100 Million Poor People In America And 39 Other Facts About Poverty That Will Blow Your Mind
Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
July 25, 2012
Every single day more Americans fall into poverty. This should deeply alarm you no matter what political party you belong to and no matter what your personal economic philosophy is. Right now, approximately 100 million Americans are either “poor” or “near poor”.
For a lot of people “poverty” can be a nebulous concept, so let’s define it. The poverty level as defined by the federal government in 2010 was $11,139 for an individual and $22,314 for a family of four. Could you take care of a family of four on less than $2000 a month? Millions upon millions of families are experiencing a tremendous amount of pain in this economy, and no matter what “solutions” we think are correct, the reality is that we all should have compassion on them. Sadly, things are about to get even worse. The next major economic downturn is rapidly approaching, and when it hits the statistics posted below are going to look even more horrendous.
Amid protests, Englewood school board walks out before taking up outsourcing proposal
THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2012
BY REBECCA BAKER
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The members of the Englewood school board, faced with a loud and, at times, angry protest over a plan to outsource nearly 100 jobs, abruptly stood up and walked out of a public meeting Thursday night just as they were poised to cast a vote approving the measure.
Englewood teaching assistant Sharon Vanterpool tells members of the school board Thursday night that on Election Day she will remember their decision to explore outsourcing.
About 150 district employees and their supporters had assembled in the cafeteria at the Dr. John Grieco Elementary School, united in their opposition to the outsourcing plan. As the crowd grew angrier and more animated, the board members abruptly got up and walked into a back room, leaving the audience dumbfounded.
The board members had not voted to go into executive session. Rather, they appeared to be on the verge of voting to hire two private staffing companies — Delta T. Group North Jersey Inc. and Mission One Educational Staffing — to replace the employees, including 24 secretaries and 66 full-time teaching assistants, when they walked out at 9:35 p.m.
The move came hours after the Englewood teachers union rejected an offer to avoid the outsourcing plan in exchange for agreeing to $1.5 million in concessions. The board members had yet to emerge as of midnight.
…STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT BERGEN…BRONX…FAIRFIELD… HUDSON…KINGS (BROOKLYN)…NEW YORK (MANHATTAN)…NORTHERN ESSEX… NORTHERN NASSAU…PASSAIC…QUEENS…ROCKLAND…SUFFOLK AND WESTCHESTER COUNTIES…
AT 843 AM EDT…NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR WAS TRACKING
STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM OSSINING TO NANUET
TO RAMSEY TO 5 MILES SOUTHWEST OF WEST MILFORD…OR ALONG A LINE
EXTENDING FROM OSSINING TO NANUET TO RAMSEY TO WEST MILFORD…AND
MOVING SOUTHEAST AT 35 MPH.
Ridgewood, Paramus enter into shared services agreement for vehicle maintenance
WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2012, 1:13 PM
BY DARIUS AMOS
STAFF WRITER
TOWN NEWS
The Ridgewood Village Council signed a one-year shared services agreement with Paramus, with village’s neighbor providing vehicle maintenance services on an as-needed basis.
The resolution earned unanimous support from council members and was passed via consent agenda last Wednesday; however, it did not go into the books without some uncertainty from the public.
Prior to the council’s vote, resident Boyd Loving questioned the resolution, particularly its necessity while considering that the village has a fully functional public works garage.
“My concern is that the taxpayers are paying for the operation of the village garage. It’s my belief that the village garage is supposed to be repairing all village-owned vehicles,” Loving told the council. “If the garage is staffed, they handle all of our vehicles. And if vehicles are being sent out for repair at another location, does that mean the staff at the garage can be reduced so taxpayers can realize some cost savings?
“Fart bag” Incident creates disturbance at Little Theater
July 25,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog / Ridgewood Police Blotter
Normally we don’t report on Police Activity in the Village but we found the recent rash of summer silliness to good to pass up.
