The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
photo by Ramon Hache
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on Tuesday, March 12th for the Ridgewood Arts Council Artist Talk hosted , A Case of Blue’s writer/director Dana H. Glazer as well as producer Scott Rosenfelt (Home Alone) and the stars of the film. This event was held at Upper Ridgewood Tennis Club – 915 Glenview Road in Ridgewood.
Continue reading Ridgewood Arts Council Hosts Talk with ,”A Case of Blue” writer/director Dana H. Glazer
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Village of Ridgewood is celebrating its 125th Anniversary in 2019 and the Village Council is looking for residents to serve on the 125th Anniversary Celebration Committee. Come and join us as we plan special events and activities for this milestone anniversary celebration, so that it is a memorable event for all Village residents!
If you would like to serve on the Village of Ridgewood’s 125th Anniversary Celebration Committee, please either email or call Eileen Young (eyoung@ridgewoodnj.net or 201-670-5500 ext. 206) in the Village Clerk’s Office, no later than March 25, 2019, to provide her with your contact information.
.. the fly has learned that that merchants in the CBD seldom show for a council meeting unless it involves the garage or a wall and whispers are heard of spas offering happy endings , while others sleep with dogs and live in a non residential commercial space …
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood’s restaurants, the only draw left in the CBD with the digital-led demise of retail are about to be washed over by the same thing that is drowning NYC restaurants.
Now with the money losing garage ($1m/year) on the way bringing higher parking fees for diners and eaters alike, the village and the Dems they elected will not just kill the goose that laid the golden egg, there will be no one left to cook or serve it.
“December 2018 restaurant jobs were down by almost 3,000 (and by 1.64%) from the previous December,” wrote economist Mark Perry, “and the 2.5% annual decline in March 2018 was the worst annual decline since the sharp collapse in restaurant jobs following 9/11 in 2001.”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Village of Ridgewood is looking to reactivate Ridgewood GeesePeace . Originally formed in March 2007, Ridgewood GeesePeace is a group of volunteers that recognized the health hazards associated with the unchecked growth of our resident Canada goose population and acted to resolve this wildlife conflict by implementing humane methods endorsed by major national wildlife protection and humane organizations.
During the first half of the 20th century, migratory geese were captured for use as live decoys. The resident Canada geese in are the descendents of these captive migratory geese. The captured geese, flight feathers clipped, sometimes with light weights on their legs, lured other migratory Canada geese into lakes, wetlands and rivers during the great Canada geese migrations in the spring and fall. These captive geese were also bred in captivity. As a consequence, their descendents do not have biological need to migrate to Canada since geese nest in the area where they were born.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, while we have been promoting more reading ,many readers have asked us what exactly am I reading . I generally read on the morning and evening commute .
Well its all about finance ,so here is the late 2018- 2019 reading list so far for the Ridgewood blog :
Finished :
Liars’s Poker by Michael Lewis
The Big Short by Michael Lewis
The Art of the Deal by Donald J TrumpA Colossal Failure of Common Sense by Lawrence McDonald The AIG Story by Hank GreenbergConfessions of Street Addict by Jim Cramer Extra Ordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay
Reading :
Confusion de Confusiones by Joseph De La Vega
Next:
Predators Ball by Connie Bruck
April Fools by Dan G Stone
The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan
so far…….
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Park West Loft will be opening to the public while the Park West Tavern is going through it’s renovations from Monday, February 25th through Thursday, March 7th.
Management says on Facebook that , “There will be some dates that we will be closed to the public for our Private Events.Please contact us for more details! We thank you all for your constant support and can not wait for you all to see the new updates! “
“Valley is not going to build affordable housing there. That “plan” is only if they decide not to have medical facilities there. The article in the paper indicated they are never going to build housing. So all this worrying is for nothing. And all of Councilman Douchebag’s grandstanding is just that – grandstanding.”
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra final two concerts of our 79th season.
The Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra is a regional inter-generational orchestra composed of talented volunteer musicians located in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Supported by the surrounding communities and friends in neighboring areas, the orchestra serves the Northern New Jersey region with many musical and educational activities. For more information
March 8, West Side Presbyterian Church 8 p.m.Tschaikovsky, Wagner, Gershwin
May 3, West Side Presbyterian Church 8 p.m.Greig, Sibelius, Neilson
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, Since turning back the clocks, there have been some home burglaries in the Village. These typically haveoccurred during the hours of 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., when it is dark and no one is home. There have also been burglaries from vehicles parked indriveways.
Please be aware that Public Safety is the Village of Ridgewood’s #1 priority, and our Police Department is giving their full attention touncover every detail and piece of information, so that they can identify those involved in the burglaries. In addition, there are extra Policepatrols on the streets. If you are aware of a burglary which has occurred near your home, and have home security cameras or a Ring doorbellcamera, please contact the Ridgewood Police Department, at 201-652-3900, and let them know. The videos obtained from these cameras will assistthe Ridgewood Police Department in their investigation.
Here are some helpful tips to be used to protect your home and vehicles from burglaries:
Ridgewood NJ, Since the Ridgewood blog had come up more than once in the last few civility meetings Mayor Aronsohn and Jan Philips reached out to us for an invite so we updated our Last Will and Testaments and graciously accepted .The meetings of the Civility Round Table are held on Tuesday’s, once a month at 7:30 PM in the Ridgewood Village Hall Senior’s Lounge. Residents are encouraged to attend .
The meeting started promptly at 7:30 and was to my mind well attended given the time of the year . Jan Phelps hosted the meeting , with Mayor Aronsohn and Councilwomen Hauck . Everyone introduced themselves representing various groups and organizations in the Village , from the BOE , the Planing Board , the Ridgewood Library ,several local clergy , the HSA’s , RBSA and may other fine organizations that serve Ridgewood as well as a few residents . The purpose as stated by the Mayor is to create a more civil discourse in the Village .
Civility is about more than just politeness, although politeness is a necessary first step. It is about disagreeing without disrespect, seeking common ground as a starting point for dialogue about differences, listening past one’s preconceptions, and teaching others to do the same. Civility is the hard work of staying present even with those with whom we have deep-rooted and fierce disagreements. It is political in the sense that it is a necessary prerequisite for civic action. But it is political, too, in the sense that it is about negotiating interpersonal power such that everyone’s voice is heard, and nobody’s is ignored. https://www.instituteforcivility.org/who-we-are/what-is-civility/
The group seemed to agree that Ridgewood is a town where people like to excel , and that drive and those expectations create a very passionate , as you can see from blog comments and opinionated populace . People care about their community and thats a good thing , but many felt that sometimes we all go a bit to far .
We looked at the causes of incivility , the when and why .Sheila Brogan long time BOE member , felt that todays parents had a lot of additional pressure and worried that in todays world their kids would have a hard time doing as well as they have done . She went on to speak about the changing times and how one could expect to have several careers over a life time ,all this she though made being a parent a lot harder than it was in the past and a lot more pressure .
We managed to go till 8:08 be for someone mentioned the elephant in the room, “I want to talk about the blog”…….
I learned a lot , mostly that I am glad I can sit in my PJ’s drinking coffee writing a blog getting yelled at by anonymous commenters ,and don’t have a tuff job like the RBSA people who are pulled in many directions ,by so many demands all at once .
There were interestingly a surprising large amount of blog enthusiasts there some open and some secret admirers .
While I could see there were some sore spots , like turf fields , PSEG ,sports issues , Valley Hospital , the Village Hall renovation and alas Marty Brooks the daggers were lowered for the night .
While anonymity of blog posters took a hit as expected some pointed out that even on facebook were you know who everyone is the comments can be even nastier . A resident put it down to a type of “keyboard bravado.”
