The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Trenton NJ, according to Garden State Initiative the GDP numbers are out for 1Q 2019 and it’s not pretty for New Jersey. We’re tied with Maryland for the worst economic growth on the US Mainland with an anemic 1.8% growth.
While the US economy is booming, New Jersey is being left behind.
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MORRISTOWN NJ , Garden State Initiative (GSI) today released “The Stark Gap Between Public and Private Employee Benefits”, an analysis of the latest employee compensation data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics which illustrates some dramatic differences in compensation costs between the public and private sectors. While it’s less surprising that government costs for retirement and medical benefits far exceed the private sector, the 50% differential in cost in New Jersey versus the rest of the US is startling.
The analysis was conducted by Charles Steindel, Ph.D., a former New Jersey State Chief Economist and current resident scholar at Ramapo College. It is available for download at: https://www.gardenstateinitiative.org/updates/publicemployeebenefits
Continue reading NJ State Employee Benefits Cost 50% more then Private Sector
photo Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman
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Trenton NJ, Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman voted no on a resolution condemning the movement to Boycott Israel Wednesday, the congresswoman is the latest New Jersey representative to embrace anti-Semitism.Earlier this month, Watson Coleman cosponsored a resolution introduced by Omar that affirmed constitutional protections for economic protests like those employed by proponents of BDS.
Continue reading Rising Anti Semitism Among NJ representatives
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Trenton NJ, Research by The Pew Charitable Trusts shows New Jersey has the second-largest pension fund deficit in the nation and underscores the urgent need to transition to a more sustainable hybrid system, NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka said Friday.
According to Pew’s nationwide research on the fiscal health of public employee retirement plans, New Jersey ranked 49th in the U.S. because its plans were only 36% funded. New Jersey is one of only five states with less than 50% of the assets needed to fully fund its pension liabilities, according to Pew’s analysis of 2017 data.
Continue reading Pew Charitable Trusts : New Jersey has the second-largest pension fund deficit in the nation
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Trenton NJ, “New Jersey’s senator-turned-Spartacus-impersonator-turned-full-time-presidential-candidate Cory Booker is pledging to rename the New York Giants as the “New Jersey Giants.”
Booker has apparently spent a lot of time thinking about this critical initiative to the point that he intends to leverage his “swagger, Secret Service, and the nuclear codes” to implement the change.
Continue reading Hirsh Singh: Is this all just a big game for Cory Booker?
By Doug Steinhardt
On June 20, 2019, legislative Democrats captured the state budget and held it hostage. Then, on June 30, Gov. Phil Murphy signed the ransom note, a $38.7 billion behemoth that did nothing to address the state’s pension crisis, reduce spending or provide meaningful tax relief. For the nearly 78 percent of registered voters who didn’t vote in 2015, you might ask, “who cares?” My answer: we all should, because 100 percent of us are paying the bill.
Continue reading Taxpayers just got handed a behemoth of a budget. Come November, give Republicans a chance to do better
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CAMDEN NJ, Governor Phil Murphy announced two new measures to continue the Administration’s unwavering commitment to build an inclusive state for every New Jersey resident.
This morning, the Governor signed Executive Order No. 74, which directs the New Jersey Department of Human Services and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to advance immigrant and refugee integration initiatives, including the design of an Office of New Americans. The Executive Order also establishes an Interagency Workgroup on New American Integration to create opportunities for coordination and implementation of strategies and actions to advance immigrant and refugee integration.
Continue reading Governor Phil Murphy Uses July 4th to Promote New Jersey’s Sanctuary State Polices
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Trenton NJ, Govenour Murphy has caved saying he will sign the states $38.7 billion budget by the midnight Sunday deadline, in order to avoid a shut down. The Democratic governor said his exact actions on the budget “are still to be determined.”The governor added the dramatic flair saying , “I can”t play politics with innocent lives in the state,” Murphy said. “I’ve taken shutting this government down off the table.” Murphy added he wanted to reassure New Jersey residents and visitors that politics wouldn’t spoil their planned Fourth of July revelry or shutter important state services.A shutdown would have likely closed state parks and beaches, shuttered government services like courts and the DMV, and left thousands of government workers furloughed.
