|
|
|
| |
Three Ring Circus
July 8, 2008 NO WAY
According to a survey by CNN and the Opinion Research Corp., one-third of Clinton supporters will not vote for a presidential candidate this November.
July 7, 2008 41 NOT 43
The only President to have two middle names, is George Herbert Walker Bush.
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Three Ring Circus Archive
|
|
|  |
|
|
|
| |
Today's Top News
"It had nothing to do with it ... we don't care about someone's press profile," said CWA spokesman Robert Master, denying that Carla Katz' removal as president of CWA had anything to do with the publicity surrounding her relationship with Gov. Corzine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: CARLA, WE HARDLY KNEW YE
July 8, 2008
Unions are always promoting the brotherhood of workers. But sisterhood?
Apparently not so much.
In a press release that practically singed with hostility, the CWA’s national executive board decided late Monday to remove Carla Katz as president of Local 1034, as well as the rest of her executive board, saying she misappropriated union funds, retaliated against her critics and improperly authorized thousands of dollars in political donations.
Oh, and did we mention that they already have changed the locks?
We don’t know much about the internal workings of the CWA, but we have to ask: If Katz hadn’t been the focus of so much publicity, concerning her relationship with Gov. Corzine (they dated from 2002 to 2004); the ongoing mystery over the gifts he gave her, estimated at some $6 million; and the continuing controversy over e-mails they exchanged that Corzine has gone to court to try to conceal from the public, does any one really think it would have come to this?
Bob Master, a spokesman for the national union and a Katz foe, told NJ101.5 radio that the two are unrelated.
"It had nothing to do with it … we don't care about someone's press profile," Master said.
Of course, he’s also the one who said this to the Associated Press: “We hope this will refocus the local on the day-to-day operations, rather than a lot of the drama that has surrounded this local in the last couple of years.”
But there can be little doubt that Katz likely brought some of this onto herself. She went out of her way to criticize the state worker contract that had been negotiated by the national, and campaigned against it. She also inserted herself into the negotiations by e-mailing Corzine about them, despite an agreement among the locals not to do so, not to mention inserting herself in that e-mail lawsuit between Corzine and the Republicans. That front-page cover of the New York Post probably didn’t help, either.
Katz responded angrily to the executive board’s decision to suspend her pending the investigation: “This action by the National union is appalling and the charges against our Local's leadership are completely false. It is a travesty that the retaliation against me, and my fellow union leaders, for our opposition to the bad state worker deal, continues in full force. The National's baseless and extreme action, done without any notice, trample the democratic rights of the members of our union under the deceptive guise of protecting democracy. It is shameful."
The reason for Katz’s removal, according to the Associated Press, is that the “Communications Workers of America said its investigation had found evidence of several violations of the union’s constitution and bylaws. It said Ms. Katz used union money to pay for an unsuccessful election campaign for a national union vice presidency, including paying expenses for people to campaign for her. It also said that she spent union money without oversight from the local’s officers or board, including more than $700,000 in political campaign contributions made between October 2005 and May 2008; threatened a dissident member’s employment and engaged in other retaliatory conduct; and failed to keep time records to show what she was doing as the local’s president. The investigation also concluded that the local’s executive board suspended a board member who voiced concerns about local policies and expenditures.”
Master said the matter has not been forwarded to law enforcement. Katz and her suspended board face a hearing on July 22.
Corzine, by the way, had no comment. But do you think he's begun to grasp why so much concern was raised over his relationship with Katz in the first place?
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: 'OUTSIDE THE BOX'
July 8, 2008
So is this what we have come to in New Jersey?
A two-tier class system of roadways? Those with money to burn, drive here. The rest of you, jam over here.
Ah, New Jersey. A state that never fails to remind us why we are often the laughingstocks of the nation.
This latest brainchild, according to the Star Ledger, would result in “privately run lanes would be set up solely for truck and bus traffic on the full length of the 122-mile Turnpike. Another plan would create ‘express lanes’ where motorists would pay a premium to get away from traffic.”
In other words, one or more lanes would be run by a private firm who would operate those lanes. It wasn’t clear if the state would own the lanes, or if the firms would lease them – or just how this two-tier system would actually work.
Senate President Dick Codey and Sen. Ray Lesniak are said to be the ones who were “thinking outside the box” and came up with this proposal. They believe it’s a way to pay for road repairs and widenings, without needing a toll increase.
Gov. Corzine, who’s busy behind his desks, working on “Monetization, the Sequel,” apparently hasn’t committed to the plan. Of course, he is also the man who thought raising the tolls by 800 percent was a boffo idea.
