Tag: Phil Murphy

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Governor Murphy Moves to Control Search Functions and Limit Consumer Choice for New Jersey Internet Users

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Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order Requiring All ISPs that Contract With New Jersey to Adhere to Fake Net Neutrality Principles

February 6, 2018

the staff of the Ridgewood

Trenton NJ,  in another huge step backwards for New Jersey ,Governor Phil Murphy signed an Executive Order mandating that all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that do business with the State of New Jersey follow the principles of net neutrality, a critical step in securing a free and open Internet for state residents.

Murphy once again shows he is a dangerous threat to personal freedom .

Governor Murphy’s Executive Order responds to a recent decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to rescind net neutrality and potentially limit access to the Internet, allow companies to pay more to have their content treated favorably, or force consumers to pay more to access websites.

Murphy seems dead set to attempt to limit choice and control and manipulate internet searches instead sending New Jersey backwards with fake “Net Neutrality”.

Making the straw man argument,  “We may not agree with everything we see online, but that does not give us a justifiable reason to block the free, uninterrupted, and indiscriminate flow of information,” Governor Murphy said. “And, it certainly doesn’t give certain companies or individuals a right to pay their way to the front of the line. While New Jersey cannot unilaterally regulate net neutrality back into law or cement it as a state regulation, we can exercise our power as a consumer to make our preferences known.”

Governor Murphy’s Executive Order will make New Jersey the third state –along with New York and Montana—to mandate that ISPs adhere to net neutrality rules or lose the ability to contract in state. The Executive Order will apply to all contracts between state entities and ISPs that are executed on or after July 1, 2018. The Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs will work with the Division of Purchase and Property to carry out the Executive Order and monitor its enforcement.

Desperate to limit and manipulate what you can access on the internet ,Governor Murphy’s Executive Order coincides with an announcement from Attorney General Gurbir Grewal who today announced that New Jersey will join 21 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit aimed at blocking the FCC’s rollback of net neutrality. That lawsuit was filed by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in December.

With your freedom in their sights Murphy says , “We are committed to taking whatever legal action we can to preserve the internet rights of New Jersey consumers, and to challenge the federal government’s misguided attack on a free and open internet,” said Attorney General Grewal. “Our position is that the Federal Communications Commission acted arbitrarily and against the evidence before it when doing its about-face on net neutrality.”

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FDU Poll 39% believe the state is on solid footing with Murphy at the helm ?

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January 31,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, FDU’s Public Mind released a poll showing Governor Phil Murphy garnering a 35% approval rating in his first two weeks in office, with 21% disapproving and 40% who don’t know yet. His predecessors fared better in their first weeks in office: Governor Christie had a 48-31%, while Governor Corzine had 47-16%.

One bright spot for Murphy, is according to the poll, there is optimism among the respondents in the direction of the state: 39% believe the state is on solid footing with Murphy at the helm, compared to 18% in October when Christie was still in office. President Trump has a 31-60% favorable/unfavorable rating, according to the same poll.

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New Jersey Heading Toward “a potentially catastrophic failure of its government pensions”

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file photo by Boyd Loving

January 21,2018

the  staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, according to the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research New Jersey is running out of time projections show that the pension system, already the worst-funded in the nation, will continue taking on debt for at least five more years.

The Rockefeller Institute of Government at the State University of New York defines a government pension system that’s below 40% funded as in crisis. New Jersey’s pension system is well below that line, and the cost to fix the system, even under optimistic economic and financial-market projections, is already enormous. After a nine-year expansion, if America’s economy turns down in the coming months, the price of fixing New Jersey’s pension system will surge higher still. Yet even when the costs were considerably less, the state’s political leaders balked at fixing the system. We’ve now reached the point where neglecting to construct an adequate and lasting fix pushes the pension system on a path toward failure, a catastrophic scenario for New Jersey’s public employees and taxpayers.

