Sunday, June 3
11am-4pm
387 Berkshire Road
Ridgewood, NJ
All items in excellent condition!!
Items for every room in the house for every season for every age!!!
Multi Family Garage Sale (Ridgewood, NJ)
Garage Sale- June 8 and 9th 391 Colonial Road, Ridgewood, NJ
Patio furniture, clothing, sheet music, dolls, jewelry plus much more!
Starts at 9:00 AM done at 4:00 PM!
Moving Sale
Hello…
Moving sale on June 3rd, 2012 in Ridgewood, NJ. Selling large variety of items, below are a few:
couches,glassware,espresso machines,all in one fax/copy/printer,stereo system,rollerblades
books,seasonal items,ice cream maker,panni maker,area rug
Top Five Ways Obamacare Crushes the Middle Class
Alyene Senger
May 25, 2012 at 3:00 pm
President Obama has repeatedly claimed that he is “going to keep on fighting for what matters to middle class families.” Well, in this “fight,” the President seems to be his own worst enemy. His health care law does far more damage than good to the American middle class.
Here are the five most prevalent and harmful burdens the middle class will be forced to bear under Obamacare:
More taxes. Obamacare imposes $502 billion of new or increased taxes and fees. Heritage expert Curtis Dubay explains that several of the taxes “will ultimately be passed on to [middle-income families] through higher prices. These include the fees on medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and health insurance companies and the new tax on tanning services.” The middle class will also be burdened by the individual mandate to purchase insurance, new restrictions and limits on their tax-free health and flex savings accounts, and a new tax on high-cost (Cadillac) health plans. Starting next year, Obamacare increases the Medicare payroll tax from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent for individuals earning above $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000 and for the first time extends the tax to income earned from investment. But the threshold for the higher rate isn’t indexed to inflation and will impact more middle-class families each year. The 2012 Medicare trustees report states, “By the end of the long-range projection period, an estimated 80 percent of workers would pay the higher tax rate.”
Loss of existing coverage. As many as 35 million people could lose their existing coverage because of Obamacare. This is because Obamacare creates financial incentives for employers to drop coverage for their employees. One report that examined the health insurance costs of 71 fortune 100 companies estimated savings of $422.4 billion between 2014 and 2023 if they dropped their employee coverage and paid the employer mandate penalty. Another study predicts that 30 percent of employers will definitely or probably drop coverage under Obamacare.
Higher premiums. Americans who purchase coverage in the new Obamacare exchanges will find that health insurance is still very expensive. American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Scott Gottlieb, MD, explains, “For a family of four, premiums on even one of the lower priced ‘silver’ options could still cost more than $15,000 annually on the exchanges.” A family’s income might exclude them from subsidies but not be high enough to pay $15,000 for Obamacare’s government-approved insurance. “A family of four earning $90,000 annually takes home about $60,000 after local, state, and federal taxes. If they lose workplace coverage, and move onto the exchanges, they could find themselves spending as much as 25 percent of the family’s take home pay for an average policy ($15,000 for the ‘silver’ plan).”
Rising health care costs. As premiums and overall health care costs continue to rise, middle-class families, including those receiving a subsidy, will be left paying more. Beginning in 2019, Obamacare’s cost-containment strategy for the exchanges is to hold the total cost of the subsidies to 0.504 percent of GDP. Charles Blahous, a Medicare trustee, concludes that “this limitation would likely cause the federal subsidies to grow less rapidly over the long term than the cost of health care and thus require low-income individuals in the exchanges to shoulder a steadily increasing percentage of their health costs.”
More government control of health care. Obamacare transfers massive authority over to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and expands the role of government in delivering care and coverage. This huge expansion of government’s role in health means that, by 2020, more than half of all Americans will be dependent on the federal government for health care and government bureaucrats will be in charge of deciding what you can and cannot buy.
If President Obama is serious about “fighting for what matters to middle class families,” he should start by repealing his own health care law.
New Jersey stands to see as much as $40 million a year in sales-tax revenue from Amazon (AMZN).com Inc., the biggest online retailer, Governor Chris Christie said.
A deal the Republican governor disclosed today will bring to New Jersey $130 million in investments and 1,500 full-time jobs. Amazon will start collecting the 7 percent tax July 1, 2013, Christie said at a Trenton news briefing. Work on two new warehouses in the state may begin next year, he said.
“Today’s announcement marks a first step toward a long- term relationship with Amazon,” Christie, 49, told reporters. “With this agreement, Amazon is stepping up and making a real commitment to our state and to our people.” (Dopp, Bloomberg)
Gov. Christie expects lawmakers to pass ‘user fees’ bill
Railing against the size of local governments, Gov. Chris Christie said tonight that he expects the Legislature to pass a bill that would include so-called user fees within the state’s 2 percent property tax cap.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) introduced the bill (S1914) to reign in towns that tried to skirt the cap by levying fee on services like garbage collection. A vote it set for tomorrow and Christie said he will sign it.