On July 19 2012 an Oradell resident reported that he had parked his vehicle at 1200 East Ridgewood Avenue. When he returned to his vehicle he observed a white male hitting the window of his vehicle. The window broke and a GPS was stolen. The matter is under investigation by the Ridgewood Detective Bureau. Well that sounds like serious police business .
On July 19 2012 at 9:20 PM patrol responded to Ridgewood High School on a disturbance in the Little Theater. During a play performance three juveniles entered the theater and set off “Fart Bags”, disrupting the play. The matter is under investigation by the Ridgewood Detective Bureau. Not sure if “Fart Bags” are serious jail time .
On July 20, 2012 three separate incidents of a white sedan driving past pedestrians and throwing eggs at them were reported. The matter is under investigation by the Ridgewood Detective Bureau. No mention as to whether the eggs were “free range ” on not.
On July 24 2012 at 11:30 PM Patrol responded to the area of Amsterdam Avenue on a report of juveniles damaging street signs. A search of the area was conducted and two juveniles that were involved in tearing the signs from the ground were located. The juveniles were released to the custody of their parents pending Family Court Action. Parents break out your check books
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A zero percent tax increase may or may not be the aim of the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) for next year.
TUESDAY JULY 24, 2012, 10:49 AM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
A zero percent tax increase may or may not be the aim of the Ridgewood Board of Education (BOE) for next year. It’s all in the wording the BOE adopts for its 2013-2014 goals.
At last Monday’s public meeting, BOE members expressed uncertainty about how they wanted to phrase their new goals: Committing to a zero percent tax increase or focusing on the services students would need without setting a specific financial goal. The consensus was they all want to provide a quality education to students.
BOE member Jim Morgan, however, said a zero percent tax increase is feasible for a school board that has a $90 million budget to work with. It’s better to start thinking with a frugal mindset, he argued during the meeting.
“It’s got to be started now before the budget really starts to be looked at for the 2013-2014 school year,” he said. Delivering a quality education “within the budget” was possible, he said, because there are “other ways of delivering goods and services” that should be considered.
2012 WIBIT 50 METER SPLASH, Wednesday, July 25th (rain date 7/26) at 5:30 p.m. at
Graydon Pool – Co-sponsored by Commercial Recreation Specialists
All participants who have passed the Deep Water Test are welcome to join. Register individually or as part of a 5-man team and vie for 1st prize, a $100 gift card for the team, team picture and bragging rights. 2nd and 3rd prizes are $50 gift cards per team. The fee to participate is $25 per team prior to June 20th; $30 thereafter.
Individuals may register for $6 per person. All participants must provide a signed waiver and posess a Graydon Pool membership or purchase a daily pass.
Register in person or by mail: The Stable, 259 N. Maple Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ. Telephone 201-670-5560 with questions. Download the registration form
Urban homogeneity
July 21,2012
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Springing up all over town, a clock, brick work at the crosswalks , vintage street lights and turf fields, some of the things that make the Village unique?
Not so fast towns all across the state from Hoboken to Woodridge all share some of the same features of Village ,why Hoboken even has two clocks .
So why all the sameness ,what happen to home rule and the unique experience that was the Village of Ridgewood ? Is the uniformity mandated from the state ?What about town character and who is making all the money ? We are not fans of urban homogeneity .
Other things spreading like turf fields are down town parking garages , didn’t get a picture of that yet in Ridgewood .
At my company, Honest Landscaping and Interiors, I have been hearing from my customers a lot about allergies. Millions of people suffer from severe allergies. Some people don’t even plant a garden for fears of making their allergies worse. Fear not, I have some hypoallergenic plants and tips for naturally eliminating your runny nose and headaches.
What to plant:
You can always count on boxwood. Boxwood are slow growing, flowerless, deer resistant, and hypo allergenic. Boxwood makes a great hedge row or standalone plant. They also tolerate sun or shade.
Hibiscus is a tropical plant that can only be outside in the spring and summer months. They get a large flower but the pollen is heavy and does not travel through the air. Rose of Sharon is a perennial variety that does grow in our area. Be sure to plant in sun or part sun for best results.
