Middle class fights back in New Jersey

state unions are fighting back against the anti- collective bargaining legislation passed earlier this year. The unions filed a class action yesterday seeking an injunction against the anti-union legislation as well as monetary damages, attorney's fees and costs associated with the lawsuit. http://www.examiner.com/elections-2010-in-atlantic-city/atlantic-county-state-senator-whelan-among-those-blamed-union-olawsuitMany Democratic State Senators and Assemblymen voted for the legislation. They are now presumably fair game in the upcoming election as well as the lawsuit.

Revolution of the Middle Class in America

Read: Revolution OF the Middle Class in America, NOT a middle class revolution. I note the difference because the middle class is not revolting. Although personally, I think it should. And should do it soon or perhaps should have done it yesterday or last month or better yet, last year.

I am referring to the most recent vote by the New Jersey Senate and Assembly which legislated collective bargaining rights of New Jersey's public unions. In particular, the effect of this legislation will be the hardest on the lower - paid workers in the New Jersey public unions. The legislation as we all now know, cut health care benefits and revised pension benefits. But the revolution of the middle class that is occurring is occurring against all middle class Americans, union or non-union.

Typically, a public union worker's family received better than average benefits. At some point, they will have to review the new plans available as to their particular costs. While they will still have health care benefits, the particular cost to each worker and the worker's family will increase up to several thousands of dollars. This is particularly upsetting for workers who earn less than $60,000 per year. An increase in health care premiums will invariably decrease their ability to spend money in other areas of their budget such as food, clothing, entertainment, etc.

This will likely have a negative impact on our local New Jersey enconomies. The less money workers have to spend, the less our consumer confidence is generally and the less local businesses will profit. It becomes a cycle of economic destruction.

The legislators who voted for this legislation came from both parties. And while I do not see a poll out yet, it appears to have come from both parties because of some measure of support from the public. The dog-eat-dog attitude has gotten the best of us.

Since Governor Chris Christie took office, he has engaged in warfare on public unions. First, with his attacks on teachers, and then on the rest of the public workers including police and firefighters.

What is shocking is the lack of outrage out there in the general public from non-union citizens. The reason I focus on the lack of outrage is because when you attack a particular segment of society, essentially scapegoating them for a particular set of ills in society, you let the powers that be crucify, justifiably or not, the scapegoated segment. The scapegoated segment then exponentially grows as it did in New Jersey since Governor Christie took over. Like I said, first, it was the teachers. Now it is all public workers. Soon it will be any middle class American.

The real problem is that the spread of ill toward toward public workers will grow to other members of the middle class in New Jersey. Remember, this "reform" that shut down collective bargaining for union members, will really only effect the middle class workers. We are not talking about reform of the high-end political appointees getting their benefits slashed. The impact is high on the middle class worker.

The backdrop is the national poor economy we have had since at least 2008. Analysts can point to many factors that can be seen as the cause of the economic downturn, but the biggest factor appears to be corporate greed. All figures for the corporate CEO's and Wall Street executives are rosy. They are raking in record profits. They have no worries.

But the middle class continues to suffer. And that is why the middle class needs to worry and start wondering how to dig themselves out. The revolution has occurred just without the participation of the middle class. The middle class has let this happen over the past few decades. According to MSNBC, the wages of middle class workers has dropped while the profits of the corporate world have grown over the last 30 years.

It has now culminated in the shameless attacks against collective bargaining rights. Next? What will be next? Will it be the end of unions? Private and public?

If so, the middle class will be powerless. Indeed, if there continues to even be a middle class. With no collective bargaining, middle class workers will fade. They will work longer hours, for less pay, with less benefits. Iindeed, the middle class has been working longer hours for less pay for the last 30 years. Even though the top executives have seen an increase in their bottom dollar, the middle class workers have not.

And so, that is the revolution of the middle class. Less pay and less benefits for longer hours. The recent New Jersey legislation will add to the revolution of the middle class by allowing unions to have less power to advocate for their workers' pay and benefits. The spread of economic decline of the middle class will grow to the private sector unions and the private sector workers who are not unionized.

It is the end of the middle class coming up. And that is why the revolution is late. Very late.

It has now been accepted by even Democratic elected leaders in our blue state. The general public should wake up to this problem instead of feeding off the anti-union pablum being fed to them. Because, unless you are one of the wealthy class taking helicopter flights on the taxpayer dime, you too will end up feeling left out. It is only a matter of time.