"Conceptually, the plan has great promise," Lesniak told the Ledger.
We think we need to see the fine print before we agree with that evaluation. Meanwhile, we have a few questions that we would like to see answered:
Would there be concrete barriers to ward off non-subscribers from the private lanes? Would the private operators be responsible for snow and ice removal? How about repaving? Would there be a separate white glove concierge service for these drivers at the rest stops, or would there be a separate area? Would trucks and buses be forced to join the private lanes, no matter what? And if that’s the case, what’s to stop these private firms from charging trucks and buses confiscatory rates in order to drive the roads? And if that happens, wouldn’t we still be charging truckers more to drive through New Jersey – and wouldn’t that still show up in the prices we pay at the store? How would that impact New Jersey’s already shaky business climate? What happens if just-plain-folks drivers try to go onto the presumably less crowded private lanes, are the State Police going to ticket them? Or will these private lanes have their own law enforcement?
Assemblyman John Wisniewski, chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, meanwhile, told the Ledger he thinks a private operator should build the new trans-Hudson River tunnel, and free up billions in public dollars that way. But Wisniewski also warned that “even these alternatives might not be enough to avoid toll increases for all drivers, and even a small gasoline tax increase,” the Ledger said.
"The money has to come from somebody," he said.
Yes it does. But it’s too bad that the Legislature couldn’t find that money in the existing $33.9 billion – a budget that doubled in just seven years. A budget that added 10,000 employees to the executive branch from 2000 to 2006, and 13,000 more to the state’s independent authorities and agencies. A budget that saw spending increase at the rate of 6 percent a year from 2000 to 2008.
Because when Wisniewski says “somebody,” he means the taxpayers. Somehow, Trenton and its bureaucracy are never fully asked to step up the plate. Wonder if a private operator could build a private lane for that.
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: WILL THE REAL JON CORZINE PLEASE STAND UP
July 7, 2008
So last March, Gov. Corzine invited eight of the nation’s top real estate executives for a meeting to discuss New Jersey’s economy.
The diagnosis, according to the Star Ledger, was grim. New Jersey was losing out to Pennsylvania for companies and jobs. Pennsylvania was simply more aggressive. Gov. Ed Rendell was actively courting businesses to come to his state, creating a sales team to help businesses with everything from site location to incentives. He’s looking, according to one executive, to create Wall Street West in Pennsylvania.
And New Jersey’s governor?
He didn’t comment for the story. But more and more, we’re wondering whether part of New Jersey’s problem is that Jon Corzine can’t decide who he is: the former CEO of a Wall Street investment firm that is friendly to business, or a would-be union organizer who puts the needs of the union first.
Look at the photo above. It was taken on June 21 in Atlantic City. About 5,000 union workers were at the rally which, according to the Associated Press, “was aimed at pressuring Atlantic City casinos to agree to new contracts.”
And who is the blue-shirted man in the middle? Yes, that’s our governor; fist raised in the air, rallying the union workers against their business employer, the casinos.
“We stand with you. We’ll fight with you. You have a right for a contract now,” Corzine shouted to the crowd. You can see the video here.
Casinos, which by the way, have invested in Atlantic City. Casinos that are regulated by the state of New Jersey. The state where Jon Corzine is governor.
It’s so reminiscent of the rally in June 2006, when the governor waded out into the crowd of thousands of public employees who were protesting proposed benefit cuts, when he vowed, “I stand with you. I’ll fight with you.”
Now we may not be rocket scientists. We may not even play one on TV. But what message does Jon Corzine think he is sending to business when he attends labor rallies like these?
He’s not a senator any more, Senators and congressmen and state representatives can do all the railing they want against a business, and not have it impact employment prospects in their state.
But governors are different. Governors are their state’s business ambassadors. They set the tone for whether a state is considered is open or closed for business.
In its article Sunday – with the headline “Pa. Gov poaching business from N.J.,” the Star-Ledger itemized how Rendell is wooing companies to his state. Apparently, Rendell – a Democrat, like Corzine – is not conflicted about his role. Here is how the Ledger describes Rendell’s approach to wooing business:
“In five years in office, the hard-charging Rendell has implemented an aggressive development strategy and takes a hands-on approach, unafraid to pick up the phone or visit CEOs looking to relocate or expand their operations.
Soon after taking office, Rendell impaneled a governor's action team, a sales force of sorts, to provide one-stop shopping, assisting prospective developers with everything from site location to incentive packages.”