Key takeaways from the report :

As this report demonstrates, to stay on pace to reach the new plan’s required yearly contributions into the pension system by 2023, state government must increase the revenue that it dedicates to its pension system by more than threefold. At that point, pension payments could equal 12%–15% of New Jersey’s budget.

Based on the historical growth of New Jersey’s revenues, rising pension payments alone will likely consume virtually all the state’s additional tax collections over the next five years, even under an optimistic scenario where tax collections accelerate. That would leave little money for increasing funding of local schools, higher education, municipal services, or property-tax relief.

If the economy were to experience even a mild recession, the resulting slowdown in tax collections would likely mean that New Jersey would fall short by at least an additional $3.5 billion in meeting its pension obligations, sparking a more substantial rise in new pension debt.

After years of relying on unrealistic investment assumptions, New Jersey recently cut its projected rate of investment returns to a more realistic 7%. Even so, this is higher than forecasts made by independent experts for pension fund performance over the next five to 10 years. If the outside experts are correct, the investment returns on the state’s pension portfolio will fall significantly short, requiring New Jersey to dedicate further tax revenues to its pension system or allow additional new debt to pile up—a dangerous situation because the system’s funding levels are already so low that some pension experts fear that fixing a system this poorly funded is nearly impossible.

Absent some unexpectedly robust acceleration of the economy, it is highly unlikely that New Jersey will generate enough new revenues to meet its pension commitments without severely hobbling the rest of the state’s budget. At the same time, allowing its pension system to continue to accumulate debt by not contributing adequately to it will push New Jersey toward a potentially catastrophic failure of its government pensions.

full report :

https://www.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/R-SMJM-0118.pdf

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Murphy to Hold on to Governor’s Salary

trenton nj

January 19,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Democrat Phil Murphy ,New Jersey’s new governor says he’ll be accepting the job’s $175,000-a-year salary. Murphy a multimillionaire and former Wall Street executive who earned his fortune working at Goldman Sachs , will not match what even the failed Democrat Jon Corzine did . Corzine also a wealthy alumni of Goldman Sachs took only a $1-per-year salary.

When asked the new Governor declined Wednesday to take further questions about his salary from the media . His 2016 taxes showed he earned a mere $4.6 million, mostly from interest and dividends.

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Former Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir S. Grewal Confirmed as 61st New Jersey Attorney General

Gurbir S

January 17,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Gurbir S. Grewal became the 61st Attorney General of the State of New Jersey following the inauguration of Governor Phil Murphy today, January 16, 2018. He was confirmed unanimously by the New Jersey Senate this afternoon.

“I am honored and humbled to assume the role of Attorney General at this critical time for our state and country. I am grateful to Governor Murphy and the Senate for the trust they have placed in me and I look forward to continuing my service to the state of New Jersey. There’s much to do, and I can’t wait to get started,” said Attorney General Grewal.
Prior to his selection as New Jersey Attorney General, Grewal served as Bergen County Prosecutor, the chief law enforcement officer of the most populous county in New Jersey and home to nearly 1 million residents living in 70 municipalities.

Grewal worked as an Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey from 2010 to 2016. While at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he served as Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit from 2014 to 2016 and oversaw the investigation and prosecution of all major white collar and cybercrimes in the District of New Jersey.

Before becoming a federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Grewal also served as an AUSA in the Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York from 2004 to 2007, where he was ultimately assigned to the Business and Securities Fraud Unit. As an AUSA in the Eastern District of New York, he investigated and prosecuted a wide range of narcotics offenses, white collar crimes, and terrorism cases. His significant matters included the successful prosecution of 12 men charged with providing material support to the Tamil Tigers terrorist organization.

In addition to his work as a federal prosecutor, Grewal has also worked in private practice, including at Howrey LLP (from 1999 to 2004 in Washington, D.C., and from 2008 to 2010 in New York, N.Y.). While at Howrey LLP, he counseled clients on a range of matters including securities, trademark, antitrust and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act issues; represented individuals and companies in government investigations and criminal proceedings; conducted internal investigations for public corporations; and conducted civil trials.