PJ’s Rules
1. Pay attention
2. Acknowledge others
3. Think the best
4. Listen
5. Be inclusive
6. Speak kindly
7. Don’t speak ill
8. Accept and give praise
9. Respect even a subtle “no”
10. Respect others’ opinions
11. Mind your body
12. Be agreeable
13. Keep it down (and rediscover silence)
14. Respect other people’s time
15. Respect other people’s space
16. Apologize earnestly and thoughtfully
17. Assert yourself
18. Avoid personal questions
19. Care for your guests
20. Be a considerate guest
21. Think twice before asking for favors
22. Refrain from idle complaints
23. Give constructive criticism
24. Respect the environment and be gentle to animals
25. Don’t shift responsibility and blame
Reader says Time to Pull the Plug of Turf Fields
It’s time to pull the plug on our turf fields. The locations are not conducive to turf material. With the over $100,000 in repairs we could take that money to go back to grass. The money we have spent in fixing each if these damaged episodes could have been used for another employee or two in our maintenance dept which is short employees (our town’s landscape is falling apart and w the taxes we pay, our town should be looking well attended and it’s not!! The best landscaped areas are the ones donated by kind vendors, not our village tax dollars.). What about the Schedler property for turf, or Habernickel Farm, or Citizens park or one of the elementary schools that don’t flood?
Readers think Village Halls knows more than is saying about the Mike Sedon Email Incident
“Was anything in this anonymous letter not true? I fail to share the outrage and as far as political dirty tricks go, this is pretty mild. I would suggest that Mr Sedon go on the offensive and show us he’s up for a fight…..I believe he is.”
Comments were posted by Mr Coward who is using proxy servers ” Hide My Ass! Free proxy node (IP address 67.159.5.242 )”Readers this
Contents of the letter sent to Mr. Sedon’s former employer have not been made public. Thus, how would anyone except the letter’s author, and selected members of management from Mr. Sedon’s former employer, know what was written. Any suggestion that the letter’s contents were truthful and mild must be coming from someone who wrote it or read it.
What to Do When ObamaCare Unravels
By John H. Cochrane
This article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on December 25, 2013.
The unraveling of the Affordable Care Act presents a historic opportunity for change. Its proponents call it “settled law,” but as Prohibition taught us, not even a constitutional amendment is settled law—if it is dysfunctional enough, and if Americans can see a clear alternative.
This fall’s website fiasco and policy cancellations are only the beginning. Next spring the individual mandate is likely to unravel when we see how sick the people are who signed up on exchanges, and if our government really is going to penalize voters for not buying health insurance. The employer mandate and “accountable care organizations” will take their turns in the news. There will be scandals. There will be fraud. This will go on for years.
Yet opponents should not sit back and revel in dysfunction. The Affordable Care Act was enacted in response to genuine problems. Without a clear alternative, we will simply patch more, subsidize more, and ignore frauds and scandals, as we do in Medicare and other programs.
There is an alternative. A much freer market in health care and health insurance can work, can deliver high quality, technically innovative care at much lower cost, and solve the pathologies of the pre-existing system.
The U.S. health-care market is dysfunctional. Obscure prices and $500 Band-Aids are legendary. The reason is simple: Health care and health insurance are strongly protected from competition. There are explicit barriers to entry, for example the laws in many states that require a “certificate of need” before one can build a new hospital. Regulatory compliance costs, approvals, nonprofit status, restrictions on foreign doctors and nurses, limits on medical residencies, and many more barriers keep prices up and competitors out. Hospitals whose main clients are uncompetitive insurers and the government cannot innovate and provide efficient cash service.
We need to permit the Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, Amazon.com and Apples of the world to bring to health care the same dramatic improvements in price, quality, variety, technology and efficiency that they brought to air travel, retail and electronics. We’ll know we are there when prices are on hospital websites, cash customers get discounts, and new hospitals and insurers swamp your inbox with attractive offers and great service.
The Affordable Care Act bets instead that more regulation, price controls, effectiveness panels, and “accountable care” organizations will force efficiency, innovation, quality and service from the top down. Has this ever worked? Did we get smartphones by government pressure on the 1960s AT&T phone monopoly? Did effectiveness panels force United Airlines and American Airlines to cut costs, and push TWA and Pan Am out of business? Did the post office invent FedEx, UPS and email? How about public schools or the last 20 or more health-care “cost control” ideas?
Only deregulation can unleash competition. And only disruptive competition, where new businesses drive out old ones, will bring efficiency, lower costs and innovation.
Health insurance should be individual, portable across jobs, states and providers; lifelong and guaranteed-renewable, meaning you have the right to continue with no unexpected increase in premiums if you get sick. Insurance should protect wealth against large, unforeseen, necessary expenses, rather than be a wildly inefficient payment plan for routine expenses.