Let’s contrast that with what the Ledger wrote about New Jersey’s governor, shall we?
“Gov. Jon Corzine, flanked by some of his top advisers, invited eight of the state's top real estate executives to the governor's mansion for coffee and Danish one day last March to hear their take on the wobbly world of economic development in New Jersey.
At first, the discourse was deferential and measured. Then it was Zygi Wilf's turn.
'I develop real estate in 38 states,' Wilf said, according to two people who were in the room. 'This is the worst.'
Corzine sipped his coffee and offered no response.”
Not exactly what one would expect from a hard-charging economic development salesman promoting the virtues of his state.
But perhaps that’s too harsh. Perhaps the governor was taking it all in, to develop a pro-growth policy later. So exactly what has our governor done since that March 2007 meeting to improve the state’s business climate?
Let’s see. On the plus side, he signed a budget this year that was $600 million less than last year, and he replenished the unemployment insurance trust fund with $260 million. Last year’s budget cut corporate business taxes by $275 million, by allowing the alternative minimum assessment, net operating loss, and subchapter S provisions of the 2002 Corporation Business Tax reforms to expire.
On the negative? Business groups have opposed the paid family leave and extension of the utility tax. There’s also that affordable housing bill on Corzine’s desk, which places an additional tax on business.
And, let’s not forget that in January, he rolled out his proposed 800 percent toll hike to pay for transportation projects and debt reductions. That plan might have died, but the governor is reportedly planning “Son of Toll Hike,” which will likely contain a smaller toll hike, and possibly a gasoline tax hike, although Corzine has said he views that as a “last resort.”
He also disbanded the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission.
Now, some will cite the fact that New Jersey is in a worse economic position than Pennsylvania, and can’t afford to match the state in incentives. All that is true. But budgets are about choices. And choices are about setting priorities.
For those that doubt that New Jersey’s economy is really in such disrepute, here are some statistics released by the New Jersey Business and Industry Association’s New Jersey Policy Research Organization in April:
“New Jersey ranked 49th in nation in its business tax climate, according to the National Tax Foundation. By comparison, Pennsylvania, ranked 27th; New York, 47th; and Delaware, 9th.
New Jersey also has the 7th highest electricity costs for industrial users and 11th highest for commercial users. New Jersey imposes a 7 percent sales tax on electricity as well as a Societal Benefits Charge and a Transitional Energy Facility Assessment totaling 6.5 percent. New York charges a 4 percent sales tax, Pennsylvania, 6 percent, and Delaware, which has no state sales tax, charges a 4.25 percent Public Utilities Tax on the distribution of electricity.
New Jersey is well known as having the highest per-capita property tax rates in the nation, which has a tremendous impact on business property owners, not just homeowners. The State also has the 8th highest top corporate tax rate, and the 6th highest top tax rate for personal income. New Jersey is also one of the few states that does not provide standardized income tax deductions, taxing a larger portion of an individual’s income.”
All this taxation goes to fuel the cost of government. This year’s budget reversed a recent trend of ever-higher spending. But it left open the necessity to increase tolls or the gas tax to pay for transportation projects, by not cutting deeper to pay for those projects with revenues on hand. It allows the state to go further into debt, by bonding an additional $3.9 billion for school construction. And while the Legislature passed modest pension reforms, it left on the table larger benefit issues – like that 9 percent gift pension boost that the Legislature and then-Republican Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco gave employees in 2001.
No one is saying you can’t be pro-business, and pro-worker. But you can’t always pro-business and pro-union. Sometimes, you have to choose. Sometimes, the greater needs of the state have to come first.
Since December 2007, New Jersey has lost 10,300 jobs. There are 6,500 fewer private sector jobs in New Jersey today than there were in December 2000, according to NJBIA. The trend is going the wrong way. And, to point out the obvious, people need jobs in order to pay taxes.
Whatever the governor’s been doing to improve the state’s business climate so far doesn’t appear to be working. The question now is, what is Jon Corzine going to do to fix it? And will he remember that he’s supposed to be standing for us all?