Commentary from NJ.com readers on NJ police salaries, etc. Part 4

I promised to do a blog on commentary I requested from readers of NJ.com forums. I posted my blog theme on several of the local forums, and statewide forums managed by NJ.com. I have been able to review most of them. For the most part, most of you believed that New Jersey pays very high salaries to the local police throughout the state. But some knew that New Jersey was not the home of the highest salaried police department in the nation. As you recall from my previous posts, the highest paid are in Long Island.
In any event, here are some of the comments......paraphrased for the most part....

Ramparts: Police, fire, teachers, clerks all deserve more. But what they deserve is irrelevant because taxpayers are tapped out.

ofda1: just to compare the average salaries of patrolmen, sergeants, etc. only tells a partial story. some towns are top heavy and total salaries are high although average salaries are not.

candid: they are way over paid and will eventually bankrupt the municipalities.

Ramparts: the current system is not sustainable. we cannot afford to pay pensions to those who retire at age 46.

jefflib: it doesn't matter if people retire at 46, it is if they collect at 46. Make them wait til whatever the SS collection age is.

TREEeditor2: stay away from average salaries. whatever the results NJ is still #1 highest in taxes.

lager150: whenever I look at my tax bill I see the highest portion of it going to the schools. and the smallest percentage of it goes to the municipality (for police, firemen, etc).

From the JUSTJERSEY Forum:
Studies: Nassau and Suffolk County PDS are the highest paid than any in NJ. And the NY system allows overtime to be calculated into the pension.
---STUDIES WAS THE WINNER OF MY SURVEY!! FOR WHICH HE OR
SHE GETS NOTHING BUT GLORY RIGHT HERE!----

ESSEX COUNTY:
Jailerco: NJ police are not the highest paid but taxes are highest.

SUSSEX COUNTY:
Wantageradi0: Probably NY, MA OR CA are the highest paid.

Really comments all in all.
Next part will be on property taxes as a whole. Why is New Jersey known as having the highest property taxes? Is it the way NJ funds schools?

The emphasis on regionalization of New Jersey's local police departments. Part Three

In the past two years, New Jersey has undergone some radical changes. In the name of lowering local property taxes, once elected, Governor Chris Christie sought to implement a series of reforms which was touted as the beginning of the end of New Jersey's high property taxes of which school taxes are the largest percentage.
In 2010, to begin his term as Governor, Christie lashed out at New Jersey's public school teachers. He campaigned for residents to vote against their school budgets. By doing so, Governor Christie created the opportunity to lower school taxes. Because school taxes in New Jersey are high, the rejection of school budgets created the opportunity to slash thousands of dollars. The end result was the cutting of services and programs that serve New Jersey's school children. Many teachers were also laid off. The school taxes though, did not go down. For the most part, the school taxes remained the same, even increasing in many situations as a result of Governor Christie withholding typical "aid" to the local school districts.
In 2011, Governor Christie took on other public workers. Part of this grouping invariably included New Jersey's local police officers. Because police costs are the largest portion of any municipality's budget (separate from school taxes), the police were the obvious focus. The pressure on municipality's could not be ignored. Governor Christie had the Legistlature pass a 2% cap on municipalities. Meaning, they could not raise property taxes over 2% of last year's budget. But, at the same time, Governor Christie, continued to withhold municipal "aid". Municipal "aid" in New Jersey is actually tax money paid from the municipality to the state. In years prior, this money was re-apportioned, and returned to the municipalities based on need assessments. This and last year, "aid" was severely cut. This has left a hole in many municipalities' budgets.
As a result, municipal workers are being laid off like never before. Police have seen lay offs amounting to an 11% loss in police officers throughout the state from 2009 to 2010. This year, the number has continued to increase.
The push is on. Taxpayers want relief. The question remains, relief at what cost?
Police are typically shielded by their unions, the PBA and FOP. But this year, the unions have not been successful in keeping their officers employed. In the largest municipality in New Jersey, Hamilton Township, Atlantic County, 13 police officers received pink slips. Protests ensued. Allegedly talks between the union and the municipality were ongoing with an eye toward keeping some of the officers who had received pink slips.
While most of the public is aware that New Jersey police officers earn high salaries, although not the highest in the nation, the public was not ready for the loss of police services. Seemingly shocked to learn that many police services would be lost, and were, the public in Hamilton Township is now left to deal with their loss.
With public safety ranking as one of the most serious responsibilities of the government, the current economic climate is creating a new source of uncertainty among police officers, the general public as well as municipal officials.
As a result, some creative ideas have been coming forth. One councilman from Roxbury Township in affluent Morris County has proposed regionalized police departments. He has founded the "Government Efficiency Movement" to streamline government services with lower taxes being the end in mind. To learn more about this move particular movement visit http://www.examiner.com/elections-2010-in-atlantic-city/police-regionalization-movement-on-the-move-new-jersey.
Police regionalization would abandon the model we currently have in most of New Jersey. The municipal police departments would be dissolved and in their place a new model of a county-wide police department would take their place. Emphasizing far fewer police executives and supervisors, the model sponsored by the Government Efficiency Movement would divide counties into precincts with one police chief, and several captains in charge of each precinct. The model would eliminate many high level officers, through attrition rather than lay offs, which, in turn, would provide a savings to taxpayers. Additionally, the model would provide the sharing of other police services, such as fingerprinting equipment and criminal investigations. The savings that would be in Morris County has been said to be $50 million per year. While that is quite a chunk of money, would the taxpayers really be saving or would it amount to a very small reduction, if any, in their tax bills at the expense of the peace of mind and efficiency of service they have become accustomed to?
Unless and until a county actually takes over their municipalities' police functions, the outcomes will not truly be known.
Until then, the speculation is high. The political will on the part of many municipal elected officials is low. And the tax bills continue to rise. Collective bargaining needs to be revisited by the unions and the municipalities. They need to work harder. Otherwise, everyone may lose with regionalization. Or would they win? The thought can cause anxiety in residents who question the effectiveness of regionalizized department as compared to a local department.
The question I ask is, why have we begun regionalization with police services rather than with school districts? After all, school taxes are the largest chunk of a homeowner's property tax bill. Another question for another day.

