the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, released the following statement on today’s announcement by Governor Murphy:
“Governor Murphy’s relentless, rabid desire to appease his progressive base will end up hurting everyone, including the people he is trying to help,” Senator O’Scanlon said.
“The top 1.4 percent of earners in New Jersey generate 41 percent of our total income tax revenue. Virtually all of those taxpayers can change their taxable residence – they don’t need to physically move. These people are also our job creators, capital investors, and charitable donors. When they take their income and investments out of state, who will be left to tax? What will happen to our economy?
“In the end, everyone, regardless of their means, will suffer because Governor Murphy would rather shut down the government than take his head out of the sand and acknowledge the dire need for real fiscal reform.
“We know what we need to do, and now we have the will to do it in the Legislature. The only thing standing in the way is a lack of executive leadership.
“Increasing taxes on anyone in New Jersey, including millionaires, is just bad policy. It’s also completely unnecessary. If the governor would work with us to advocate for Path to Progress solutions, such as pension and health benefit reform, we wouldn’t need any new taxes at all. Platinum-to-gold alone could save hundreds of millions of dollars a year – and even more over time.
“I am glad to hear Governor Murphy acknowledge the property tax crisis, but we can lower property taxes without asking families to pay more. It is time for the Governor to stop leaving voicemails and get in the room, so we can hammer out a compromise and finally get real fiscal reforms signed into law.”
Where is the Retirement Account Hogg ? Manager? I was sure he would be here crying and complaining about Police and Firefighters Pension and benefits.
He’s such a Hogg ? and he complains about what others have but he can’t see his own greed and hoggish behavior.
Here is a good start, Stop overpaying The NJ Pension System Managers. These thief’s are the highest paid pension managers in the country.
Stop giving tax breaks to corporations and the financial sector. Clamp down on the rich using loopholes to avoid taxes.
Stop giving free college to illegals, deport any and all undocumented immigrants. This will go a long way to bringing NJ back to fiscal stability.
As of today to 135 houses on the market in the Village of Ridgewood and that’s not bullshit. Look for yourself online
To the moron who posted,,,,
Yo bonehead, good luck protecting your benefits in bankruptcy court in about ten years
Sorry Charlie, pensions and benefits of government employees can NOT be discharged through bankruptcy.
Nice try though.
Hey Chicken Little who said,
You’re proposing bandaids for a $230 billion outstanding hole! The Dumbocrats in Trenton and across the state have promised excessive benefits to their union friends for decades.
Your a moron with no facts to back up your dumb and assenine statements.
Just have to love the oblivious union slobs commenting here about how we can’t do this and we can’t do that.
You guys just don’t get it do you?
It’s over.
realtor is correct.time to get out of dodge..or be left holding the stink bag…
States and municipalities can go broke
people move out or walk away (Detroit)
Wow you’re calling union police and union fireman bums. Wow
A state has never been through bankruptcy…. yet. There’s no constitutional protection fir your health care or pensions. It’s a race to see who goes first, CA, IL or NJ… if the state can’t pay it’s liabilities, it will have no other choice apart from destroying everything just for the sake of you greedy pensioners… money doesn’t grow on tree and the pension & healthcare math doesn’t work when you have pensioners earning benefits for 10-15 more years than they actually contributed to their own plans! #PonziScheme
Don’t forget to turn out the lights. Cops will be too busy pulling “extra duty” work for PSE&G, NJ Transit and Verizon who just pass through their added cost to us rate payers. #Scam
What’s your solution to the unfunded pension & healthcare bills there piggy? Let me guess: double state & local taxes and divert half of the annual state & municipal budgets to pay for your $110,000 pension and platinum healthcare that you’ve been collecting since your fifties? It’s all about you, isn’t it snowflake ❄️
We love this guy…
.
WE ARE RICH AND STUPID.
.
We are Ridgewood.
.