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Guest Column: A VICTORY FOR PAY-TO-PLAY REFORMERS
July 7, 2008 By MICHAEL M. SHAPIRO This past week, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey issued a decision in In the Matter of the Appeal by Earle Asphalt Company, a case involving the owner of a road construction business and his political contribution to the Monmouth County Republican Committee in June 2007. Walter Earle III, owner of Earle Asphalt Company, made the contribution at the behest of former State Senate President John Bennett, failing to realize that the contribution could bar him from obtaining business from the State. After obtaining counsel and being advised that his contribution might violate pay-to-play laws, Mr. Earle requested that the contribution be returned. Meanwhile, Earle Asphalt Company submitted a bid to the New Jersey Department of Transportation for a roadwork contract involving Interstate 195. It was the low bid and therefore Earle Asphalt would have been awarded the State contract. However, the Department of Treasury informed the company that it was disqualified from award of the contract because of Mr. Earle’s June 2007 political contribution. Mr. Earle appealed this decision and took the matter to court. (To read the rest of Michael Shapiro's view about the impact this decision may have on the state's pay-to-play laws, read his guest column here.)
Add Your Comments | Guest Column |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: THE AUDACITY OF AMERICA
July 3, 2008
America celebrates her 232nd birthday July 4.
As we head off to beaches and barbecues, and watch the fireworks, it’s a good time to remember that we Americans are blessed to live in a country where our futures are not decided for us; they are what we make for ourselves.
We forget, today, what an outrageous experiment that was back in 1776.
In a world ruled by kings and queens, where you were born into a class, and largely stayed there, the American experiment must have been seen as the height of arrogance – or foolishness.
Funny how others still view us that way today.
America isn’t a perfect country. We never claimed to be.
What we have said is that in America, you can be whoever your talents and abilities allow you to be.
Americans dream big dreams. We believe we can solve any problem, if we put our mind to it.
We don’t accept defeat.
Sometimes, however, we accept complacency.
Because we are so free, too often we take our country for granted.
What our founders knew, and what we sometimes forget, is that our government – that is to say, our institutions -- is not the source of our liberty. Neither are our politicians.
The rights which we have – to protest, to speak our mind, to vote for who we choose – were set forth by our Founding Fathers, who believed that those rights – of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – were not rights to be handed out by kings, but were given to us by God.
Which, in so many ways, is what sets us apart from other countries.
It is the American ideal – the notion of American exceptionalism, that we are a good and decent country that tries to right wrongs where we find them, that makes us different.
We give more in charity than any other nation. We send more foreign aid than any other nation. When disaster strikes, America is there. When a country needs help, America is there. Not as a conqueror, but as a helping hand. We believe the strength of any nation can only be measured by its people – and that those people, can only achieve their true potential, if they are free.
We take our strength for granted. We take our democracy for granted. Our patriotism may only come out on holidays, but when we feel threatened, like we did in the days after Sept. 11, you see it everywhere.
Those flags that popped up on porches and buildings and car windows across this country were not only to show the colors, but also to put our enemies on notice. Don’t mistake our quarrelsome democracy as a sign of anything other than what it is: Americans like to debate and argue their politics. But are Americans first, last and always -- and we will defend our country, and our ideals, no matter what.
For, at the end of the day – also known as the first Tuesday in November, Americans get to choose who wins the debate. And the other side goes home, and accepts defeat, and plans for the next election.
This year, we choose a new president. Once again, it’s bound to be a raucous campaign, and once again, there will be a victor, and the vanquished. But the amazing thing about America is that whoever is in office, even though he (or she) is recognized as the leader of the free world, when their term is up, they quietly get on Air Force One, and go home.
And they rejoin the rest of us as ordinary citizens.
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: 'TOUGH CHOICES'
July 2, 2008
Well, at least he gets one-half of the equation right.
Gov. Corzine was on Fox 29’s "Good Day Philadelphia” today said raising New Jersey's gas tax "ought to be a very, very last resort."
"I'm not anxious to move forward with a gas tax. I really think we've got to find another way," he said, according to the Star Ledger. "I think it's a bad idea right now to put more burdens on individuals."
We couldn’t agree more. But we have a question: If a gasoline tax a burden, how is a toll hike not a burden?
Now that the budget is done, the governor is turning his attention to what to do about transportation funding. The budget he just signed included no extra money to replenish the transportation trust fund.
Key lawmakers, including Sen. Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, have endorsed the idea of increasing the tax about 15 cents a gallon. New Jersey’s current gas tax is 14.5 cents per gallon, the third lowest gasoline tax in the nation, collecting 14.5 cents per gallon.
And then there’s monetization.
Corzine's last attempt was to call for an 800 percent increase to pay for transportation and debt relief. He’s said to still want both. He talks about how the funding is needed to avoid tragedies like the recent Minnesota bridge collapse.