Where is the highest paid police department in the USA? Part Two

The highest paid police department in the USA is not in New Jersey. It is in New York. More specifically, Long Island. Suffolk County Police earn the highest salaries in the USA. http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/police/recruitment.htm
They are followed closely by Nassau County Police, also on Long Island.http://www.police.co.nassau.ny.us/recruitment.htm
Notice the pension contributions in both the Suffolk County and Nassau County police departments. They are both NON-contributory.
New Jersey police are paid well. But the fact remains, the highest paid police departments are in New York.
The old saying that goes, "numbers don't lie, people do" may be applicable here. But I suspect the numbers are used by people to garner support for a particular agenda. Also, the people who claim New Jersey police are the highest paid in the nation, may also have been looking at the numbers a certain way. A way which doesn't tell the whole story. For instance, the average salaries of police in New Jersey were reported by the Newark Star Ledger, http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_police_salaries_rank_highes.htm

The numbers are clear but why is it the reporter did not take into account the Suffolk County and Nassau County salaries? My assumption is that the reporter was basing the "average" salaries across the state. The average police salary across New York State is lower than the average salary of the across New Jersey. But the point is, New York State, not New Jersey, is home to the highest paid police in the nation. The point of this blog post is that the law of averages, doesn't necessarily add up.
Part Three tomorrow.

The Highest Paid Police in the USA? Part One

Most of us Jerseyans have heard that New Jersey has the highest paid police in the USA. I first read that sometime last year in a column written by George Will. I was pretty much amazed. My surprise was not at the thought that local New Jersey police were the highest paid in the USA (although I did find myself wondering how and why that was). But my surprise was that it was a conservative pundit putting this information out. And in his column, George Will also made mention that Governor Chris Christie was agreeing that NJ local police were the highest paid in the nation. And, the column noted Governor Christie was going to do battle with the local police to change that statistic. My surprise was based on the fact that most law enforcement officers in New Jersey are pretty much Republican and/or conservative when it comes to politics. I know that not all police are on the right wing of the political spectrum, but it is pretty much a given that most are.

When I was reading the George Will article, Governor Christie was in the middle of taking down the teachers of New Jersey. He was having his way with them. He was smearing the profession while trying to kill off the largest teachers union in the state, the NJEA.

It was Governor Christie's campaign promise after all....he was going to reduce New Jersey's property taxes. So of course, all those who work for the local governments in New Jersey were fair game. Alright, but who would of thought he would go after the local police?

I have to admit, they do get paid well. And the benefits are quite handsome. If you want to know how many times I had thought about their salaries and wondered why they get paid so much, you would need more than 2 hands to count. On the other hand, these days many local police departments do require a college degree. And local police are expected to be professional. They also deal with dangerous and mentally unstable people every day. They view horrific sites. They face the possibility of great harm and, possibly, death each day. Their jobs are like the game of russian roulette....you just never know when you may meet the crazy murderous criminal that will end your life.

If some of you are wondering about the dangers, just think of what happened in Lakewood in January. Officer Matlosz lost his life on a day and in a situation I am sure he never expected to.

