Author: admin

>Why does Laurie still maintain a blog…?

Why does Laurie still maintain a blog…? Great question! Why does she continue to write about school issues and topics when she isn’t on the school board?

Why does she still post stories about education on her blog when she doesn’t have a vote on the school board?

Why does she ask questions on her blog about education, which could challenge our administrators and residents when she doesn’t have a seat on the board that would let her change things.
How dare she continue to be interested in education!

>Eyeballing revenue intake uptick, Christie targets pension system and property tax rebates

Addressing what he wants to do with unforseen revenues, Gov. Chris Christie said he would put roughly $250 million into the pension system and another $225 million toward property tax rebates. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)

https://www.politickernj.com/47814/christie-targets-pension-system-and-property-tax-rebates

>Political Beliefs Have No Place in N.J. Judiciary Decisions

In Case You Missed It: Political Beliefs Have No Place in N.J. Judiciary Decisions
The following editorial by Senators Joe Kyrillos and Kevin O’Toole appeared in the Star-Ledger on Tuesday, May 17, 2011:

May 18, 2011- Realizing that newspaper editorial writers, by definition, express an opinion for a living, we must take issue with The Star-Ledger’s complaint against Gov. Chris Christie in the April 28 editorial, “The Attack on Justice Albin.”

In that column, The Star-Ledger excoriates Christie for criticizing state Supreme Court Justice Barry Albin’s comments regarding a tax increase during the latest round of school funding litigation as “tasteless,” “cheap” and “dishonest.”

We disagree. In our opinion, Albin wrongfully overstepped his jurisdiction and the governor had every right to call him on it.

The state Supreme Court’s role is to interpret laws as they are made by the Legislature and ensure compliance with the state constitution.

In other words, it has no role in setting tax rates. That job is left to the Legislature and the governor — branches of government empowered by the state constitution to raise revenue.

We were members of the Senate when Albin was nominated for tenure in 2009 and believed, at the time, that he would be a judge that didn’t legislate from the bench. Unfortunately, we now believe the opposite to be true with regard to Albin’s treatment of the current school funding case.

The mere mention of the so-called “millionaires tax” by a sitting justice during oral arguments in the case was inappropriate. Albin all but admitted that his mind was made up about the case and that he believes New Jersey, despite spending more on public education than anywhere else in the nation, should be ordered to spend even more because a tax that he agreed with was allowed to expire.

So much for our judiciary being an independent and nonpolitical entity.

Last year, the elected leaders of this state used their constitutional authority to make the determination that raising taxes in the middle of a recession would be bad public policy. The court’s job is to render its opinion on the issue of whether or not the state’s current financial position may affect how schools are funded.

It does not matter whether Albin agrees or disagrees with the tax rates set by Christie and the Legislature. It’s not his call. That he thinks tax policy has anything to do with his job as an associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court simply supports Christie’s criticism: that the Supreme Court is out of control and overstepping its authority on everything from school funding policy to affordable housing.

The stakes in this case are very high, with 1.7 billion taxpayer dollars hanging in the balance. If the court determines that the state must spend additional funds on school aid, fiscal crisis notwithstanding, it will affect every single person in the state of New Jersey.

The additional money, of which the millionaires tax covers less than one-third, will be raised either through broad-based income and sales tax increases, massive reductions in state programs and services, or some combination of those.

The people of this state will have these tax increases and spending cuts forced upon them by a group of five judges who were not elected by the public and are accountable to no one.

We believe the governor is right. You cannot expect the state to spend more money than ever before on anything, when revenues are at their lowest point in years.

The court may see it otherwise, but if it does, it should be based on sound legal reasoning and not the political beliefs of Albin.

Sens. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth) and Kevin O’Toole (R-Essex) are members of the Judiciary Committee in the state Senate.

>“Bill Clinton, back in 1992, when he was running for office, you know, their campaign coined the phrase, ‘It’s the economy, stupid,'”

>NJEA spends $7 million on anti Christie ads

NJEA offers revised history on one tax

When Gov. Chris Christie took his town hall road show to a Washington audience recently, the message was the same as here: Teacher unions are the biggest stumbling block to education reform. Back home, the New Jersey Education Association was proving him right. (Ingle, Gannett)

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20110518/OPINION02/105180313/BOB-INGLE-NJEA-offers-revised-history-one-tax

>State Treasurer recommends boosting Homestead credits with income tax windfall

Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff gave a hint into the thinking of the Christie administration Tuesday when he told the Assembly Budget committee that a boost in projected income tax revenue is not a license to begin spending. (Hassan, State Street Wire)

https://www.politickernj.com/47785/treasurer-recommends-boosting-homestead-credits-income-tax-windfall

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>“Bill Clinton, back in 1992, when he was running for office, you know, their campaign coined the phrase, ‘It’s the economy, stupid,'”