Attorney General Grewal graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1995. He obtained his law degree from the College of William & Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law in 1999.

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Murphy agenda will only exacerbate outward migration putting further pressure on the states limited resources

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January 16,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York were the top states in the nation for outbound moves in 2017, according to data from United Van Lines. We have in the past reported similar statistics from other moving companies .

United Van Lines, which tracks state-to-state migration patterns, found that Illinois was the top state for outbound migration with 63 percent of moves going out of state.

“The Northeast continues to experience a moving deficit with New Jersey (63 percent outbound), New York (61 percent) and Connecticut (57 percent) making the list of top outbound states for the third consecutive year,” the report states. “Massachusetts (56 percent) also joined the top outbound list this year.”

While taxes are often cited as the reason for the move , New Jersey just elected Phil Murphy who promised to raise taxes when elected . The Murphy agenda will only exacerbate this outward migration putting further pressure on the states limited resources .

 

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Josh Gottheimer and Phil Murphy are playing games, using gimmicks and illusions to take the eyes of the public off the true issue in New Jersey

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New Jersey’s career politicians, like the Clinton Speech writer Gottheimer and out of touch elitist Phil Murphy are playing games, using gimmicks and illusions to take the eyes of the public off the true issue in New Jersey, the grotesquely high taxes it squeezes out of its very own citizens. They want to deflect the blame to D.C. and take the voter’s attention off their fellow Democrats. My friends, the citizens of New Jersey are not that stupid, our people want the politicians to cut the ever ballooning taxes that plague our state.

What needs to be done requires strength, intelligence and an uncompromising will to reduce spending in this state. It requires the leadership that will reverse this state’s anti-business climate to increase the tax base while reducing the tax burden. Sadly, I do not see any of this in Trenton. I see the grandstanding we are all accustomed to, not the leadership we so desperately need.

Gottheimer, who faces a challenge this November, may have gotten this idea from his former employers, the Clintons. Maybe his next suggestion is to have the Clinton foundation administer the charity.

The municipal, county and state officials should do what taxpayers want them to really do — cut taxes, cut spending — not come up with tax loopholes that either won’t pass muster or won’t be sustainable.

Gottheimer said, “The tax hike bill Congress passed last year is a ticking time bomb for New Jersey,” we are proudly declaring that New Jersey won’t shy from a fight. We won’t be America’s piggy bank.” I say to him, I no longer want to be Trenton’s piggy bank and the only ticking time bomb you need to worry about is the mad as hell citizens that want real tax reductions, not a pass the potato blame game.

“This is not partisan,” Mr. Murphy said. “This is a smart versus not smart.” I say, this is lazy and opportunist verses hard diligent work and tenacity. New Jersey is done with tricks and gimmicks, bring us change or resign! Pension reform, re-working the school funding formulas and instituting a pro-business environment is needed now.

Joseph Caruso
Your Friendly Neighborhood Taxpayer

Organization For Economic Growth

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Gottheimer and Murphy Throw New Jersey Tax Hail Mary

Josh Gottheimer

January 6,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Fair Lawn NJ , Apparently the “Tax the Rich” philosophy of New Jersey lawmakers only applies to when Trenton taxes the rich and not anyone else . The “Taxing the Rich” mantra has driven the state to fiscal suicide and has become a euphemism for taxing everyone on everything .

Today, in a desperate last ditch attempt to prop up Trenton, Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Governor-elect Phil Murphy have joined together to offer a new Tax Plan for New Jersey. Murphy and Gottheimer’s “Hail Mary” Tax Bill looks to restore State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments.