But then again, I am no bleeding heart when it comes to police. There are many fine, dedicated and professional officers. Unfortunately, there are many dirty, lying, poorly trained and plain unprofessional officers (I am being kind in my wording). I know it for a fact. The problem comes in when we as the general public don't see both sides.

The bad side is usually hidden. Occasionally we will get a glimpse of the "bad cop". But typically, the badness, is not shown by the press or the rest of the law enforcement community. The law enforcement community generally back each other up. I think it is called the "thin blue line". They stick together, if for nothing else, their own personal job security and professional safety. If a cop goes bad, who is to blame? Is it the entire profession or just the one cop. Or is it the department or supervisors? Or all of the above? That is another question for another day.

The real focus here is the salary issue. The prior discussion is relevant because pay must be based on the question of job responsibilities and requirements. For instance, for many years, the Mexican police were readily known as being corrupt. The stated reason was that they were paid very poorly and they had to make money some how. So they abused their power. In the United States, I am hoping it never comes to that level. Paying New Jersey police a decent salary is necessary because it is an extremely dangerous and stressful job. But what makes New Jersey so special that it requires our local police to earn the highest salaries in the nation? After all, if they are the highest paid in the nation, New York City police do not earn as much as New Jersey police. And, I am sure you will agree, New York City is generally thought of as more dangerous than most of New Jersey. Well, except for maybe Camden, Newark, Jersey City, Atlantic City, etc. I would place those New Jersey cities on par with New York City.

And then, if we accept that New Jersey police are the highest paid in the nation, we are also saying that police in Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, .....well, you get the picture...are underpaid. Or is it that their jobs are easier than New Jersey police?
It is confusing. I am not going to get into statistics too much. Because it is not necessary. I FOUND THE HIGHEST PAID POLICE DEPARTMENT IN NEW JERSEY AND IT IS NOT IN NEW JERSEY. WHERE DO YOU THINK IT IS?

Lazy me

I sincerely apologize for not writing a blog.  Personal issues took over for a little while.  I am on the trail to writing some interesting stuff soon.  One is a discussion of whether or not, in the post-Wisconsin world of anti public unions, are New Jersey's local police truly the highest paid in the nation or ..... not.  Well, if you would like, comment here....put your thoughts out there because I would like to hear from you. 

Another future blog post will focus on our municipal property taxes.  I include in this analysis the dreaded school property taxes.  Granted, it is a complex issue, but I believe we Jerseyans need to know what on earth we, of all people, are doing ....are we paying the highest property taxes in the nation?  Isn't this the claim by all, or at least most of us?  New Jersey does have high property taxes but why? WHY?  Any interesting and/or intelligent comments on this topic are welcome. 
Thanks.  And I hope to have some good stuff written next week.

New Jersey is going no where but down under Governor Christie

Well, in case you haven't noticed New Jersey's economy is in the tank.  And that is not the worst of it.  New Jersey, as an entity, is going further into debt and there is no end in sight.  With last week's announcement from Wall Street's Standard and Poor's downgrade of New Jersey's bond rating, New Jersey is now officially one of the worst states, financially speaking.  With Governor Christie failing, yet again, to make the State's mandatory payment into the public worker's pension fund, our bond rating gets lowered.  With Governor Christie's management, our unemployment rate has not gotten any better.  While he spoke today at the Amerian Enterprise Institute (a conservative think tank) in Washington, D.C., he noted that the retirement age for Social Security must be raised. 
I understand that he may believe we are living longer and so we should retire older, as many people do, but what I don't understand is how he managed to leave New Jersey's business behind while he went campaigning in Washington, D.C.   How much did this cost New Jersey?  Did the funds come out of the pension fund account?  I mean if you are on a tight budget, you certainly don't take trips.  You stay home.  Put the television on and watch a free movie on Lifetime.  Better yet, you work and work hard trying to bring home more bacon. 
For all his talk, Governor Christie is not working hard enough.  He is slashing public worker jobs, cutting pension fund payments, and taking trips.  He refuses to tax his wealthy friends any more (which of course will benefit his re-election campaign fund) all while the unemployment lines become longer for middle class workers. 
While he was in Washington, D.C. today campaigning, one of his highly paid staff members, Lori Grifa, the Department of Community Affairs Commissioner told the State's mayors that New Jersey needs to implement pension reforms and also needs to begin consolidation of police departments in Camden, Essex and Mercer Counties.  Apparently, all the layoffs are not really controlling the budget problems in the State.  And this is why I wonder why the Governor and the Commissioner are not considering increasing New Jersey's revenue. 
Cutting the budget and the lay offs and the pension reform may be necessary (at least that is what they say) but if you are really serious, you would raise taxes on the wealthiest residents.  Revenue coming in is needed.  If any of us attempted to run our household budget the way Governor Christie and his highly paid staff are running the State's budget, it would not do us any good.  For instance, try cutting your household budget.  Start with the grocery bill, chop off the junk food.  With cell phones widely used, cut out the house phone.  Don't watch pay movies on cable, or better yet, cancel cable.  Try not to drive your car as much or car pool.  Turn the heat down low.  At the end of the month, how much do you save?  It can be as much as $200 to $300.  But say you have to pay off a credit card, and the washing machine breaks, your kids need new shoes, you have to pay a medical bill, the dog gets sick, and you need to buy a birthday present for your mom.  How are you going to make up the budget hole?  You will have to get another job or cut back more.  But if you only cut back more, and the water heater breaks, and roof leaks, and the car needs a repair, how will you pay for those items?  Another job.  More income.  More revenue.  There is no other way but to add revenue.  Cutting only goes so far.   I wonder how many more jobs will be lost before Governor Christie realizes he and his wealthy friends need to share the sacrifice.