You allowed every Governor since Christine Whitman to take money from all of the pension systems and spend it on their pet projects or balance their state budgets. You also were asleep while every Governor spent money they didn’t have or borrowed money for the state budgets since the 1990s to fund their social programs. Now all of a sudden you’re concerned about the state going bankrupt!
Where were you years ago when this crushing debt was being created? No where, that’s where! You let this happen and now you want to fix it on the backs of government employees who were already taken advantage of, you can’t be serious!
You were and are still part of the problem, until you tell the current and future Governors to stop spending money like a drunken sailors the state will continue down the same path it has been on since the 1990s. Don’t expect me to solve a problem I didn’t start or have anything to do with. This is NOT the fault of any government employee.
Just to make it clear to the various people talking about the state of New Jersey going Bankrupt, Under United States law, a state can not declare bankruptcy. Likewise for territories, such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the District of Columbia. However the law does allow cities, counties, and political entities below the state level to file bankruptcy. Thus, there are quite a few so called Chapter 9 Bankruptcy cases that have been filed by cities, (Detroit, Stockton, San Bernardino, etc), and counties, (Orange County, CA). There are other political subdivisions that have filed Chapter 9, such as water districts, school districts, etc. I know this because I have been a practicing Bankruptcy lawyer since 1979
If the state goes bankrupt you can watch the price of your nice expensive (over a million dollars) home(s) collapse to about 1\3 of it’s current value. So go ahead let the state go bankrupt! You are going to pay for electing and not holding the current and past Governors accountable with your tax dollars Then you will have a real reason to cry instead of this fabrication and lie about police and firefighter pension and benefits.
Here is where it all began. Stop blaming the hardworking Government Employees. YOU were warned back then what would happen if Governor Wittman took billions (yes that’s BILLIONS with a B) from the states pension system and you did nothing.
The states unions even tried to stop this theft by filing a lawsuit to prevent the Governor from taking pension money to use for other things. Unfortunately the court sided with the Governor.
https://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/22/opinion/in-america-whitman-steals-the-future.html
FACT MATTER – To help plug the budget hole created in part by the income tax cut, the Whitman administration reduced the contributions of state and local governments to the state pension system by $3.5 billion over four years.[4] As of 1993, these assets were more than sufficient to cover the current and future obligations for both pensions and retiree health benefits for state and local public employees. Just three years following enactment of the Pension Reform Act, pensions’ unfunded liabilities multiplied more than five-fold, to $4.2 billion from $800 million.
This sharp break with conservative financial practices started the failure of all three branches of state government to make promised pensions secure at the same time they compounded the problem by increasing future pension benefits without finding the money to pay for them.
In essence this was accomplished by back-loading the pension system. New Jersey reduced the amount of money it invested for current and future pension payments, and changed the rules so the state would have 60 years to catch up with its earlier underfunding rather than 40 years.[5] This meant that the state could contribute far less each year through the 1990s and early 2000s, but would have to pay more and more in later years just to catch up.
This steady stream of pension payment “holidays” for state and local governments had consequences. While public employees paid in every penny required, new laws lowered their annual payments. This contributed to a growing unfunded liability. But far worse was that governors and legislatures failed to appropriate the full employer payment each year beginning in 1994, passing the financial obligations to future governors, legislatures and taxpayers. The amounts now required are staggering, particularly given the state’s slow crawl out of the Great Recession. Time is running out. As it stands now, within 11 years the state won’t have the money it owes to retired teachers. The timeline is even tighter for other civil servants – eight years.[6]
Since pension fund accounts are large pots of money that aren’t due to be spent right away it’s not surprising that they also became attractive ATMs for political leaders who wanted to increase spending without providing the revenues to pay for it. And like mammoth Alaskan glaciers that slowly recede as average temperatures begin to rise, with only a few scientists noticing, it took a while for the impact of pension fund raids to be seen. After a while, though, study commissions and Wall Street credit rating agencies sent out clear warnings that this dangerous practice jeopardized the state’s ability to pay retirees what they would be due. Unfortunately, it was a relatively low-profile issue. No one’s re-election was threatened by their short-term but reckless decisions. And like the melting glaciers that are helping to raise sea levels that endanger coastal areas, by the time the obligations for spectacularly large annual payments were acknowledged, the shortfall was too large to be addressed absent radical, punishing actions.