The two will be joined by Congressman Bill Pascrell and the mayors of Fair Lawn, Paramus and Park Ridge who all expressed support for the plan and their eagerness to implement it, with state support, in their communities. The Tax Hike Bill took a two-by-four to the State of New Jersey, gutting the State and Local Deduction (SALT), sharply limiting New Jersey’s property tax deductions, and imposing a massive Tax Hike on Jersey families and businesses. The Tax Hike Bill was largely paid for on the backs of New Jersey taxpayers and, according to experts, will bring property values down by as much as twenty percent and send businesses and jobs to other states.

Plan restores the value of the State and Local Tax (SALT) Deduction by providing a tax deduction for taxpayers who make charitable contributions to their state or other local governments. States and local governments can establish or support funds that pay for local services, including schools, law enforcement, and infrastructure. Taxpayers can make “voluntary contributions” to these funds, for which they will receive an offsetting tax credit. The contributions will be deductible for federal tax purposes under existing law, even for those who pay the alternative minimum tax. This structure effectively restores the benefit of the lost state and local tax deduction to the extent of the contributions for most taxpayers who itemize.

The plan also does not to restore any level of fiscal sanity to the state on New Jersey .

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2% cap on Arbitration Awards set to Expire , Property Taxes set to Zoom

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file photo by Boyd Loving

December 19,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, The League, along with a coalition of local government groups have made clear to the Legislature the need to extend the cap on arbitration awards , The league called on local mayors , saying “We know that hundreds of municipalities have publicly called for the extension of the cap, but it is clear we must redouble our efforts to maintain this important protection for property taxpayers”. The law is set to expire in two weeks.

In an analysis of the cap released this fall found it saved taxpayers $530 million on police and firefighter salaries and more broadly found the duo of caps saved taxpayers $2.9 billion.

The expiration date coincides with the expiration of at least 100 public safety municipal contracts, according to the League of Municipalities, and proponents said they would expect unions to quickly file for interest arbitration.

“The conclusions the data supports are undeniable. The arbitration award cap and property tax cap are unseverable and essential policies if we are serious about keeping property tax increases at the historically low rates of the last few years. The data and the report confirm what the laws of mathematics dictated from the start, you can’t have an effective cap on property taxes without an identical cap on arbitration awards. We can’t tell local officials their revenues can only increase by two percent, but that the largest line item in their budgets must increase by three percent or eight percent or any amount higher than the tax cap. And it isn’t just police and firefighter salary costs that are effected, there is a ripple effect throughout all salary expenses.” ,  Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon.

The League of Municipalities  says that Trenton needs to hear directly from you on the critical need for the common sense extension of the 2% cap on interest arbitration awards. In 32 calendar days the cap will expire along with over a 100 police and fire contracts. With this deadline looming, local officials’ voices must be heard in Trenton. If the cap is not extended it will be local leaders, not the special interest groups or State elected leaders, facing the dilemma of funding an unelected third party arbitrator’s award under the state mandated 2% levy cap.

In addition, to personally contacting your State representatives on the urgent need for the 2% cap on interest arbitration awards, please contact the following:
Senate President Sweeney at 856-251-9801 or SenSweeney@njleg.org
Senate Republic Leader Kean at 908-232-3673 or SenKean@njleg.org
Assembly Speaker Prieto at 201-770-1303 or AsmPrieto@njleg.org
Assembly Republican Leader Bramnick at 908-232-2073 or AsmBramnick@njleg.org
Assembly Speaker Elect Coughlin at 732-855-7441 or AsmCoughlin@njleg.org
Governor Christie at 609-292-6000
Governor-Elect Murphy (Transition office) 609- 292-4075

 

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“Only swift and Broad Reforms Stand a Chance of Rescuing a System in Crisis” in New Jersey

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December 7,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Gov. Chris Christie’s special commission on public pensions and health benefits released its final report on Wednesday: only swift and broad reforms stand a chance of rescuing a system in crisis.

New Jersey’s benefits for state government workers are now on track to consume a quarter of the state’s annual operating budget in 2023, and “the cupboard of relatively easy reforms is now bare,” the report said.