Another South Jersey Polar Bear Plunge, why not?

http://www.examiner.com/beaches-in-atlantic-city/sea-isle-city-will-host-polar-bear-plunge-on-saturday-february-19th

Public schools in New Jersey getting kicked to the curb again

If you are familiar with New Jersey's public schools, you probably know two things about them:  they are costly and they are very good.  While there are some school districts in the urban regions that are not meeting their burden to educate their students as best as possible, most of New Jersey's schools are excellent.  This is not a matter of opinion but of fact.  Test scores are available and New Jersey ranks high.  In some case, New Jersey has the highest scores in the nation.  Take AP exams.  New Jersey students obtain the highest grades in the nation.  Take a look at the video linked to the end of this blog if you don't believe me.
Despite all the good grades New Jersey's public school districts get, New Jersey's Governor is trying to dismantle the entire system.  Governor Chris Christie is pushing for tax dollars that would go to public schools to be utilized for private schools.  This means that the money public schools now get will be less.  The legislation, the Opportunity Scholarship Act (S1872 http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/S2000/1872_S2.HTM ), would allow corporations a tax credit to sponsor scholarships for those students in 13 pilot districts to attend private schools.  The New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) website states several reasons why this is not a good idea.  One interesting reason would be the private schools are not necessarily the best schools.   Private school teachers do not have to be certified as do public school teachers.   Additionally, some of the students are already attending private school. The legislation would not always  be helping the students at the "failing' schools.
Again, we are left with the Governor trying to change the public school system by defunding it, slowly. View the website at http://www.njea.org/news/2011-01-20/voucher-bill-approval-a-travesty-says-njea.It is no secret Governor Christie has called attention to the high cost of New Jersey's public school system.  Last spring, he called on New Jersey residents to defeat their local school board's budget.  Without examining each district on its own merits, the Governor told New Jersey voters to vote down the budgets.  According to New Jersey law, when a school budget is defeated at the polls, it is reviewed by the municipality's governing body.  The local elected officials then can make changes or keep the budget as presented by the school board. 
The end result is typically the local politicians recommend changes and lower the total amount of each budget.  While this can be a good thing in cases where the school board is overzealous in its reach, typically the school boards had already tightened the budget as much as possible without sacrificing education. 
Last year, the voters overwhelming listened to Governor Christie, and school budgets were defeated across New Jersey.  Governor Christie was relentless against the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA), the teachers' union.  This battle appeared to be a holdover from the prior year's gubernatorial election, where then candidate Christie was not endorsed by the NJEA.  The results were thousands of teacher layoffs and cut programs.
With a little over two months to go before the school board elections are held on April 27, 2011, Governor Christie is waging a different battle. And if the new legislation is passed, the children's education will suffer.  So as not to be redundant, I offer the attached video.  It says it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-80u14Cx-k

