Category: Trenton

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N.J. Democratic hopefuls hint at post-Christie Mega Tax Increases

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“investment ” = tax increases and taxpayer giveaways

NOVEMBER 26, 2015, 10:21 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2015, 10:27 PM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD

For nearly six years, Governor Christie has presented himself as the last line of defense between Democrats and taxpayers’ wallets, resisting spending increases and vetoing “more tax increases than any governor in American history,” as he often tells voters.

With two years left in Christie’s final term, and with the state facing a host of costly and pressing issues, two of the most visible and most likely Democrats to run for governor have been offering clues into the fiscal policy of a post-Christie New Jersey.

Central to each of their plans for reviving the economy, upgrading the state’s aging network of roads and bridges and growing the middle class is what they call “investing.” The word they don’t use is “spending,” and spending tends to mean an increase in taxes.

Both likely gubernatorial candidates, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Phil Murphy, a former ambassador to Germany, say that not all investment amounts to tax increases, but they also agree that some sort of future tax hike is inevitable. Specifically what kind of tax increases, and how many, is not being discussed. (A third likely Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City, has been more circumspect about his plans, but he came out forcefully this week against the Christie administration’s effort to bring development — possibly including a hotel and an amusement park — to Liberty State Park.)

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/n-j-democratic-hopefuls-hint-at-post-christie-investing-plans-to-spur-growth-1.1463457

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New Jersey’s High Taxes and Anti Business climate have curtailed philanthropic giving

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Americans for Prosperity: Benevolence, The Latest Victim of NJ’s High Taxes

New Jersey Ranks 46th in the Nation for Charitable Giving

Ridgewood NJ,  New Jersey’s confiscatory tax climate is responsible for the highest property taxes and worst business climate in the country, but it is also having another deleterious effect. Today, New Jersey ranks among the least philanthropic states in the country according to a new report from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

“The season of giving is upon us, yet how sad is it that New Jersey has reached the point where people can no longer afford to be as generous as they would like to be because of high taxes,” remarked AFP state director Erica Jedynak. “We might as well refer to our income tax as the anti-benevolence tax.”

The ALEC report, State Factor: The Effect of State Taxes on Charitable Giving, examined data from 1997-2012 and revealed an inverse correlation between taxes and charitable giving. As stated in the report’s conclusion, “[I]ndividuals in states with high taxes donate less and individuals in states with lower taxes donate more.” New Jersey placed 43rd on ALEC’s list for the period 1997-2012 and 46th for the period of 2008-2012.

“As Ronald Reagan said, ‘the spirit of voluntary giving [is] ingrained in the American character.’ So it is with New Jerseyans of good will who would no doubt love to give more to causes they care about and to help those who are impoverished or sick,” said Jedynak.

“Yet, instead of being able to donate more to causes that dispense charity with a warm heart and lift people up, their hard-earned money is filtering through the cold hands of bureaucracy and ensnaring people in dependency.”

“There is little compassion in that, and it’s just one more reason we need ease the tax burden on New Jersey families.”

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Is O’Toole selling Out?

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Sweeney, O’Toole Discuss Bipartisanship in Newark

It seems that South Jersey-based Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) is continuing his charm offensive in the northern part of the state as he continues to angle for a likely 2017 gubernatorial run. Today, Sweeney joined Republican Senator Kevin O’Toole (R-40) for an event at Newark’s North Ward Center to honor O’Toole for his dedication to the mission of the center: to help underserved populations. Alyana Alfaro, PolitickerNJ Read more

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N.J. has worst business tax climate in U.S., study finds

tr0601harris 9 KURDZUK

“It takes a certain kind of stupidity to find yourself ranked dead last” Reader

New Jersey’s high property and income taxes contribute to its standing as the nation’s least attractive tax climate for businesses, according to a Washington tax policy group’s annual ranking of the 50 states. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more

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Assembly Women Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen LD 39) wants changes to the illegal immigrant N.J. driver’s license bill to make New Jersey Safer

Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi
November 17,2015
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, When the Homeland Security Committee for NJ met to discuss a bill which would provide undocumented immigrants living in NJ with drivers licenses. Here is an article on the hearing and some of my concerns. Holly Schepisi asked her constituents for feedback.

Critics also argued that enacting the legislation compromises New Jersey’s security — especially in the wake of the Paris attacks, in which authorities say one of the attackers used a fake Syrian passport to enter Europe.

