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To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (195)	1/15/2003 2:57:17 PM
From: Mannie	Respond to of 1210

I don't believe we have anything major in the way of tax hikes coming. Small additions to the property taxes for 911 services, that type of thing. No defaults looming. But there are huge transportation and educational needs to be dealt with. Those will result in taxation I'm sure, how much and when who knows....leadership is a black hole here, very difficult to get anything done. scott

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (195)	1/15/2003 4:11:06 PM
From: mt_mike	Respond to of 1210

I just talked to a couple friends who work in the Connecticut court system and they are being layed off as part of the state's large scale layoffs to help the budget problem. Also, the 2001 tax act changed the law regarding the amount of credit a taxpayer gets on his estate tax return for state death taxes paid. As a result (since most states have not yet changed their law) states get 50% less revenue from estate taxes today than they did prior to enactment of the 2001 act. I live in a ski resort town in Montana and we have enacted a sales tax targeted at visitors to help alleviate rising property taxes. The state had a deficit this year that it temporarily solved by slashing a bunch of programs. There is growing talk about enacting a state sales tax, although it would require a statewide vote to approve it.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (195)	1/15/2003 4:20:49 PM
From: philv	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1210

My location: Jim, I live on Vancouver Island. B.C.s economy is in deep doo doo. The govt. has been trying to manage by privitization and severe cut-backs in services as well as increases in individual service fees. The economy is largely resource based (forestry is single biggest), and companies are profitless. Many shutdowns & resultant unemployment is high especially outside the Vancouver area. The government is pledged to balance the budget, and will probably have to increase taxes. Like Wash. State, the economy took a big hit during the Asian melt-down and that market still hasn't recovered. Real estate prices and construction were also negatively affected. Exports of nat. gas and electricity have also taken a hit since the all-time high during the Calif. electrical debacle. The province made about $billion profit two years ago in that sector. All in all, it is a scary time, as Canada's exports to the US amounts to 80% of the total. That is why we watch closely what happens in the US. When the scheisse hits the fan down there, we are going to wear it here too. Phil

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (195)	1/16/2003 9:36:25 AM
From: pogbull	Respond to of 1210

UNADJUSTED UNEMPLYMENT DATA workforcesecurity.doleta.gov Excerpt (there is MUCH more good info at the site): The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 717,098 in the week ending Jan. 11, an increase of 97,368 from the previous week. There were 799,246 initial claims in the comparable week in 2002. The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.5 percent during the week ending Jan. 4, an increase of 0.3 percentage point from the prior week. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 4,451,779, an increase of 384,791 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.6 percent and the volume was 4,685,080. Extended benefits were available in Alaska, Oregon, and Washington during the week ending Dec. 28. 53 states reported that 804,019 individuals filed continued claims under the Federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program during the week ending Dec. 28. Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,866 in the week ending Jan. 4, an increase of 625 from the prior week. There were 1,106 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 303 from the preceding week. There were 23,778 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending Dec. 28, an increase of 3,961 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 20,313, an increase of 1,417 from the prior week. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending Dec. 28 were in Alaska (6.5 percent), Oregon (5.7), Idaho (5.1), Wisconsin (5.1), Washington (5.0), Arkansas (4.6), Pennsylvania (4.4), Vermont (4.4), Puerto Rico (4.3), and Michigan (4.1). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Jan. 4 were in North Carolina (+38,752), New York (+28,247), South Carolina (+21,040), Tennessee (+16,452), and Georgia (+12,692), while the largest decreases were in Wisconsin (-21,189), Massachusetts (-12,919), Kentucky (-10,778), Michigan (-10,280), and Pennsylvania (-9,096).