Conservatives applaud each other

The Conservative Political Action Conference is hosting its annual show in Washington, D.C. this weekend.  The festivities began yesterday, February 10th, with events starring such conservative stars as Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, Senator Rand Paul, Congressman Ron Paul, former Congressman Newt Gingrich and Senator Mitch McConnell.  A new player in politics also made a special appearance, Donald "You're Fired" Trump.While it is clear those such as Ms. Bachman and Mr. Trump are using the Conference to beef up their 2012 Presidential chances, others appeared to be trying to step up to the plate to get a bite of the Tea Party's apple in an effort to stay alive.Although not at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Governor Chris Christie left New Jersey to attend a Republican group's meeting.  Governor Christie joined Republicans in Philadelphia to receive the Union League's "Lincoln Award".  The Union League is an old-time GOP club that didn't admit women until 25 years ago.  Governor Christie gave a speech filled with insults to President Obama and the New Jersey Legislature.What is more interesting to note is the reason he was hailed by the group...his work at killing casino worker, teacher, police, and firefighter jobs and by failing to make a payment into New Jersey's public pension fund possibly jeopardizing the pensions of thousands of the State's retirees and future retired public workers.A more interesting award Governor Christie received yesterday was the news that Wall Street lowered its bond rating for New Jersey from AA to AA-.   Apparently, someone is taking notice that the Governor is not paying the State's debt to the pension fund.  The lowered bond rating means the State (i.e., its taxpayers) will pay a higher interest rate on its debt.But Governor Christie's awards yesterday didn't end with the lowered bond rating, he also got news that in addition to the 115 casino workers laid off last week due to his Atlantic City casino deregulation legislation, another 33 will be laid off as well.All in all, I would say it was an interesting day for conservatives in New Jersey and in Washington, D.C.  I guess all they need to do when they get back from their parties is what they promised to do......create jobs.  We are all still waiting for that to happen.

Amidst Republican cuts to the program to hire local police officers, fire departments in Atlantic City and Camden receive over $14 million

While the new Republican majority in Congress are looking to slash the federal budget by cutting funding to hire local police officers, there is some good news ....the Atlantic City and Camden Fire Departments will receive over $14 million dollars from the federal government in order to hire firefighters.  The grant is for two years only.  In Atlantic City, officials will use the grant funds to rehire over 30 firefighters that were laid off as well as 21 additional new hires.  Atlantic City received $9.7 million while Camden received over $5 million. 
Senator Frank Lautenberg announced the grant awards on his website http://lautenberg.senate.gov/newsroom/record.cfm?id=331011& .  Senator Lautenberg is Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security.  The grants were awarded under a grant from FEMA funded by the Subcommittee.
While the possibility of Camden rehiring firefighters is welcome news, local police are not having the same luck. The Camden City Council rejected yesterday a property tax increase of over 20% that would have been used to help rehire police officers.  Camden laid off about 160 police officers and 60 firefighters recently due to budgetary problems.   The State approved the Mayor's request to present a 23% property tax increase. 
Let's hope the federal money being used to assist cities like Atlantic City and Camden does not come under attack by the new Republican majority in Congress in their hasty efforts to cut the federal domestic spending by $100 billion.   As noted, one of the programs on the Republican's hit list is the $298 million program instituted by former President Bill Clinton designed to hire local police officers.  So far the funds for fire fighters has not been mentioned.

Republicans are more interested in their social agenda than in creating jobs

The new Republican Congress has been hard at work recently.  They are not, however, working to create jobs or stimulate the economy.  They are working on their social agenda.  Yes, that is right.  After all the campaigns about jobs and the economy and smaller government, the new Republican Congress is working on anti-choice legislation and becoming more instrusive into women's lives than ever before. 

They are currently sponsoring legislation that would limit insurance coverage for women's health including the elimination of tax breaks for employers whose health care plan offer abortion services.  New Jersey Representative Chris Smith, an old hand in Congress, has co-sponsored a bill that would limit abortions to those instances of "forcible" rape.  That means if you are a victim of statutory rape or incest, you would not be covered.

So where is the smaller government?  Why are the Republicans looking to intrude into women's lives?  And, how does this help the economy?  How does this legislation create jobs?

There is no relationship to the recent anti-choice movement and the economy.  The Republicans are not focusing on creating jobs.  They are instead focusing on their political base.  Payback to those members of their base who came out and voted for them.  When you elect conservatives, you get their social agenda more so than their fiscal agenda.

In New Jersey, the politics of abortion is also on the forefront.  Governor Chris Christie has once again vetoed legislation that would provide funding for women's health care.  He talks the game of finances though.  He says there is no money for it.  But the reality is more likely he is interested in playing to his Republican base on social issues. 

And then we have the pro-life group that has been traveling around the nation taping workers at Planned Parenthood centers trying to catch them in dasterdly deeds.  So far, one worker was caught in a mistake.  Planned Parenthood is taking action in order to prevent further mistakes by their workers.  It is certainly not coincidental that the new Republican agenda in Congress and in statehouses around the nation is anti-choice. The anti-choice social agenda is now the main stay of the new Republicans.  So forget about the jobs.  Forget about smaller government.  You wanted a conservative government and you got it.