If you are looking for a more traditional plant Hydrangea may be what you want. There are many varieties of hydrangea including bush, tree,and climbing. They get an abundance of flowers in bright colors. Be aware that the Deer love to consume the flowers so you may want to use a natural deer repellant. Some selections will grow in sun some in shade.
Daffodils and Tulips bloom in the spring. Once again you have an assortment of colors and varieties. Plant them in rows or clumps for the best showing and be sure not to plant them too deep. Ask your local garden center about the varieties you are planting. Plant your bulbs in full sun or partial shade.
If you want fruit trees plant Apple, Pear, Plum or Cherry. Be sure to net your fruit trees to prevent birds or deer from eating your fruit. The first year of planting will sometimes not yield any fruit. Be sure to trim your
trees properly. Call a professional like me if you need someone to do it for you. Partial sun or full sun is the best for all fruit trees.
There are plenty of annuals you can plant in spring that will not agitate your allergies. Let’s start with the ones that grow in the sun. Sunflowers, Petunias, Periwinkles, Daisies and Pansies are great and add lots of color to your garden beds. For shady areas plant Begonias. The Periwinkle and Begonias are also considered deer resistant.
If you like Roses you are in luck. Believe it or not roses are considered hypoallergenic. I would say to plant smaller budded Roses. Roses have large pollen and that is not transmitted through the air, they are pollinated by insects. You may also cut them and bring them in your home. Roses prefer sun or partial sun for best growth.
Finally, plant a cactus garden. There are so many beautiful selections that thrive in this area. Don’t be afraid to mix them up. I would recommend speaking to your local garden center about which Cactus they will be carrying. If you ask for different types they can probably order them. Cactus love sunny and dry conditions. Perfect this year.
This article is presented by www.honestlandscapingandinteriors.com, a greener way to do landscaping and interior remodeling. Please contact Lisa with any landscaping questions or for a free estimate at (727) 637-8014 or [email protected].
Reader says ,The Ridgewood Post Office is doing a terrible job.
The Ridgewood Post Office is doing a terrible job. They have messed up our mail so much that bills are never delivered and we are charged late fees through no fault of our own. My husband went to the RPO – which doesn’t open until after 10 am. by the way – and complained.
The Postmaster couldn’t have been more disinterested and unsympathetic and said that we are the end of the route and his mail carriers don’t like walking to our block. What? If we did our jobs, like they did theirs we’d be fired! Whatever happened to their motto “through rain or snow or sleet or hail the Postal Service will never fail”?
It’s funny – sad really – how the junk mail that we don’t ask for or need always seems to find us. But not the important stuff. Can someone help us?
“Municide” : Unless the Village starts looking at new forms of revenue this would not come as a surprise
As a former resident I would never wish “Municide” on my old hometown. Though unless the Village starts looking at new forms of revenue this would not come as a surprise.
In particular, solar panels paid for by utilities, cell phone towers which offer recurring revenue, and tasteful advertising to subsidize the annual losses at Graydon. “Tasteful” could use as a touchstone the same types of advertising found on little league baseball uniforms.
I’m not in favor of sacrificing the town’s character or visual appeal. I am in favor of avoiding casting the local unions and teachers as the cause of Ridgewood’s inevitable fiscal cliff. Teachers, Police, and Fire salaries and pensions are not the problem.
The Village has to realize that a massive number of real estate tax appeals and people moving to lower tax municipalities are the problems and that these are being ignored.
Ridgewood needs some creative types to work on raising revenues and not taxes.
Another piece of history lost
July 14.2012
the staff of the Risgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ , Another piece of history lost . The Zabriskie Slave Tenement house was demolished in Paramus yesterday .This was an ongoing battle over the past 3 years, and according to all accounts the demolition came without warning.
This was not the Schedler house in Ridgewood.
In September Freeholder John D. Mitchell came to the Dunkerhook site and met with Ted Manvell and Joe Suplicki who had spearheaded the movement to save the house. Mitchell was the first elected official to visit the site and show an interest in the status of the house.
