On July 7, Congressmen Bill Huizenga and Scott Garrett introduced H.R. 5018, the “Federal Reserve Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014.” H.R. 5018 would mandate that the Fed articulate a rule for conducting monetary policy. It would further require that the Fed report to Congress twice a year and compare the actual results with both their chosen rule and with the “Taylor Rule,” which was developed by Stanford economist John B. Taylor in 1992.
Both the Fed itself and progressive economists have reacted to this very mild piece of reform legislation in the way that vampires react to sunlight. They don’t like it one bit.
During her testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on July 16, Fed Chairman Janet Yellen argued that it would be a “grave mistake” for Congress to adopt legislation constraining the Fed’s management of monetary policy, because this would impair the Fed’s ability to manage the economy, and its ability to respond to financial crises. She said that such a law “…would essentially undermine central bank independence.”
Killer snake in Lake Hopatcong? State says it’s unlikely
Traps were set. Sunbathers and boaters were asked to keep a wary eye. The waters and shoreline were searched and searched again. And again. (Hinchliffe/The Bergen Record)
JULY 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014, 12:31 AM BY LIZ WELLINGHORST STAFF WRITER THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Residents will not need to head to their favorite vacation destination to watch a fresh batch of fudge being hand-paddled at the candy shop.
That’s because Kilwins Chocolate and Ice Cream shop, usually found in vacation spots like Florida, is now open on East Ridgewood Avenue. The July 12 soft opening was anything but soft.
“Some have a surprised look when they come into the store, like they’ve been here before,” said Mary Davis, who is co-owner and franchisee of Kilwins with her husband, Philip. “We had people congregating in the front window, especially kids who glue their faces to our storefront window to watch fudge being made.”
Kilwins, founded in Michigan in 1947, is broadening its reach to suburban ‘urban’ areas. This is the second Kilwins to open in New Jersey.
“Everyone walks out of Kilwins with a smile,” said Philip Davis. “We have fudge, chocolate and ice cream. What better experience can you have?”
JULY 24, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014, 3:24 PM BY JODI WEINBERGER STAFF WRITER
Ridgewood has given a green light to establishing a Green Team in the village.
With unanimous approval from the Village Council on July 17, the municipality is one step closer to joining more than 400 other towns in working toward Sustainable Jersey certification.
The team will act as an advisory committee to the village and is a mandatory component for towns seeking the benefits of the Sustainable Jersey program.
Municipalities work toward certification by earning points for offering different activities – such as forming a Green Team, holding educational events about the environment, and recycling efforts – and in return are rewarded with access to resources and grant opportunities.
The program awards certification in three levels – bronze, silver, and gold – and towns stay certified for three years before needing to again qualify.
In Ridgewood, Councilman Michael Sedon is leading the effort and will be the liaison to the Green Team once established.
“The certification comes with the prestige of showing that your town is serious about sustainable projects,” Sedon said.
Ridgewood High School students to be issued laptops
JULY 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014, 12:31 AM BY JODI WEINBERGER STAFF WRITER
On Sept. 4, all high school students will be given a Chromebook as the district moves toward its full embrace of technology.
The Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) introduced a resolution on July 21 to enter into a five-year lease agreement for $485,000, at an annual interest rate of 1.469 percent, to purchase a Chromebook for every student in the high school.
To offset the cost, the district also accepted a $100,000 grant from The Ridgewood Education Foundation in support of the 1:1 Technology Initiative.
“Thank you for this,” Board President Sheila Brogran said to Foundation officer Jennie Smith Wilson. “It helps us put our 1:1 initiative in place. All four grades at the high school will have the opportunity to have Chromebooks.”
For the high school’s roughly 1,750 students, the Chromebooks will cost about $550,000, said Superintendent Daniel Fishbein. The district budgets about $900,000 per year for technology, he said.
Ridgewood began welcoming laptops and iPads in 2012 with a Bring Your Own Device program and purchased carts of Chromebooks for use at the elementary schools.
JULY 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014, 1:21 AM BY CHRIS HARRIS STAFF WRITER THE RECORD Print
RIDGEWOOD — Inadequate parking remains a major factor in the village’s downtown, according to residents who attended a special forum this week.
Most of 50 people at the Wednesday meeting agreed that the prosperity of the village’s Central Business District hinges entirely on parking and providing more spaces for visitors.