“The towns have to come to Jesus on this one,” he said during a monthly call-in program on 101.5 FM. “They have to cut the size and scope of their governments.” (Portnoy, The Star-Ledger)
The Connected Communicator: Robert Garrett, President and CEO of Hackensack University Medical Center
Written by Molly Gamble | May 29, 2012
Robert C. Garrett has led Hackensack University Medical Center as president and CEO since November 2009. Before assuming his spot at the helm, Mr. Garrett served as HUMC’s executive vice president and COO from 1986 onward, but his tenure with the organization stretches back to 1981. His connections to HUMC have only deepened throughout those 30-plus years. “This is my second family, in a lot of ways,” Mr. Garrett says. “I feel like I’ve grown up with a lot of the people here. We know each other’s families — our kids, and in some instances, grandkids.”
Mr. Garrett’s role and duties have grown in recent months, mostly due to HackensackUMC’s expansion plans and affiliations with other hospitals. He says he often works until 10 or 11 p.m., and there’s been a change to his ordinary hours due to more frequent dinner meetings, presentations and a bit more travel. “We’re a 24/7 operation,” says Mr. Garrett.
Right now, HackensackUMC is planning a $35 million renovation to its Emergency and Trauma Center and recently kicked off a $92 million renovation of the former Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, N.J., as part of a joint venture with Plano, Texas-based LHP Hospital Group. The 128-bed hospital, to be renamed HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley, is slated to reopen in mid-2013 after it closed in 2007 after declaring bankruptcy. The hospital was not affiliated with HackensackUMC at the time. HackensackUMC also partnered with LHP to acquire Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, N.J.
Barack Obama has insulted 38 million Poles with his crass and ignorant ‘Polish death camp’ remark
By Nile Gardiner World Last updated: May 30th, 2012
President Obama has a long track record of insulting the Poles. In 2010 he chose to play golf on the day of the funeral of the Polish President Lech Kaczynski, the Polish First Lady, and 94 senior officials who perished in the Smolensk air disaster.
Eight months earlier he humiliated Warsaw by pulling out of the agreement over Third Site missile defence installations in Poland and the Czech Republic. And last night Barack Obama caused huge offence in Poland by referring to a Nazi death camp in Poland as “a Polish death camp” while awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to a Polish resistance fighter. As ABC’s Jake Tapper reported:
Oy Vey…’Obama … Stressed He Probably Knows About Judaism More than Any Other President’ “[A]ll his friends in Chicago were Jewish.”
12:36 PM, May 30, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER
President Obama met yesterday with “about 20 Conservative Jewish community leaders, thanking them for the work they do to improve communities around the country and discussed their shared commitment to rebuilding the U.S. economy,” Haaretz reports.
Obama in Cairo
In the meeting, Obama reportedly boasted about his knowledge of Judaism, telling the leaders that he thinks he knows more “about Judaism” than all past presidents. He said he gained this knowledge of Judaism from reading.
“Obama … stressed he probably knows about Judaism more than any other president, because he read about it,” Haaretz reports. “[He] wondered how come no one asks Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner or Senate minority leader Mitch McConnel [sic] about their support to Israel.”
Similarly, he said to the group, “I [am] not going to tell you again how I even feel about Israel, but why [are] we still talking about it?”
Scramble for safety as Spain fears grow
By Vivianne Rodrigues in New York
Wednesday 18.20 BST. Risk appetite is deteriorating sharply as hopes for Chinese stimulus measures are dashed and concerns grow over Spain’s banking problems.
In the US, eurozone fears were compounded after a report showed pending home sales dropped by the most in a year, sending the S&P 500 index down more than 1 per cent. The broad measure of US stocks is on track to close the month of May 6 per cent lower.
Due to an on-going air conditioning problem in the 7th Ave concourse area of NY Penn Station, passengers may want to wait on the 8th Ave side or use PATH service, which is accepting NJT rail tickets/passes from 33rd Street to Hoboken Terminal & NPS only from 4-8 p.m. While regular rail service continues to operate from NY Penn Station, AMTRAK is repairing the problem.
While New Jersey is home to one of the highest business tax rates in the nation, financial executives attribute the state’s lack of competitiveness in retaining and attracting business to the complexity of its tax system, according to a survey of chief financial officers conducted by Alvarez & Marsal Taxand LLC.