People want to buy this insurance, and companies want to sell it. It would be far cheaper, and would solve the pre-existing conditions problem. We do not have such health insurance only because it was regulated out of existence. Businesses cannot establish or contribute to portable individual policies, or employees would have to pay taxes. So businesses only offer group plans. Knowing they will abandon individual insurance when they get a job, and without cross-state portability, there is little reason for young people to invest in lifelong, portable health insurance. Mandated coverage, pressure against full risk rating, and a dysfunctional cash market did the rest.
Rather than a mandate for employer-based groups, we should transition to fully individual-based health insurance. Allow national individual insurance offered and sold to anyone, anywhere, without the tangled mess of state mandates and regulations. Allow employers to contribute to individual insurance at least on an even basis with group plans. Current group plans can convert to individual plans, at once or as people leave. Since all members in a group convert, there is no adverse selection of sicker people.
ObamaCare defenders say we must suffer the dysfunction and patch the law, because there is no alternative. They are wrong. On Nov. 2, for example, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote movingly about his friend who lost employer-based insurance and died of colon cancer. Mr. Kristof concluded, “This is why we need Obamacare.” No, this is why we need individual, portable, guaranteed-renewable, inexpensive, catastrophic-coverage insurance.
On Nov. 15, MIT’s Jonathan Gruber, an ObamaCare architect, argued on Realclearpolitics that “we currently have a highly discriminatory system where if you’re sick, if you’ve been sick or you’re going to get sick, you cannot get health insurance.” We do. He concluded that the Affordable Care Act is “the only way to end that discriminatory system.” It is not.
On Dec. 3, President Obama himself said that “the only alternative that Obamacare’s critics have, is, well, let’s just go back to the status quo.” Not so.
What about the homeless guy who has a heart attack? Yes, there must be private and government-provided charity care for the very poor. What if people don’t get enough checkups? Send them vouchers. To solve these problems we do not need a federal takeover of health care and insurance for you, me, and every American.
No other country has a free health market, you may object. The rest of the world is closer to single payer, and spends less.
Sure. We can have a single government-run airline too. We can ban FedEx and UPS, and have a single-payer post office. We can have government-run telephones and TV. Thirty years ago every other country had all of these, and worthies said that markets couldn’t work for travel, package delivery, the “natural monopoly” of telephones and TV. Until we tried it. That the rest of the world spends less just shows how dysfunctional our current system is, not how a free market would work.
While economically straightforward, liberalization is always politically hard. Innovation and cost reduction require new businesses to displace familiar, well-connected incumbents. Protected businesses spawn “good jobs” for protected workers, dues for their unions, easy lives for their managers, political support for their regulators and politicians, and cushy jobs for health-policy wonks. Protection from competition allows private insurance to cross-subsidize Medicare, Medicaid, and emergency rooms.
But it can happen. The first step is, the American public must understand that there is an alternative. Stand up and demand it
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/what-do-when-obamacare-unravels?utm_source=Cato+Institute+Emails&utm_campaign=70f0ef0775-end_of_year&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_395878584c-70f0ef0775-141899374
‘One Newark’ Reform Plan Proves Divisive Even Before Official Release
Superintendent’s plan calls for sweeping changes to address poor academic performance and exodus to charter schools
The public battles over Newark school closures, consolidations and other reconfigurations have started up anew.
State-appointed Superintendent Cami Anderson this week has begun to unveil her “One Newark” plan for remaking what she called the “portfolio” of the city schools, as they face a growing exodus of students to charter schools while grappling with greater needs and tighter budgets.
The families and staff of 15 schools most affected by Anderson’s plan heard details at meetings held last night across the city. Another 15 affected schools are to host meetings tonight.
An internal draft of the plan appears to lay out a sweeping and complicated series of moves, ranging from transforming Weequahic High School into separate single-gender academies to recruiting charter organizations to manage low-performing elementary schools.
There are proposals for “redesigning” some schools, “dissolving” others and “re-siting” still others. But what that means is not always specified, and Anderson’s plan does not give a timeline for these changes. (Mooney/NJSpotlight)
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/13/12/18/one-newark-reform-plan-proves-divisive-even-before-official-release/
