difficult to register or appear at their polling place on Election Day,” said Secretary Merrill. “Many states have already made these reforms and by taking these important steps forward we can include a younger generation of voters and expand participation in our democracy.”

The proposals will be introduced for the legislative session beginning on February 8th.

As always, I love it when Republicans go at each other. Here’s a great one, in case you missed it:

Former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays is trying to strip Linda McMahon of her belt as the true job creator in the Republican race for U.S. Senate, saying McMahon’s record as former chief executive of WWE is rife with the tragic deaths of the very same wrestlers McMahon has made part of her campaign narrative of corporate success and economic prosperity.

“Let’s think about it: She’s got over 41 people 50 years and younger who’ve died in her jobs. That’s quite a job record that she’s created,” Shays said Wednesday…

“While she was in her entertainment business, which promotes bullying, I was balancing the federal budget and creating 8 million federal jobs,” Shays said. “While I was doing that, she was in the entertainment business making millions. Some people ended up dying because of it. It’s all part of her record.”

Hearst newspapers reporter Neal Vigdor, no friend of liberals, piles on:

During the 14 months of McMahon’s 2010 Senate candidacy alone, five former WWE wrestlers under the age of 60 died.

Read more: http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Shays-assails-McMahon-on-WWE-2476854.php#ixzz1jLNCadPu

With more pre-election year donors than any federal campaign in Connecticut’s history, Chris Murphy’s campaign for U.S. Senate raised over $720,000 in the final fundraising quarter of 2011, bringing the campaign’s total raised to $3.5 million. Murphy enters 2012 with a staggering $2.5 million in the bank.

“When we kicked off this campaign 12 months ago, I’m not sure I could have imagined that a year later we’d already have almost 5,000 donors to the campaign, and 7,000 individual endorsements from Democratic and progressive activists,” said Murphy. “I’m so proud that 8 out of 10 contributions are from Connecticut residents, and that the vast majority of donations are under $250. We’re building a fundraising base that doubles as a grassroots operation.”

Murphy has demonstrated consistent and sustainable growth, building momentum through 2011 with over a thousand new contributors joining Team Murphy each quarter: Q1 – 1,594; Q2 – 1,106; Q3 – 1,023; Q4 – 1,149, for a total of 4,872.

In addition, thousands of individual Democratic and progressive activists across Connecticut have endorsed Murphy each quarter: 2,513 at the end of second quarter, growing to 5,138 at the end of the third and 7,031 total by the end of the fourth quarter.

Here is an interactive map of Murphy’s grassroots support across Connecticut:

http://www.chrismurphy.com/2011-grassroots-map

I love it:

And watch this absolutely beautiful documentary:

“When Mitt Romney Came to Town”

Business Taxes Decline, as Avoidance Increases

A new overview of state budget trends contradicts some conventional views and concerns about taxes and spending in Connecticut. Connecticut’s recent recession sparked controversy about the appropriate balance between revenue increases and spending cuts in closing the state’s budget deficit. During the last recession, Connecticut policymakers closed a larger share of the deficit through spending cuts and smaller share through revenue increases than during previous recessions, according to the report by Connecticut Voices for Children, released at their state budget forum at the State Capitol on Thursday.

“Connecticut has a long history of taking a balanced approach to responding to recessions and reducing the state budget deficit,” said Jamey Bell, Executive Director of Connecticut Voices for Children, a research-based think tank. “As Connecticut’s economic downturn has increased the needs of families in the state, these revenue reforms will help to protect education, health, and other services for families when they need them most.”

Among the findings of the report, which challenge some common assumptions about the growth of state spending and the impact of business taxes:

· In response to the latest recession (Fiscal Years 2009 to 2013), Connecticut policymakers closed 37% of the state budget deficit through revenue increases, compared to 42% in the previous recession (Fiscal Years 2002 to 2003) and 44% during Fiscal Years 1989 to 1992.

· State spending has remained stable over the last two decades, after an increase in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Spending as a share of personal income was about 2% lower in 2010 than in 1995.