"We've got to come up with a plan. It's not to going to be something that people are going to like because there's nothing but tough choices if we actually want to do anything," he said.
Now, why is it that whenever we hear politicians talk about tough choices, we immediately reach for our wallets?
We know that the governor believes he made tough choices in his last budget, which cut spending by $600 million.
But the state budget has doubled – doubled! in just 10 years. From 2000 to 2008, spending has increased by 6 percent a year. The state payroll has increased by 10,000 employees in the executive branch, and 13,000 in independent state agencies, from 2000 to 2006.
In 2001, lawmakers and then-Republican Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco on their own increased pension payouts by 9 percent.
That 9 percent hike, by the way, was not negotiated by a contract. It was just given.
So yes, governor, tough choices have to be made. But we would humbly suggest that those tough choices should be made in Trenton, and that Trenton should start with their own. Government has grown by leaps and bounds since 2000, and New Jersey families have had to scramble to find a way to pay the ever-increasing tab.
So before you come to New Jerseyans for higher taxes or tolls or fees, take another look at what you spend. That’s where the tough choices have to be made.
With all due respect, we’ve already paid.
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: DANCING WITH THE PAST
July 1, 2008
Those are some expensive e-mails.
To date, we the people have spent $54,293 to keep Jon Corzine’s e-mail to and from Carla Katz, his former girlfriend and state worker union leader, secret from ourselves.
And, if the GOP ultimately wins the court challenge, then we the people will have to fork over at least $120,300, all so Carla’s “Dear Jon” letters don’t become public.
What’s worse, the tab is just beginning, according to reports in Gannett and the Star Ledger.
Can someone find the remote control, so we can change this channel?
The continuing saga of the governor and the union leader might make for an interesting soap opera, except for the fact that the taxpayers keep having to pick up the tab for this production.
The governor insists that there is nothing in the e-mail, but he’s duty-bound to fight on behalf of the concept of executive privilege.
But if that’s the case, then why is he willing to abandon the fight the moment it interferes with his re-election bid? He told the Star-Ledger two weeks ago that he “wants this done” before the November 2009 election, and so he might drop his court challenge at some point next year if it doesn’t look likely that it would be resolved by then.
Not because of the continuing cost to the taxpayer. But because it might harm his ambition.
Thanks for clearing up your priorities, governor.
Here is what is so ludicrous about this case. The e-mails probably contain nothing explosive. But because Corzine is going to such lengths to hide them from the public, there really is little choice but to follow this through to the end and find out what’s inside.
And so we are forever haunted by that photo of Corzine and Carla, in a picture that looks like an outtake from the reject line of “Dancing with the Stars.”
The bottom line, as it has always been in this case, is that this is a controversy all of Corzine’s own making.
The taxpayers didn’t tell him to start dating a union leader when he was thinking of running for governor.
It wasn’t taxpayers who decided to bestow some $6 million in parting gifts upon that union leader when the two broke up.
It wasn’t taxpayers who told him not to be truthful about the extent of those gifts, starting with the mortgage when he was running for office, and whenever the subject has come up since.
It wasn’t taxpayers who told him to exchange e-mails with Katz while the state was negotiating a new contract with her union.
And it’s certainly not taxpayers who are now telling him to keep fighting the release of those e-mails, no matter how much it costs.
Nope, he made all those decisions all on his own.
Next month, the governor will likely announce his new plan to raise our tolls – and possibly, our gas tax – by telling us how the state is just too broke to pay for transportation funding and debt reduction any other way.
Funny, isn’t it, that he doesn’t think we are too broke to keep paying for his bad judgment.
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: SWIMMING WITH THE DOLPHINS
June 30, 2008
There has been a pod of 15-20 dolphins swimming in the Shrewsbury River for the last two weeks, enjoying a bumper crop of menhaden, one of their favorite foods. And even though wildlife experts are concerned that boaters might harm them as they compete for space in the busy river, the dolphins appear in no hurry to return to the ocean. "If the buffet's open, are you going to leave?" asked one expert.
And thus we have the perfect analogy for the New Jersey state budget, which Gov. Corzine is expected to sign later this afternoon.
For too many years, the buffet has been open, paid for by the taxpayers of New Jersey. The smorgasbord of excessive spending, generous benefits and questionable choices have created a budget that threatens to swamp too many New Jersey families, who are already struggling to make ends meet.
We will state for the record that Corzine and the state Legislature deserve credit for delivering a budget that is $600 million less than last year, and for using an unexpected surplus in this year’s budget to pay down the debt. The Legislature also defied the unions, and passed several new pension reform bills. Even though they were watered down, they still represent a savings of some $200 million, and we hope that Corzine decides to sign them.
