The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
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Washington DC, Justice Alito Orders Pennsylvania to segregate and secure “ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3rd.
![NJ+Drivers+License[1]](https://theridgewoodblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/WEBNJDriversLicense1.jpg "Nine Charged With Using Stolen Identities & Fraudulently Obtained New Jersey Driver’s Licenses")
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Jersey City NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that nine individuals have been charged with conspiring to use stolen identities to obtain New Jersey digital driver’s licenses which they used to fraudulently purchase and finance motor vehicles and watercrafts worth more than $1.3 million at dealerships in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
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Ridgewood NJ, On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, including 12 people from Ridgewood , which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.
Continue reading 19th Anniversary of September 11th 2001 Terror Attack
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Paramus NJ, the Justice Department requested COVID-19 data from the governors of states that issued orders which may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan required nursing homes to admit COVID-19 patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing.
For example, on March 25, 2020, New York ordered: “No resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to [a nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19. [Nursing homes] are prohibited from requiring a hospitalized resident who is determined medically stable to be tested for COVID-19 prior to admission or readmission.”
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Camden NJ, Eleven people have been charged for their alleged roles in a large-scale conspiracy to commit bank fraud over in southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania over the course of four years, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
The complaints unsealed today charge each of the defendants with bank fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme that used hundreds of fraudulent accounts to defraud several major banks of $6 million and then launder that money and send it overseas to other conspirators.
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Harrisburg PA , Pennsylvania breaks ranks with other Northeast states, the Pennsylvania state Senate has passed a bill to reopen businesses in the commonwealth that adhere to social distancing guidelines set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The bill passed the Senate with a 29-21 vote after it was debated for more than two hours during a very contentious day in Harrisburg. It would essentially reopen businesses across the commonwealth. While some feel its too early and the Governor Tom Wolf announced Wednesday evening that he plans to veto the bill, “If we don’t do this right, the economy is going to be in even worse shape than it is now.”
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Trenton NJ, Governor Murphy, Governor Cuomo, Governor Lamont, and Governor Wolf Direct Temporary Closure of All Indoor Portions of Retail Shopping Malls, Amusement Parks & Bowling Alleys – Effective by 8 PM Thursday
Follows Directive Monday Limiting Crowd Capacity for Recreational & Social Gatherings to 50 People – Temporary Closure of Movie Theaters, Gyms and Casinos as well as On Premise Service at Restaurants & Bars
file photo by Boyd Loving
May 3,2018
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Trenton NJ, With New Jersey’s legislature weighing new tax hikes during budget season, the New Jersey Business & Industry Association released an analysis today that finds the Garden State already ranked last in the region for business climate competitiveness.
“This analysis should serve as an opportunity to reclaim our competitiveness and to improve the state’s economy through comprehensive planning, not excessive taxation,” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka. “There is no better time than now to recognize the growing challenges of doing business in New Jersey and our competitive disadvantage with neighboring states.”
NJBIA tracked six individual business costs—minimum wage rate, top income tax rate, top corporate tax rate, sales tax rate, property taxes as a percentage of home value, and the top unemployment tax rate – and compared New Jersey’s rates with those of Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.
Applying a scoring system to the most and least competitive regional rates, New Jersey finished last of the seven states by a considerable margin.
New Jersey currently ranks last out of all states in the region in top income tax rate (8.97 percent), sales tax rate (6.625 percent) and property tax paid as a percentage of home value (2.16 percent). New Jersey is also sixth out of seven states in top corporate tax rate (9 percent). The Garden State has the third lowest minimum wage rate in the region at $8.60 per hour and, more positively, has the lowest top unemployment tax rate in the region of 5.8 percent.
However, it’s foreseeable that New Jersey’s overall regional business climate could further decline with discussions of a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour, proposals to raise the top income tax rate for those making more than $1 million, and consideration of a Corporate Business Tax increase. These are in addition to the added costs brought on by the mandatory paid sick leave bill signed into law and the proposed sales tax increase to 7 percent.
“It’s important to recognize that New Jersey businesses are already paying their fair share when it comes to tax rates and the additional cumulative costs that are being discussed and proposed could result in stagnation of our businesses, reduced staffing and hours or automation, according to our members,” Siekerka said. “We need tax and regulatory reform to address structural deficits in our economy, such as public pension and health benefits costs, and school funding. We cannot tax our way out of these challenges.”
Using data compiled by NJBIA policy analyst Nicole Sandelier, NJBIA scored the regional rates from 1 (most competitive in the region) to 7 (least competitive). New Jersey’s cumulative regional business climate score was 31 after totaling the six rates. Delaware has the best regional score at 17, followed closely by Maryland at 20. Pennsylvania (23) and New York (24), New Jersey’s largest outmigration states, finished third and fourth, respectively.
By Sarah Ferris – 09/13/16 06:00 AM EDT
Eight of the states that will determine the Senate majority in November are likely to see significant reductions in the number of insurers participating in ObamaCare marketplaces.
The likely departures of insurers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona and Missouri are pushing the healthcare law toward the center of some of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
GOP strategists say Obama-Care’s troubles this year are morphing into a perfect storm for their candidates, providing a boost in a year when the party is defending 24 Senate seats.
“It feels like there’s a sleeping giant that’s about to awaken on the campaign trail,” veteran Republican strategist Ron Bonjean said. “It really does seem like an easy target, an easy layup for Republicans to score points.”
Health insurers have been fleeing the marketplaces over the last year, citing steep financial losses. The departures, which have included industry leaders like UnitedHealth Group and Aetna Inc., are cutting into the choices people have when selecting ObamaCare plans.
Next year, exactly half of all states are expected to see fewer ObamaCare options in at least one county, according to data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
An analysis of the Kaiser data by The Hill found that the exits from ObamaCare align with some of the biggest battlegrounds for Senate Republicans this year.
Every county in Ohio, a crucial swing state, is on track to lose at least two insurers compared to last year. All of the counties in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona and Illinois are also expected to lose at least one option, according to Kaiser.