Mitchell said on Facebook , “The shame of this is that all the pieces to a very complex puzzle were actually coming together. The mover was ready to move the house for free, the college was making plans for its permanent home as a learning center, grant requests and other funding avenues were promising, stubborn legal challenges were finding solutions, and many, many fine people were pitching in. We were really close.”
Hopefully this tragedy will energize preservationist in Northern New Jersey especially in Bergen County to speak up to save our precious history,. Bergen county holds many unique treasures dating back before the founding of the country . These include the Schedler house in Ridgewood which is still standing today but is also slated to be demolished to make way for more ball fields. Once these site are gone they are gone forever .
“Municide” not so sure its out of the question
July 14,2012
James Foytlin
Ridgewood NJ, On Tuesday San Bernardino became the third California city in less than a month to seek bankruptcy protection, with officials saying the financial situation had become so dire that it could not cover payroll through the summer and the city is facing a $46-million deficit.
So this begs the question with residential real estate at decade low valuations and commercial real estate still falling it seems only a matter of time before the dominoes begin to fall.
Ridgewood itself is experiencing a massive amount of tax appeals which some question whether the Village is underestimating our liability.
While vested interests and Muni Market promoters attacked Meredith Whitney for most of 2011 because of her ill timed call as to what some have called “Municide”, where she dared to predict that catastrophic muni default rates were in the cards.
Many argue that the size ,depth and variety of the muni bond market as well as the lack of institutional players coupled with insurance and the states infinite ability to tax makes a massive muni default or “Municide ” highly unlikely ,even sighting the lack of defaults during the Great Depression as proof.
The current low interest rate environment has done much to prop up muni prices. but with the print your way out of trouble attitude coming from Washington logic suggests it only a matter of time before price inflation begins to spiral and the breaks will have to be applied by ratcheting up interest rates.
Low valuations of residential property are pressuring property tax revenues ,with massive unemployment the states ability to continue to raise taxes seems to be challenged by a the law of diminishing returns . Add to that a fleeing population to lower tax destinations leaving an ever larger tax burden for those left behind .
Now add to this scenario the new willingness of towns, cities and county’s to seek bankruptcy protection and I am not so sure a “Municide” is out of the question ?
Americans Will Work More than 6 Months to Pay Cost of Gov’t in 2012
By Sabrina Gladstone
July 12, 2012
(CNSNews.com) – This year, Americans have to work until July 15 to pay for the burden of government, more than six months.
In a new report, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) has calculated that Americans will spend a total of 197 days toiling to pay for the cost of government.
“Cost of Government Day is the date of the calendar year on which the average American worker has earned enough gross income to pay off his or her share of the spending and regulatory burden imposed by government at the federal, state and local levels,” reads the report.
The report, Cost of Government Day, shows that Americans will work 88 days to pay for federal spending; 40 days for state and local spending; and 69 days for total regulatory costs.
“From a different perspective, the cost of government makes up 54.0 percent of annual gross domestic product (GDP),” reads the report. “What’s more, the largest tax hike in the nation’s history is scheduled to take place at the end of 2012 unless Congress acts to protect taxpayers. If this tax increase is allowed to hit, COGD [Cost of Government Day] could permanently be pushed back into August and beyond.”
“Late Show with David Letterman” has made 327,832 fat jokes about Chris Christie
Chris Christie “by the numbers”
The New Jersey governor’s office somehow managed to determine that the “Late Show with David Letterman” has made 327,832 fat jokes about Chris Christie. As for the number of questions he’s received about running for either president or vice president? His aides could only summarize, “Too many to count.”
A press release titled “Chris Christie by the numbers” went up on the governor’s website Wednesday, taking “a look back at everything across three balanced budgets.” Ranging everywhere from Twitter followers (125,820) to bills vetoed (39) to Politifact.com ratings of “Pants on Fire” (four), the list boils down to the apparent point of the list: “Tax increases: 0.” (Boerma, CBS News)