For more than 40 years, Ridgewood officials have tried to address the village’s parking woes, yet a dearth remains.
More than 20 people spoke during the Village Hall forum, which was hosted by Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli. Mayor Paul Aronsohn also attended.
Some speakers suggested that Ridgewood explore a joint effort with business owners to acquire and operate a shuttle bus that would circulate throughout the downtown, carting shoppers to and from off-site parking lots.
Others insisted that a parking garage needs to be constructed downtown.
JULY 24, 2014 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2014, 3:27 PM BY BY JODI WEINBERGER STAFF WRITER
More than 50 people attended a meeting on Wednesday at Village Hall to voice their thoughts and concerns about the Central Business District (CBD).
In total, 18 residents spoke, 12 said parking woes stifle growth, and nine called for development in the downtown in terms of both housing and parking structures.
The meeting was triggered by what Deputy Mayor Albert Pucciarelli said is a need for more open discussions about the CBD to get a sense of what people want for their town.
The forum was not meant to address the applications currently before the Planning Board to amend the master plan to allow multifamily housing. In fact, Pucciarelli asked that residents specifically not speak about them before the forum began.
“If we could avoid talking about that, that would be great,” he said, citing the need to give developers due process.
Three main topics were addressed at the forum: parking, development and process.
Ridgewood school district’s business administrator resigns
JULY 25, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2014, 12:31 AM BY JODI WEINBERGER STAFF WRITER Print
Michael Falkowksi, the district’s business administrator, is resigning after just over one year working at 49 Cottage Place, the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) headquarters.
Falkowski’s resignation, effective Aug. 22, was part of the consent agenda during a BOE meeting on Monday, July 21.
“I know that your long commute was an issue,” said Board President Sheila Brogan after thanking Falkowski for his work.
Falkowski was hired in April 2013 and began his tenure on July 1, 2013, putting his total time in the district at one year, one month, and 21 days; or 10,008 hours, or 600,480 minutes.
Falkowski did not offer comment during the meeting about his resignation and declined to comment after the meeting. He would not answer questions about the reason behind his resignation or about future employment. Falkowski did not return additional phone calls or emails seeking comment during the week.
Greenspan says bubbles can’t be stopped without ‘crunch’
Former Fed chairman worries about false dawns and the looming Fed exit
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has always been a student of the economy. Since the financial crisis, he’s become a student of human nature.
Sitting in his office with a view of the Washington Monument in the distance, Greenspan is eager to share the insight distilled in his recent book, “The Map and the Territory,” due out in paperback this fall.
‘There is definite evidence the economy is picking up. The financial system is finally beginning to lend. But, what we don’t know is whether, when the recovery gets underway, it is going to run into another false dawn.’
Alan Greenspan to MarketWatch
Greenspan, 88, who was chairman of the U.S. central bank for more than 18 years, from 1987 to 2006, managed to steer the economy through multiple crises, mainly by slashing rates and remaining upbeat. He suffered a remarkable fall from grace after leaving office and has apologized for trusting big banks too much. He has since gone back and re-examined his views on the economy.
Rep Scott Garrett Marks the Fourth Anniversary of Dodd-Frank reminding us of the burden it puts on American taxpayers for endless Wall Street bailouts. Jul 21, 2014
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises, issued the following statement today to mark the four year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Act:
“It’s been four years since President Obama signed Dodd-Frank into law and our economy’s anemic growth since that time is just one example of why it is ineffective. In addition to holding back the economy, Dodd-Frank also puts unsuspecting American taxpayers on the hook for endless Wall Street bailouts. The sad news is that the consequences of this heavy-handed law continue to creep into every U.S. industry. Now more than ever, we need solutions that address the real issues behind the 2008 financial collapse, protect taxpayers, and ensure that the U.S. continues to have the most robust capital markets in the world.”
Federal Highway Administrator in New Jersey division arrested on fraud charges
The feds this morning arrested the Assistant Division Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), New Jersey Division, for allegedly using a straw company to get FHWA grant funds he also oversaw as a public official, and for falsifying related federal disclosure documents, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said. (Politicker Staff)
Do You Want Your Private Financial Information Automatically Shared with Russia or China?
David Burton / July 23, 2014
On Monday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released the full version of the global standard for automatic exchange of information.
The Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters calls on governments to obtain detailed account information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. The standard was endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers in February 2014 and approved by the OECD Council.
It is one thing to exchange financial account information with Western countries that generally respect privacy and are allied with the United States. It is an entirely different matter to exchange sensitive financial information about American citizens or corporations with countries that do not respect Western privacy norms, have systematic problems with corruption or are antagonistic to the United States. States that fall into one of these problematic categories but are participating in the OECD automatic exchange of information initiative include Colombia, China and Russia.
The standard provides for governments to annually and automatically exchange financial account information—such as balances, interest, dividends and proceeds from sales of financial assets—that are reported to governments by financial institutions and cover accounts held by individuals and entities, including businesses, trusts and foundations. Banks, broker-dealers, investment funds and insurance companies are required to report.
Corrupt governments may use American’s financial information for criminal purposes such as identity theft
The Obama administration enthusiastically supports the OECD initiative, but even the administration has realized important privacy issues at are stake. Robert B. Stack, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Tax Affairs, has testified that “the United States will not enter into an information exchange agreement unless the Treasury Department and the IRS are satisfied that the foreign government has strict confidentiality protections. Specifically, prior to entering into an information exchange agreement with another jurisdiction, the Treasury Department and the IRS closely review the foreign jurisdiction’s legal framework for maintaining the confidentiality of taxpayer information.”
Leaving these determinations to a tax agency with little institutional interest in anything other than raising tax revenue is dangerous. There is little doubt sensitive financial information about American citizens and businesses can and will be used by some governments for reasons that have nothing to do with tax administration, such as identifying political opponents’ financial resources or industrial espionage. In addition, individuals in corrupt governments may use the information for criminal purposes such as identity theft, to access others’ funds or to identify potential kidnapping victims. It is naïve to think otherwise.
Automatic information exchange should be limited to law enforcement and anti-terrorist purposes and should be restricted to governments that are (1) democratic, (2) respect free markets, private property and the rule of law, (3) can be expected to always use the information in a manner consistent with the security interests of the member states and (4) have in place—in law and in practice—adequate safeguards to prevent the information from being obtained by hostile parties or used for inappropriate commercial, political or other purposes.
In February, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a briefhearing on a number of treaties, including the Proposed Protocol Amending The Multilateral Convention On Mutual Administrative Assistance In Tax Matters, which would implement automatic information sharing and expand the number of countries that participate beyond the OECD and the Council of Europe.
The Senate should not ratify this protocol. The risks to American citizens and American businesses are too great.
Reader says the crime rate today is lower than anytime since the 1950s. Children should be free to roam as they did then
One of the reasons I moved to Ridgewood is that we are better at this than most communities. Kids still ride bikes around town together and you see kids hanging out in town unaccompanied. We need to be vigilant in protecting this culture in our community.
As is pointed out in the article, despite shows like Law and Order, the crime rate today is lower than anytime since the 1950s. Children should be free to roam as they did then. Just think of all the things you learned when no adults were around. Most of them are more important in life than anything learned under supervision.
Yet there are still problems which almost always start with a busybody. It is a tough line because children truly are raised by a village BUT that means talking to kids not calling the cops. It is not the cops’ fault but it is technically illegal to leave your kids at home alone at 12 even though that is an age when kids traditionally stated to babysit. Involving the cops in these issues creates problems it doesn’t solve them.
I disagree that parking is not a problem. There are 2 issues really:
1) Public perception–Restaurants and businesses are hurt by the perception that there is not enough parking. It is not that people do not find a spot, it is the unknown and the frustration of driving around looking for one. People do take business elsewhere simply because it can take 5-10 minutes to find a spot in Ridgewood. For instance, if I need to run to a drug store around 8pm on a Saturday, I do not try to find parking at Rite Aide I head to CVS in Fair Lawn or GR.
2) At about 8pm on Saturday night it is hard to find parking, even far away. There is no “bail out” lot where you can reliably find a spot and just walk a bit further. The lots on Broad and on Chestnut are usually full at that time as are the spots around VanNess. In those instances, it can be very frustrating to find a spot.
The proposed solutions help relieve the “frustration” factor because there would be a “bail out.” You look for a spot, can’t find one and then can valet or whatever. That change in perception could make all the difference for many people.