But budgets are never just about numbers – they are about choices. Choices that were made in this year’s budget, and in previous budgets, that set the stage for the state of New Jersey’s fiscal calamity.
Take the size of the state workforce, for example. To reduce the payroll, Corzine wanted to offer an early retirement program to 3,000 state workers, which was ultimately whittled down to 2,000 workers. New Jersey’s taxpayers are going to pay more for the pension benefits of those 2,000 workers.
But do you know why the state needed to reduce the workforce? One likely reason is that between 2000 and 2006, New Jersey added 10,000 workers to the payroll, a 17 percent increase, at a time when the state population was only growing by 4 percent, according to City-Journal magazine.
But we didn’t stop there. New Jersey’s independent agencies authorities added 13,000 jobs in that same time frame.
That’s 23,000 more government workers, paid for by New Jersey’s taxpayers. As a contrast, in the same time frame, New York’s payroll increased by less than one percent, the magazine notes.
And to help pay for all those new salaries, New Jersey’s state budgets increased by an average of 6 percent a year from 2000 to 2008.
And to help pay for all that new spending, New Jersey kept on raising taxes.
During his scandal-ridden tenure, Jim McGreevey raised taxes 33 times from 2002-2004, raising $3.6 billion, according to City-Journal. When Jon Corzine took office, pledging to right New Jersey’s financial ship, he increased the sales tax by a penny, to raise $1.2 billion.
Is there any doubt why New Jersey families say they can’t keep up?
Is it any wonder why so many New Jerseyans believe that there is more, much more, that can be cut from this year’s budget?
So, while steps were taken to improve the state’s financial picture, more problems remain.
The choices that were made in this year’s budget that set the stage for higher property taxes in some towns, as municipal aid cuts – combined with large pension payments – left municipalities with little wiggle room. And while the budget does increase aid to education, many of those districts appeared to use the extra money for increased spending, keeping the school tax rate about the same as last year.
Property tax rebate checks were eliminated for families earning above $150,000, and cut by one-third for families earning between $100,000 and $150,000. It’s doubtful that many of those New Jersey families ever thought of themselves as rich.
And while we applaud the Legislature for approving additional pension reforms, we note that the ones that would have resulted in the most savings – like limiting pensions to one job, or rolling back that 9 percent pension boost that then-Republican Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco signed into law in 2001 – remain.
So this third budget that Corzine signs today is better than his first two. But we can’t help noting that if the governor had taken any of these steps when he first took office, the fiscal crisis he often cites would not have been as bad. Even when he shut the government down in 2006, he still increased spending. That sales tax boost he signed into law paid for the spending hike – and for the increase in property tax rebates.
We also note that the governor is still adding to the state’s debt burden, pushing through a $3.9 billion school construction bond without asking the voters for permission. The state Supreme Court decision, which he often cites as his rationale, does not say the bond cannot go to the voters – how could it? All bonding is supposed to be approved by the voters, except when lawmakers and governors figure a way around it.
New Jersey has $32 billion in bonded debt. Since 1990, voters have approved $3 billion in debt while the state has issued $24 billion without voter approval.
And we wonder why the state is in so much debt?
But just because the budget is done, doesn’t mean the danger to taxpayers’ wallets is over. He’s busy crafting his second try at monetization – Son of Toll Hike – which will likely seek to bond for transportation funds, and to pay down the debt, and hike the tolls – although not by as much as the 800 percent he sought the first time around. Some lawmakers are also calling for a hike in the gasoline tax.
It is probable, by the way, that any monetization bond issue would also be done without voter approval.
So here we are New Jersey. Another state budget about to be history.
And another year when taxpayers, instead of swimming with the dolphins, are left to fend for themselves, warding off the sharks.
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Daily Muse: DARN THOSE STATISTICS!
June 27, 2008
As the governor busily sharpens his pencil, figuring out how much of a toll and/or gas tax hike he should ask for this summer, he might want to ponder this.
High gasoline prices, and rising tolls, means fewer drivers on the road.
Which makes us ask this:
If there are fewer drivers, then why do we need to widen roadways?
And why, oh why, would we then need to dramatically hike the tolls, or raise the price of gasoline, on struggling New Jersey families?
The newest statistics from the Port Authority beg these and other questions. In May, just as gasoline prices started to skyrocket – and tolls increase – 425,000 fewer drivers used the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings, according to the Star Ledger.