“This is one of my biggest, grave concerns — particularly with what’s going on in the world right now — that we’re providing a document,” said Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi (R-Bergen), one of the two Republicans on the panel who voted against advancing the bill. “With a driver’s license, you can do more than just drive. You can purchase a firearm in pretty much every state. You can board an airplane. You can open bank accounts.”

Schepisi said she doesn’t want New Jersey to send a message saying, “Okay, if you don’t have driving privileges, and if you are here illegally, come to New Jersey and you can get all these things.”

Instead, Schepisi said, the bill should be amended to include steps to make it safer — including fingerprinting applicants, setting up a waiting period, and requiring people to prove they’ve living in New Jersey for a substantial amount of time.

 

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/11/bill_would_give_unauthorized_immigrants_nj_drivers.html

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Christie to Obama: New Jersey will not accept Syrian refugees

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NOVEMBER 17, 2015, 1:40 PM    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2015, 4:53 PM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD

Governor Christie on Tuesday officially notified President Obama that he will not accept any Syrian refugees following last weekend’s terrorist attacks in Paris, citing a “broken federal monitoring system” and the “very real threat” of an attack on New Jersey by the Islamic State.

Christie, who is running for the Republican party nomination for president, sent the letter a day after two dozen other governors announced they would close their states to Syrians fleeing the war-torn country. On Monday night Christie told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he would not accept any refugees, a shift in his position from two months ago.

His refusal appears to have no authority, however. While states can refuse to offer their resources to the federal government, the Refugee Act of 1980 gives the president the power to allow refugees into the states. Florida Gov. Rick Scott also acknowledged in a letter to Congress on Monday that “it is our understanding that the state does not have the authority to prevent the federal government from funding the relocation of these Syrian refugees to Florida even without state support.” And foreign affairs, including immigration, are the responsibility of the president.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/christie-to-obama-new-jersey-will-not-accept-syrian-refugees-1.1457066

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Cannabis Legalization Back on the Agenda at Senate Hearing

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Given all that it took to get a medical marijuana program up and running in New Jersey, you might think that the idea of legalizing recreational use of cannabis would be low on the list of agenda items for lawmakers here. But, with states like Colorado and Oregon showing that legalization can prove to be a big budget boon without – so far – a terrible downside, New Jersey lawmakers are planning to at least start seriously talking about it. Senator Nick Scutari will hold a committee hearing on the issue Monday. David Cruz, NJSpotlight Read more

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N.J. Democrats vow to wipe out Christie veto of bill to boost voting

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making sure the dead still vote Democrat

Barely 26 hours after Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill intended to overhaul New Jersey’s voting system and boost voter participation, Democratic lawmakers from both chambers met in a rare joint caucus to chart a new course. Samantha Marcus, NJ.com Read more

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NJ Dems Move Forward with Drivers’ License Option for illegal aliens

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file photo by Boyd Loving

Dems Move Forward with Drivers’ License Option for Undocumented Workers

Democratic lawmakers want to pass legislation that would make it legal for undocumented workers in the state of New Jersey to obtain driver’s licenses. Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ Read more

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Union Payback :Vincent Prieto and Democratic leadership working to fund the Transportation Trust Fund through gas tax increase

SpeakerVince Prieto

Bipartisan Gas-Tax Deal Could Fund Transportation

Serious conversations about raising New Jersey’s gas tax to head off a looming transportation-funding crisis were put on hold earlier this year, so lawmakers could focus on the Assembly elections that were just held in all 40 legislative districts earlier this week. But now with those contests in the rearview mirror, the talk in Trenton has shifted back to transportation. John Reitmeyer, NJSpotlight Read more

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Prieto reveals why Democrats are destroying New Jersey in 28 words

SpeakerVince Prieto

Posted by Matt Rooney On November 06, 2015 7 Comments

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

If you STILL don’t know or understand why New Jersey is almost irreparably screwed up, and a strengthened Democrat legislative majority is only going to make it worse, all you need to do is check out this quote from a celebratory SpeakerVince Prieto over on NJ.com.

He’s moving full-steam-ahead on the gas tax hike after Tuesday’s big win and isn’t ready to listen to any proposals that don’t raise taxes:

You can’t have something that’s revenue neutral,” Prieto said. “How are you going to fix the roads and then take the money from somewhere else? That is a ridiculous statement.”

There you have it, Save Jerseyans.

Translated: “The problem with Trenton isn’t Trenton, but that the people we “serve” aren’t sending us enough money.”