Governor Christie needs to explain

By now most people have heard about New Jersey's Governor, Chris Christie.  He is one of those politicians who have no problem in saying what they want and getting away with it.  It appears he has the "teflon" effect going for him. 
I write this post the day after I attended a Township Committee meeting in Hamilton Township (Atlantic County) New Jersey.  The Township Committee had the unpleasant task of announcing lay offs of over 40 Township employees.  The meeting was packed with residents, employees, and reporters.  To begin with the room is quite large, larger than most local government meeting roooms in New Jersey.  The crowd over flowed into the rotunda where a television broadcast the meeting.  {read the article regarding the Hamilton Township Committee meeting at http://www.examiner.com/elections-2010-in-atlantic-city/hamilton-township-lays-off-41-employees-and-plans-to-increase-taxes }.
I am not sure how the word spread about this meeting but I can guess it was via word of mouth of the employees, particularly the police.  But that is a good thing.  Whenever citizens come out to watch their local elected officials take action, it must be a good thing.  The only unfortunate part (besides the layoffs announced) was the absence of our esteemed Governor.
I wish Governor Christie was there last night.  He could have witnessed the looks on the faces of those in attendance.  He could have heard the words of those speaking to the local elected officials after they announced the layoffs.  I am sure he had much more pressing things to take care of, but he should attend one of these meetings.  Last night's meeting in Hamilton Township was the first one in New Jersey where layoffs were announced due to the pressures of this year's budget. 
With the police being the most vocal, the consensus of the citizens speakers were "why?". Why is the Township allowing this to happen?  Why are they sacrificing safety?  Why are they laying off those workers who help senior citizens?  It is not so difficult to answer the question as it is for the reasoning of how this is all came to be.  Surely, property taxes are high in New Jersey in just about every municipality and the Governor's major goal is to reduce property taxes.  But last night, the Township Committee announced the taxes would again be increased. 
Taxes being increased, although capped at 2%, is a common response in New Jersey municipalities facing a budget shortfall.  But now the tax increases are coming with layoffs and services being cut.  And the fact that the Township Committee announced that more layoffs may be coming down the road soon was not the kind of news anyone wants to hear.  But that is what could happen, if the State (i.e., Governor Christie), does not give the Township the same or higher amount of State aid it received last year ($800,000). 
When Governor Christie announced during his first year in office that he needed to make sacrifices in order to save New Jersey from going bankrupt, he asked that it be a "shared sacrifice".  The problem with the "shared sacrifice" argument is that it has not been a "shared" sacrifice.  It has become the sacrifice of those who need services but don't get them, it has become the sacrifice of public workers (namely, teachers, police, firefighters, and other local government workers) and most unfortunately, it has become the sacrifice of New Jersey's school children.
While the wealthiest among us have received tax breaks along with the promise of no new taxes, the remainder of New Jersey is paying the price.  Not only do our public workers get laid off, furloughed, have their wages frozen, benefits cut, told their pensions are "too rich", but we also get increases in our property taxes, increases in our highway's tolls, and increases in the fares for public transportation. 
Governor Christie needs to realize that his way is hurting the majority of New Jersey's residents while bolstering the wealthiest and the largest businesses of our State.  Last week's announcement that the newest Atlantic City casino will receive a $261 million tax break is proof that the Governor's priorities are not with the working people of New Jersey, but with the corporate executives.  It is time for him to take ownership of his deeds.
Governor Christie, come out to a Township meeting and explain to all those in attendance exactly why layoffs and cuts to services and programs are being made while your big business friends are getting breaks left and right.

How much will the new casino industry legislation revamp the real Atlantic City?