Four hundred and twenty five thousand fewer drivers.
Even the Port Authority concedes it was due to skyrocketing gasoline prices, and the fact that they just pushed through whopping toll hikes of their own.
Recent statistics from the Turnpike Authority also showed that from April 2005 to April 2008, that rather than increase – as the Authority had projected – the number of drivers on the roadway has stayed about the same over that three-year span. And that’s before the most recent round of gas hikes kicked in.
Now why is this relevant, you ask?
The Turnpike Authority plans to spend $2 billion to widen the Turnpike between Interchanges 6 and 9. They justify the expense by saying that traffic northbound will increase by 67 percent and southbound by a whopping 92 percent between 2005 and 2032.
Except, the traffic didn’t live up to its expectations from 2005 to 2008.
Kris Kolluri, Corzine’s transportation czar, has said that tolls would have to increase by 25 percent just to pay for that widening project alone.
That widening project, among others, was one of the key drivers why the governor first proposed his 800 percent toll hike plan, and why he has said that he will soon come out with a new Son of Toll Hike monetization scheme
Kolluri argues that the expansion is still needed.
"Yes, the traffic volume is down, but it is a temporary situation based on the economy," Kolluri said earlier this month. "That doesn't mean you shelve a worthy congestion-relief project."
But here’s the thing. Four-dollar-a-gallon gas changes everything. Not only is ridership on NJ Transit and the PATH trains up, but people are changing their habits. They’re also changing their minds on formerly taboo topics like offshore drilling for oil; recent polls have shown that more Americans favor offshore drilling than oppose.
When people have to start calculating between fuel and food, fuel is going to take a backseat.
So what Kolluri sees as a blip may actually be the start of a new trend. Either way, now doesn’t seem to be the best time to undergo a road widening project. If ridership does increase, then the roads can be widened.
If not, then we’ll have a six-lane road to nowhere, paid for in large part by the New Jersey commuter. And we keep thinking: Isn’t it somewhat arrogant of us to assume what mode of travel people will be using 25 or 50 years from now? Henry Ford’s Model T first rolled off the factory in September 1908 – in 100 years, we went from horse travel to automobile. Who are we to say what the future will bring?
A few days ago, the governor had expressed some leeriness when it came to the idea of hiking the gasoline tax, as some lawmakers had proposed.
"I'm not precluding anything," Corzine said. "We haven't crossed those bridges. I just have this real sympathy for people who are having difficulty making ends meet at a time when energy prices are pressing against their disposable income."
If that’s how he feels, then he should feel the same way about toll hikes. Those same families who are having difficulty making ends meet now will have an even greater difficulty if he raises the tolls.
He owes it to those families he says he has sympathy for to make sure that those projects he wants on the roadways are actually going to be needed, before he asks them to scrape by with less.
Add Your Comments | Daily Muse |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Guest Column: NOBODY’S BUYING FLOWERS FROM THE FLOWER LADY
June 27, 2008
By DON SICO
News flash: Cindy Sheehan will NOT be speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August – not in prime time, not on Tuesday morning, not ever. She has not been invited. She won’t be invited. If they could, they would bar the woman from entering the city that week.
For those of you who momentarily forgot who Cindy Sheehan is – and I know you are out there – she is the woman who lost her son Casey in Iraq and sparked an anti-war movement in America when she began camping outside of the Crawford, Texas ranch of President George W. Bush in 2005. She became the darling of the media and politicians alike. She appeared on Hardball with Chris Matthews. She joined Susan Sarandon for a Mother’s Day protest across from the White House. She became “friends” (her word) with members of Congress, including John Conyers, Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters, Dennis Kucinich and Jim McDermott. She wrote a book.
But darn it, she just wouldn’t stop. She became insistent on ending the war. She expressed her utter dismay that the Democratic majorities she worked so hard to elect to the United States Congress failed so miserably to deliver on their promise to end the war. She kept speaking out. She attacked Senator Clinton endlessly. She became an annoyance. In May of last year, she officially left the Democratic Party following the passage of legislation re-authorizing funding for the war in Iraq. She even had the audacity to run for Congress against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Then she was shunned. She is no longer the darling of the media. She no longer has friends in the high places of Washington.
Quite frankly, “Nobody’s buying flowers from the flower lady” any longer.
(To read the rest of Don Sico's column about Cindy Sheehan, read his guest column here.)