Adding to the increased risk, the assumed rate of return on pension assets had been increased two years earlier from 7 percent to an aggressive 8.75 percent.[7] Assuming more aggressive returns on investments meant that less money had to be set aside today.
Made at a time when the stock market was entering a bullish period, the Whitman administration cited recent gains as proof that it was prudent to expect higher investment returns and to reduce payments accordingly. But, of course, markets rise and markets fall. For example, in the 10 years ending in 2012, the average public pension fund rose by 6.4 percent a year; even the best-performing funds rose by just 8.1 percent.[8] By assuming such a high rate of return, successive administrations were able to reduce their contributions while falsely “guaranteeing” that current and future pensions were secure.
But the gains were temporary, and the math didn’t work. Twenty years later the unfunded liability – the amount not available to make guaranteed pension payments – had grown 17-fold to a whopping $80 billion.
Bottom line: The switch in methodology and changed assumptions led to reduced contributions by New Jersey state and local governments, growing the gap between assets required for future payments to $4.7 billion in 1995 from $800 million in 1993.[9] What is worse is that annual employer contributions were held down for more than 15 years, presenting today’s taxpayers with a bill that is impossible to pay. All this means that even if the state contributes the full annual required payment as revised in 1994, the pension fund assets will never be adequate to pay the pension obligations.
1994 Retiree Health Benefits Fund Raid and Conversion Frees Up Cash for the Tax Cut But Puts Health Benefits on Shaky Foundation And retiree health benefits were funded much like pensions – through employer contributions and compounded returns from investing those contributions in stocks, bonds and other assets.
You obviously can’t handle the truth! You benefited from the thieft of money from the pension systems in the 90s with lower income taxes. You allowed the Governor’s to spend and spend on unnecessary projects and social programs. Well now it’s time to pay the bill. Dig deeper into your very very deep pockets or suffer the consequences, the collapse of the NJ economy and with that the associated drop in the value of your home. It’s as complicated or as simple as that!
I bet you that The guy complaining about pensions and benefits will also be crying when he finds out he will NOT be getting any Social Security checks. I wonder who he will blame for that…. himself or the politicians that raided Social Security and left behind worthless IOUs.
That’s exactly what the politicians did in NJ and this moron is blaming the government employees. Sounds to me like he has an axe to grind and facts don’t matter to him.
I don’t expect a penny from social security. They SSA already writes me every year telling me I’ll only get 70% of my projected benefits when I retire at 67. How old were you when you started drawing a full pension? How big was your check at retirement for unused sick leave? Be honest.
Some complete ostrich above wrote, “You benefited from the thieft of money from the pension systems in the 90s with lower income taxes.”
In case you hadn’t noticed, NJ has the highest combined state, local & corporate taxes in the US of A. Soon to be the highest gas & commuter taxes as well after Murphy gets done with them. Why? 26% of the NJ state budget already goes to you public sector pension piggies ?. And yet you still want more… abject greed.
The loud pension hog on this blog is a disgraced former Village employee drawing $150,000 annual pension since his fifties. He lives in Florida. Complete liar, scam artist & parasite. He doesn’t even pay taxes in NJ despite the fact his livelihood is covered by NJ taxpayers who subsidize his $5 Viagra copays so he can still screw us. The Village lost a $3 million judgment because of this thug. He’s a cyber bully and a harasser. Not sure why James and this blog continue to publish his hate filled lies & garbage. The man hates taxpayers as you can see above.