Continue reading New Jersey Has A Budget
New Jerseyans Understand “Tax Fairness” Means “Tax Increase”
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Trenton NJ, Senator Declan O’Scanlon said that Governor Phil Murphy’s continued demand for higher taxes under the guise of “tax fairness” is only helping the efforts of low- and no-tax states like Florida that are actively working to lure residents, employers, and jobs from high-tax New Jersey.
“Florida is already running compelling advertising campaigns that are targeting both families and employers in our area who are fed up with paying some of the highest tax bills in the nation,” said O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “The data shows that people are paying attention to those sales pitches, and they’re packing up and leaving New Jersey for more affordable places that promise a significant tax savings.”
Continue reading Murphy’s Tax Rhetoric Helping Other States to Lure Residents, Jobs from NJ
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Trenton NJ, New Jersey Business & Industry Association President and CEO Michele N. Siekerka Esq. issued the following statement regarding today’s approval of the Legislature’s $38.8 billion budget.
“We are pleased that the budget advanced by the Legislature today forgoes tax increases when New Jersey taxpayers have clearly had enough.
“New Jersey desperately needs fiscal reform, not more taxes. Proponents of the millionaires tax often cite two reasons for their support: It’s popular and they contend it’s fairer to ask them to pay ‘a little bit more.’
Continue reading New Jersey Business & Industry Association: New Jersey desperately needs fiscal reform, not more taxes
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Trenton NJ, The New Jersey Legislature is moving aggressively on Democrats’ $38.7 billion state budget proposal .The Democratic controlled state Legislature have insisted they won’t support a Murphy’s millionaires tax, and their proposed $38.7 billion budget preserves just one of the Democratic governor’s proposed tax increases raising the tax paid by HMOs , The legislator took money out of the state’s rainy day fund, cutting some spending and tweaking revenue estimates for the coming fiscal year to balance the budget.
Continue reading New State Budget Rejects Gov. Phil Murphy’s calls for More Tax Hikes
Trenton NJ, A Senate committee today endorsed a series of bills that will produce savings and efficiencies for county and municipal government as part of a broader effort to address the mounting fiscal problems in New Jersey.
The nine bills, approved by the Senate State Government, Wagering, Tourism and Historic Preservation Committee, are part of the “Path to Progress” report developed by the 25-member Economic and Fiscal Policy Workgroup.
The bipartisan Workgroup issued its report and recommendations in August of 2018, which included a category for “County & Municipal Government Reform and Shared Services.”
Continue reading ‘Path to Progress’ Pension and Fiscal Reform Bills Gain Committee Approval
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East Windsor NJ, Continuing to advocate for the fiscal and economic reforms needed to avert future financial crises, Senate President Steve Sweeney spoke at the joint New Jersey Business and Industry Associations (NJBIA) and New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce policy forum today where he emphasized the economic value of bringing fiscal reforms to public finances.
Senator Sweeney participated in “Meet the Decision Makers,” an event that features key New Jersey policy figures. Senator Sweeney spoke about the “Path to Progress” report issued by the 25-member study group that provides a working blueprint to achieve the operational and structural reforms needed to restore financial stability and affordable government.
Continue reading Senate President Sweeney on NJ Pensions: “We can’t grow our way out of it, we can’t tax our way out of it, and it won’t go away by ignoring it”
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West Orange NJ, The West Point cadet killed when a military training vehicle overturned during training exercise has been identified as Cadet Christopher J. Morgan, Class of 2020, of West Orange.
Sr. Cadet Chris Morgan of West Orange is identified by the Army as the fatality in Thursday’s crash at West Point. Morgan, 22, was a Law and Legal Studies major, and a recruited athlete who was a standout member of the Army Wrestling Team set to graduate in 2020
Continue reading West Point Cadet Killed in crash a 22-year-old New Jersey Native
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Ridgewood NJ, its summer time and the living is easy and the beers is flowing ,be it at a ball game or at a back yard BBQ.According to the Beer Institute, “Taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer, costing more than the labor and raw materials combined.” Research has shown that approximately 40 percent of the retail price of beer is dedicated toward covering all the applicable taxes.
Continue reading How High are Beer Taxes in New Jersey ?