Add Your Comments | Guest Column |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
Quote of the Day
"It had nothing to do with it….we don't care about someone's press profile," said Bob Master, spokesman for the national CWA, and a foe of ousted Local 1034 President Carla Katz, insisting that Katz's former relationship with Gov. Corzine had nothing to do with the executive board's decision to remove her, pending an investigation. (7/8/08)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Hot Off The Press!
CONNECTING THE DOTS: Every time we wonder if Chris Christie and company are finished trolling through the tangled web of New Jersey politics, something pops us that tells us that the feds ain't done yet. Jeff Pillets has an interesting story in today's Bergen Record about how the feds are looking at the Centuria project in Fort Lee, having asked for a contract the company had with indicted ex-state Sen. Joseph Coniglio. But there's more. From The Record: " Meanwhile, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich said federal prosecutors asked the borough for material related to the Centuria project as part of their recent subpoena of materials connected to town redevelopment attorney Dennis Oury.Investigators are probing Oury's partnership with Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero in a grant-writing company that did business with local government agencies." So what are the feds looking for? We don't know for sure, but it looks like this could get very interesting before it's all done. (7/8/08) VIRTUAL DEBATE: The Hall Institute's virtual debate has begun. Opening statements between Sen. Frank Lautenberg and former Rep. Richard Zimmer have been posted on their website. The first question will be posted on July 10; answers from the candidates a week later. Following this cycle, the Virtual Debate will continue through Election Day in November. "What better time than the start of the Independence Day Weekend to begin a debate for the United States Senate," said Hall Institute Communications Director Richard A. Lee, who is coordinating the project. "By creating a forum for thoughtful and constructive discussion among candidates, the Hall Institute hopes to reaffirm the principles of our Founding Fathers." (7/7/08) WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: That was quite the calvacade of political stars gathered in Jackson Tuesday, for the swearing-in ceremony of the new members of the Township Council. Not only was Gov. Corzine there to administer the oath to Michael J. Kafton, but Sen. Frank Lautenberg a there to swear in Roberta "Bobbie" Rivere and U.S. Attorney Chris Christie swore in Michael Reina. Newark Mayor Cory Booker was also there in the audience. (But where was Dick Zimmer?) "I have never seen this kind of enthusiasm at a swearing-in (ceremony)," Corzine quipped to the Asbury Park Press. Now, what would all that political firepower -- and all those current and possibly future statewide candidates be doing gathered in one room, at the reorganization meeting for a nonpartisan council? Well, it could have something to do with the fact that Democrat now equal Republicans in term of registration (6,895 to 6,892, respectively), although the bulk of the 32,000-plus voters are unaffiliated. And if Democrats can do well here, they can cut into usual Republican pluralities out of Ocean County, which can only help their efforts. By the way, Corzine says he came because Kafton is a friend of his, while his would-be opponent, Chris Christie, said he doesn't know Reina, but came because the new councilman asked him to. "He said he supported the good work that my office has done. It's an honor to have someone like Mike to ask me to do this," Christie said. (For the record, even though the council is nonpartisan, Kafton and Rivere are Democrats, and Reina is a Republican.) But if this is any indication of what 2009 will be like, get ready for a pair of active campaigners out on the trail. (7/2/08) SALTING THE GROUND: Call us cynical, but when we read how Gov. Corzine said he would wait until fall before launching an effort to find more money for the preservation of New Jersey's open space, farmland and historic sites, we couldn't help but wonder: Is he waiting because he plans on adding open space to the list of projects that his monetization redux will pay for? Is that how he plans to build support for a toll hike and/or gas tax? (7/01/08) READ ALL ABOUT IT: Newspapers often remind us about conflict of interests, real and perceived. So, scrolling down a list of recent customized labor training grant recipients, we were surprised to learn that the second largest grant in the state so far this year was given to the Newark Morning Ledger Co., the publisher of the Newark Star Ledger. The $756,943 grant was for customer service skills, business communications, business administration and management, PC skills, quality control technology/tech, and enterprise resource planning (ERP). These grants are funded by payroll taxes from New Jersey workers. But why should taxpayers pay to support multimillion dollar companies like Verizon ($2,418,000); Wal-Mart ($153,600), and Dow Jones and Co. ($304,000), among others. According to the state's web site, customized training grants are given to "individual employers, employer organizations and labor organizations, or community-based organizations that seek to address common training needs in demand occupations within a particular industry." As an aside, given the governor's pro-union policies, we wonder what the governor's union supporters think about Wal-Mart being on the list. (6/30/08)
|
|
|