The man has balls, I’ll grant him that much. He also hates math. Study after study recognizes New Jersey as the worst (orsecond to worst) state for taxes in the entire country, a quantifiable fact further substantiated by a no-less-quantifiable herd of taxpayers fleeing New Jersey for other states. There’s a several mile traffic jam of moving vans heading west on I-80! And South on I-95. And Vince is worried about where we’re going to get the money for roads which no one can afford to drive…

So somehow, magically, we’re going to make New Jersey better for businesses, and families, by making it less affordable to live (and drive) here. #PrietoLogic! Which is apparently logic neutral.

And he can’t find ANYTHING he’d like to cut from the budget. Nothing. Not in a state notorious for no-show jobs, pension abuse, redundant departments, ponderous layers of bureaucracy and a school funding formula – where most of your property tax increase go – that spends $20k+ on urban education, per child, with nothing to show for it.

Look: everyone agrees the roads need to fixed. But we’veproposed alternatives to higher taxes including reducing the cost of maintaining our roads (which is – surprise! – also the highest in the nation) because, unlike the Speaker’s Assembly caucus, our Garden State businesses and families have no choice but to cut their budgets when times are tough. No cable next month! Less eating out.  Less shifts at the shop. Etc. and so on.

Prieto doesn’t care. ‘Cause he doesn’t get it. The few Democrats who do get it are too afraid – or bought off – by the Super PAC backers to care. Does anyone honestly believe the Dems who just won upsets riding NJEA Super PAC cash to victoryare now going to be independent of the public sector unions?

https://savejersey.com/2015/11/prieto-assembly-democrat-new-jersey-gas-tax/

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Readers say with Pension Reform Immediate solutions for long term problems, are just not reasonable or possible.

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All of the changes contained in the 2011 law that haven’t already taken effect will be fully implemented in just over 1 year. This law wasn’t designed to show a substantial immediate savings. It was designed to implement changes over a period of years and once ALL of those gradual changes were completed the impact of those changes going forward would have a positive effect on the states financial condition. Immediate solutions for long term problems, are just not reasonable or possible.

The full story on the Chapter 78, P.L. 2011 pension reforms… the problems are unfortunately still very much with us. Here are the facts: cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) were suspended for current and future retirees and beneficiaries from July 2011, but there’s been no inflation in NJ since 2008, so this is not an issue. The increases in employee contribution rates towards their own pensions are only gradual: from 5.5% to 6.5% plus an additional 1% phased-in over 7 years through 2019 for TPAF and PERS; from 3% to 12% for JRS phased-in over seven years; from 8.5% to 10% for PFRS members; and, from 7.5% to 9% for SPRS members. Given the “special” retirement option available only to PFRS members, who can retire after 20-25 years and earn more from their defined benefit pensions for life in retirement then they earned in compensation while serving, they should be contributing more than 10%. As for the increased health benefit contributions, employees subject to any collective negotiations agreement in effect on the effective date of the law in July 2011, i.e. CBAs, that had an expiration date on or after the expiration of the health care contribution provisions of the law, haven’t been subject to the new higher contribution rates yet. In Ridgewood, only Fire is now paying a higher contribution amount, while the PBA and the REA haven’t yet agreed to new CBAs that would trigger higher health benefit contribution rates… so Ridgewood taxpayers have yet to see much, if any benefit from the pension reforms of 2011.

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Reader says an Increase in the Gas Tax will go to pay for past promises on wages & benefits for unionized labor, not to invest in the future of the state

tr0601harris 9 KURDZUK

what are Sweeney, Sarlo and Prieto trying to do to our gasoline taxes? What’s going to happen to our property taxes? State income tax increases on the top 1%, i.e. anyone who earns over $350,000? Higher sales taxes anyone? How about all of the above. And for what you ask? To feed the vampire squid sucking the lifeblood out of the state of NJ. All of the tax revenues raised will go to pay for past promises on wages & benefits for unionized labor, not to invest in the future of the state. These thugs in Trenton won’t ask any questions, they’ll just throw more hard earned money down the black hole of pension and healthcare corruption.

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Your Vote Counts :Lame Duck Opens Door for NJ Gas Tax Increase

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file photo by Boyd Loving

The Stakes For a Lame Duck Gas Tax Vote Following Assembly Victories

After Tuesday’s wins in the Assembly elections, Democrats will be entering Lame Duck with the weight of the proposed gas tax on their shoulders and a strategic choice to make: to help fund the Transportation Trust Fund, or wait for the newly elected Assembly members to arrive and for Christie to return to Trenton from the campaign trail. JT Aregood, PolitickerNJ Read more