· Over the last 20 years, state revenues from corporation business taxes and sales taxes have fallen dramatically as a share of personal income. Corporation business taxes fell 73% and sales taxes 44% as a proportion of personal income between 1990 and 2010. The report attributes this decline to corporate tax cuts, expanded loopholes, and tax avoidance by businesses. The decline of sales tax revenues was due to to a shift towards an economy based increasingly on services, which are usually not subject to sales taxes, rather than goods, which are taxed.

· Although middle-income and low-income Connecticut residents pay a larger share of their income in state and local taxes than the wealthiest residents, the report finds that recent state tax reforms have improved the progressivity of the tax system. Connecticut Voices credits this change to the passage of a state earned income tax credit (EITC) for working families and adoption of more progressive income tax rates for wealthier residents.

Connecticut Voices also released a separate summary of recent national rankings of business taxes and state accountability, Making Sense of the Rankings: Where Connecticut Stands on Business Taxes, including findings that:

· Connecticut is home the some of the country’s biggest tax avoiders – General Electric and Traveler’s – according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy and Citizens for Tax Justice of state and local taxes paid by Fortune 500 companies.
· Connecticut ranks poorly – 36th in the Nation – in a study by Good Jobs First on states’ accountability for creating high-quality jobs through corporate subsidies.
· Connecticut ranks as the lowest-tax state in America for businesses, according to the Council on State Taxation (COST), a trade association of large corporations.

“Connecticut has low business taxes, generous subsidies with few strings attached, and considerable tax avoidance by major corporations,” said Wade Gibson, Senior Policy Fellow at Connecticut Voices for Children. “Yet we still rank dead last in job creation. There is more to this problem than just taxes; we need to invest wisely and examine tax subsidies to ensure we get the best bang for our buck.”

In response to the findings, Connecticut Voices called for several revenue reforms, including
· Closing corporate tax loopholes through “combined reporting” and “throwback rule” reforms,
· Evaluation and disclosure of business tax subsidies to assess how many jobs are being created;
· State reporting on how much different income groups pay in personal income taxes and the impact of business taxes on businesses of different sizes.

Every year, Americans drink 13.8 billion gallons of soda, fruit punch, sweet tea, sports drinks, and other sweetened beverages—a mass consumption of sugar that is fueling soaring obesity and diabetes rates in the United States.

Now a group of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH) and Columbia University have analyzed the effect of a nationwide tax on these sugary drinks. (The article, “A Penny-Per-Ounce Tax On Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Would Cut Health And Cost Burdens Of Diabetes,” by Y. Claire Wang, Pamela Coxson, Yu-Ming Shen, Lee Goldman and Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo appears in the January issue of Health Affairs.)

They estimate slapping a penny-per-ounce tax on sweetened beverages would prevent nearly 100,000 cases of heart disease, 8,000 strokes, and 26,000 deaths every year.

“You would also prevent 240,000 cases of diabetes per year,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an associate professor of medicine and of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF and acting director of the Center for Vulnerable Populations at SFGH.

In addition to $13 billion in direct tax revenue, Bibbins-Domingo and her colleagues estimated that such a tax would save the public $17 billion per year in healthcare-related expenses due to the decline of obesity-related diseases.

“Our hope is that these types of numbers are useful for policy makers to weigh decisions,” she said.

The High Cost of High Calorie Drinks

Consumption of beverages high in calories but poor in nutritional value is the number one source of added sugar and excess calories in the American diet. Sugar- sweetened drinks are linked to type 2 diabetes and weight gain.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed reducing the intake of these beverages as one of its chief obesity prevention strategies in 2009, and several states and cities, including California and New York City, are already considering such taxes.

The analysis by Bibbins-Domingo and her colleagues is among the first study to generate concrete estimates of the health benefits and cost savings of such a tax. They modeled these benefits by taking into account how many sodas and sugary beverages Americans drink every year and estimating how much less they would consume if a penny-per-ounce tax were imposed on these drinks. Economists have estimated that such a tax would reduce consumption by 10 to 15 percent over a decade.

They then modeled how this reduction would play out in terms of reducing the burdens of diabetes, heart disease and their associated healthcare costs.