“With competition for corporate headquarters and the jobs that come with them increasing in the face of a challenging economy, it will be interesting to see if states modify their taxing systems in an aggressive attempt to retain contracts and attract new business,” said Don Roveto, managing director at A&M Taxand, in a statement. “When companies look to relocate corporate functions or expand operations, initial credits and incentives may be the most relevant factor from a tax perspective, although the ongoing tax burden must be considered.” (Eder, NJBIZ)
Superior Court Judge Douglas Hurd upholds suspension of pension increases for N.J. public employees
In a victory for Gov. Chris Christie’s pension revisions, a Superior Court judge has ruled that about 800,000 retired public employees are not entitled to increases based on the cost of living.
The ruling by Superior Court Judge Douglas Hurd in Mercer County affects all current and future retirees in pension systems funded by the state, including state workers and judges as well as local police, firefighters and teachers. (Spoto, The Star-Ledger)
Facebook crashes below $30 in ‘worst IPO in a decade’
Shares in Facebook have dropped below the $30 mark, capping what has been hailed as the most disastrous start to trading of any major flotation in the last decade.
By Katherine Rushton,
The social network has lost more than a fifth of its value since its faltering Wall Street debut on May 18, while its 28-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg has been honeymooning in Rome. It is now unlikely to recover in the short term, analysts claimed.
After placing at $38, Facebook’s shares briefly peaked at $45 before sinking back to $38.25 on their first day of trading. They have fallen every day since then, and today plummeted nearly 10pc to a low of $28.84 at the close in New York.
Cooperative Nursery School of Ridgewood Still Has Openings for 2012-2013 School Year
Looking for a great preschool program for your child this fall? The Cooperative Nursery School of Ridgewood has openings in several of its classes for the 2012-2013 school year.
The Co-op offers classes for children from 1 ½ to 5 years old, including Kindergarten Enrichment. The school has both morning and afternoon classes. There are also a variety of different extended day options available to students, including Discovery Fridays, a program designed to supplement the class curriculum.
The school’s seasoned teaching staff guides students toward social, emotional and physical well-being. Children learn and play in an environment ideally suited to their needs as developing individuals. The program encourages independence, self-discipline and a love for school.
Setting the school apart from other nursery schools, The Co-op is organized and run by parents. This enables parents to actively participate in their child’s early learning experience. Music, physical education, field trips, indoor and outdoor play time and an in-house library are just a few of the experiences to which the children are exposed as supplements to the daily education plans.
For more information or to set up a private tour, please call the school at (201) 447-6232 or email ridgewoodcoop@gmail.com .
Borrowing from Peter to Pay Paul the Village Council Introduces the New Budget
May 30,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog.
Ridgewood NJ ,The Village council formally introduced the Village’s $45 million municipal budget with Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh being the only dissenting vote.
In its current form the budget would increase taxes $131 on the average resident.With a home assessed at $794,550, that would mean 3.79 % rate increase in property taxes. Currently no layoffs are planned but $100,000 was shifted from services to potentially keep the library open year-round..
Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh in the lone ‘no’ vote cited her need for more time to analyze the numbers , a disagreement with some of the allocations, and her own work as a corporate relocation consultant in the real estate industry leaving her with some suspicions of projected tax appeal losses and in her mind the potential loss of $1 million in the next year .Walsh would not discuss which appropriations she had issues with.
Village officials arrived at a 3.79 percent municipal tax increase instead of the often cited very preliminary 7.6 % number throw around in the past election campaign . About $1 million in cuts came at the expense of virtually all departments with no comment made as to potential loss in services.
The budget also allocates funding toward watershed prevention efforts, street resurfacing and recreation facility improvements,while debt service will be reduced by about $200,000 in 2012.
Storm cleanup costs, reached $1.2 million. However much of the costs will be reimbursed through FEMA and insurance refunds but the storms impact on taxpayers in 2012 will still be significant.
Village expense increased 5.5% in health care , 9.75% increase at the tax assessor’s office and 6.4% for police salaries .
Village CFO Steven Sanzari told the Patch that $56 of the $131 increase is directly attributed to storm costs and a loss in property values.
Declining property values nationally as well as in Bergen County have lead to record tax appeals with Village appeals increasing 21%. CFO Sanzari looked to counter Councilwoman Walsh’s objections saying that it takes about six months or longer from appeal filings to refunds issued, which leads to a “lag time”The village is currently facing $40 million in assessed valuation exposure with a total of $6 billion in assessed value. Hanging over the Village’s head is the appeal of Ridgewood’s highest assessed property, the large office building across the Duck Pond.
As Yogi Berra would say It is not over until its over , the council has “some leeway” tweaking the budget and can also continue budget discussions until the June 26 public meeting, where residents can speak on the budget.