Since the 1970's there have been high hopes that the casino industry would pull Atlantic City up and make it not only a premier tourist attraction in New Jersey, but that the casinos would somehow make the City itself a beautiful, safe and friendly town.  To date, it doesn't appear that anything good has come out of the casino industry in Atlantic City.  The day after the new legislation was signed, 115 casino workers lost their jobs due to their positions being deemed unnecessary under the new de-regulation law.
However, casinos have employed many residents from the region.  Many people are attracted to Atlantic City's casinos for day trips, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and just some weekend fun.  But it has never been a destination for week long family vacations, nor a vacation spot for the wealthy crowd, nor has it attracted a large number of people from other places in the nation or the world.
Then in July of 2010, Governor Christie held a press conference touting the rehabilitation of Atlantic City.  He received the initial support of Atlantic City's Mayor Lorenzo Langford.  Mayor Langford's support did not last.  The Governor's plans included taking a portion of the City and making it a State-managed tourist spot.  The Governor's pro-business campaign would make casino industry less regulated.
In January of 2011, Governor Christie's plans came to fruition with the State Legislature signing off on the revisions.  On February 1, 2011, Governor Christie signed both pieces of legislation.  To make things more enticing he signed the laws at the partially constructed Revel Casino in the City's South Inlet.  With the signing of the two new laws, Revel would also receive a $261 million tax break with Revel's promise to re-invest in the community surrounding the Casino.
At first glance, this sounds good.  It will not "cost" the State anything except revenue (which by the Governor's terms is not money being put out - it is simply not money going in). The businesses surrounding the Revel Casino will benefit as will the Absecon Lighthouse, the major tourist attraction in that part of Atlantic City.
But how will it change Atlantic City itself?  That is the question.  Will the tax break reinvigorate the area to the extent it will attract more investors, businesses, tourists, and all good things?  Or will it simply allow a renovation of the deteriorating part of the City and leave all else alone. 
For those who are familiar with Atlantic City, and by that I mean the entire City not only the casinos, you know that the City is poor.  Many of its residents are barely surviving pay check to pay check.  There are many homeless in Atlantic City.  There are many people on welfare and disability.  These people do not benefit from any of the casinos.
If the Governor wants to make the City a place for its residents to thrive, he needs to understand the City's residents, all of them.  Governor Christie needs to put money into the City's residents not only into its businesses.  Many people would say that putting money into businesses gives the residents an opportunity to make more money for themselves.  But it isn't that simple.
If there are not enough safe and clean housing units, and if there are not enough sustainable wage jobs, and if there are not enough competent job training programs, the people are not going to be helped by the revamping Governor Christie has planned.  Speak to any reputable social worker in Atlantic City and I am sure they will add more to the list of things needed to ensure the City's residents begin to succeed.
What Governor Christie and the State Legislature has done is a start. But they need to continue doing more.  He needs to walk down the residential streets in all of its neighborhoods and speak with the people about their needs.  At this time, however, he has only shaken the hands of casino executives.  Once he realizes there are a lot more hands to shake and ideas to listen to, he may just find a real solution to real problems facing Atlantic City.

Corporate America and the economy of 2011

Today was the last day for many reporters at the Daily Record based in Morris County, New Jersey.  While it is a  mostly personal matter for these reporters, many of their readers are wondering what happened.   Certainly the newspaper itself didn't do an article on it.  But in today's world of social media and blogs, it is out there for many to read about.  I  most recently came upon an article posted today on a blog called the Gannett blog.  You can find it at http://gannettblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/in-must-read-column-laid-off-nj-sports.html.   I also read a bit on the history in a Rob Tornoe piece distributed on his Facebook page.  But the article posted on the gannettblog today is written by a reporter, Frank DiLeo, who was one of those to receive a pink slip.  And he let the world know his thoughts by some how getting his article published.  But it is not on the newspaper's website.  Read it on the blog.  Frank writes about "corporate greed" in his article.  It is an important topic in today's economy.  So I thought I would start my first post of news with this bit on Gannett's Daily Record.
If you have been an employee, whether you were 14 or 24 or 36 or 40 or 55 or however old you are now, you know that your employer can either be encouraging or discouraging.  You can either be appreciated for your hard work or you can be expected to receive that pay check each week and shut up.  Personally, I have experienced both. 
Today is different though.  We have high unemployment in New Jersey and in the nation.  But our corporate executives take home millions in salary and bonuses.  Take a look at Wall Street.  Someone bailed Wall Street out a couple of years ago.  That someone was you and I.  I read in the New York Times in December 2010 that Wall Street executives were receiving millions of dollars in bonuses.  How did that happen?  Where is my bonus?  Didn't I invest in them?  Well, the main reason the bonuses were so high in December was they were afraid the tax cut extensions were not going to go through so they took the most they could get before the taxes went up.  I thought tax cuts were extended in order to stimulate job growth.  Guess not, they kept all their money.  As we know, it turns out, the tax cuts for the wealthy were extended.  They are now safe to receive even bigger bonuses in 2011.
Another example is oil profits.  Take a look at them.  The oil industry made record profits in 2010.  And how is that when unemployment is so high?  How is it that the corporate executives are receiving tax cuts while middle class workers are losing their jobs?  Police, firefighters, teachers, and all other public workers are forced to take concessions, pay freezes, lose benefits, take unpaid furlough days, etc., while the wealthiest among us get the their taxes reduced so they can keep more of their record earnings. I don't know about you, but I believe there is something very wrong with this picture.  Corporate greed is out of control.  And we all better start acknowledging it before we end up like Frank DiLeo...out of a job he worked hard at so that the corporate executives at Gannett can cut costs leaving them with record earnings.