The crying Hogg ? above is one of the three amegos (Aronsohn, Gewnn & Puch) lapdogs! He was on the Financial Advisory Committee that issued that ridiculous report to the town that was so bad it was laughted at and completely ignored. He hates Police and Firefighters. He spreads lies and half truths and when faced with facts he attacks the person who dare go against him.
He steals from his clients retirement funds as he manages their funds. He’s sick and getting sicker. He refuses to tell the truth about the states pension grab.
In case you hadn’t noticed, NJ has one of the highest median income levels in the US of A. Along with the most expensive housing prices that have doubled since 1990. How come you aren’t complaining about those outrageous facts.
Just to set the record straight the firefighter did not receive a 3 million dollar settlement for being passed over for a promotion. The settlement was reviewed by a panel of judges and it was reduced to $500,000.00. The village Manager refused to promote the firefighter, not the fire chief.
https://www.njemploymentlawfirmblog.com/judge-reduces-35-million-retal/
To the commenter who said
“You still live in Nj? I thought you’d retired on your $200,000 pension to Florida at 50?”
Actually I retired on my 500,000 pension at 42 and I moved to Switzerland. ?
So the firefighter did not get 3 million as someone said. Ok was this someone blatantly lying? Sure looks like it. Can this someone explain this obvious lie?
Ooppsy someone got caught in a lie!
The Village lost a $3 million judgment because of this thug…..
I’d love to hear your explanation for this bull crap statement. What else are you lying about hmmmmm…
That was overturned on appeal and reduced to $500,000.00 and you know it Mr. Charlie Kime. You are a liar and a manipulator. You have zero credibility and your comments here show your obvious distain for all village employees.
Have a nice day Mr liar.
So it was reduced to $500K. Add that to your bill. The fact remains the Village lost a $3.5 million judgement in Appellate Court by a 6-0 because of your actions. All facts.
Hey, if the Chief had recommended the promotion to the Village Manager, I’m sure he would have approved it. But keep hiding behind your “The village Manager refused to promote the firefighter, not the fire chief” story… you’re a known bully, and you’ve just been discredited yet again by denying that the Village lost 6-0 in Appellate Court. Facts Matter. Poor Mr. REILLY, allegedly you harassed and bullied him so badly he quit the RFD.
Wrong again Charlie, you have not a clue of what you are talking about. But that’s ok. Once a liar always a liar! Just the fact that you are Paul Aronsohns lapdog is all anyone needs to know about you and your lack of character and honesty.
Not promoting and eventually getting rid of that firefighter was the best thing for the town. I support the manager and the chief on this. That firefighter was nothing but trouble.
What?!? I can get Viagra for just $5 where do I sign up
I have nothing to do with Ahronson. Last time I spoke with him was in 2012. I have no idea who you keep referring too, but somebody is about to get sued for libel, defamation, cyber bullying and harassing posts.
Somebody lied above. The ruling against Ridgewood wasn’t overturned, it was only reduced. Why is it in your interest to lie?
The fact is Charlie you knew the appeals court judges cut the award by 80% because the firefighter did not prove his entire case. You wanted to mislead and make everyone reading your comment to believe that the town had to pay a multi million dollar judgement, and you knew that was a lie. Just like Your buddy Aronsohn you are a low life scum who will lie and minuplate the truth to suit your needs. You don’t even live in Ridgewood anymore and haven’t for years.
I just want to set the record straight once again.
The chief retired in 2010. Firefighter Reilly resigned from the fire department in 2013.
The following statement is false.
Facts Matter. Poor Mr. REILLY, allegedly you harassed and bullied him so badly he quit the RFD.
Reilly wasn’t harrassed by the chief at all. Reilly resigned 3 years after the chief retired. The dates of the chiefs retirement and Reilly resigning and leaving the department are on the fire department website.
Thanks guys, I appreciate you “setting the record straight “.
Once again Crazy Charlie is caught in yet another lie!
The only thing crazy Charlie Hogg ? has been right about so far is facts matter.
Nope, not a dime! I got a $22,250.00 bonus though. Instead.