As it was for Christie, the pension system will be one of Gov.-elect Phil Murphy’s most pressing and imposing tests.

Christie earned national acclaim for working with Democrats to revamp benefits for government workers by increasing the retirement age, freezing cost-of-living adjustments and forcing workers and state government to contribute more to the system., but the Christie’s administration didn’t live up to its own ambitious payment plan, making deep cuts to the pension contributions, and he eventually set the state on a slower, more modest ramp up to the full payment recommended by actuaries.

Governor elect Phil Murphy has said he’d like to meet or beat the Christie schedule, But according to the commission “something more is needed, and quickly,”  The commission report went on “Neither the 2010-11 reforms, nor the limited initiatives taken since then, will do anything to stop benefits from consuming 26 percent of the budget five years from now.”

Christie could barely scrape money together to get through the first half of a 10-part ramp up to full pension funding with a $2.5 billion payment this year , but the state will need  more than $6 billion in yearly payments .
Murphy has already promised to raise roughly $1.3 billion in new taxes , but measured under national accounting standards, the state is $134 billion short of what it needs to pay for current and future retirement benefits. Combined with local government employers, the total system has racked up $168 billion in unfunded liabilities and has assets to cover just 31 percent of its debts.
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New Jersey Makes the Top Ten states with the Highest Expenditures on Public Welfare

Phil Murphy

December 1,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Washington DC, Congress is trying to make headway on tax reform, President Donald Trump said earlier this month that welfare reform will be one of the next big items on the White House agenda.
New Jersey is already in the top 10 states in total amount of Welfare expenditures .  We can only speculate that Phil Murphy’s “sanctuary state ”  will increase that number dramatically .

Here is the top ten states with the highest expenditures on public welfare. Note the enormous difference between California and New York and the rest of the country.

1. California – $103 Billion

2. New York – $61.4 Billion

3. Texas – $35.4 Billion

4. Florida – $27.2 Billion

5. Pennsylvania – $26.7 Billion

6. Illinois – $21 Billion

7. Ohio – $20 Billion

8. Massachusetts – $18.6 Billion

9. New Jersey – $17.3 Billion

10. Michigan – $16.3 Billion

Note that the top ten states listed above spend more on public welfare ($346.9B) than all of the bottom forty states (plus the District of Columbia) combined ($262.7B). Regardless of how populated any particular state is, you want to pay attention to these numbers because they foreshadow future budget problems. When you consider the fact that many states run operating deficits and have enormous debt problems, you begin to wonder if some of these numbers are sustainable for the long term.

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Murphy Needs You on His Transition Team

Tax and Spend Democrat Phil Murphy for Governor

November 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Murphy transition maintained a pretty low profile during Thanksgiving week, and the governor-elect himself made just one photo op feeding the down and out and less fortunate.

But there is plenty to be done behind the scenes: speeches to write, interviews to conduct, names to vet for jobs and Phil Murphy needs you to help out.

Phil Murphy rolled out his transition website, complete with a “Help Wanted ” sign and many job opportunities. Much like the official governor’s website, the transition site contains news and biography information for Murphy and his leadership team. But it was announced on Tuesday with a focus on finding people to fill out the functions of his administration.

“New Jersey’s greatest asset is its people,” Murphy said in a statement. “I call for all those interested in serving our administration to visit the Transition2018 website and submit their résumé for consideration. We will put an administration together that reflects New Jersey’s rich diversity of backgrounds and experiences, and we are committed to making those opportunities open to all.”

The website address is transition2018.nj.gov.

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New Jersey’s public-pension system currently holds less than 38 percent of what the state owes its retirees

Phill Murphy Clear Water

November 27,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, according to Michael Lilley in the article New Jersey Public Unions, Ascendant https://www.city-journal.org/html/new-jersey-public-unions-ascendant-15568.html ,

“New Jersey’s public-pension system currently holds less than 38 percent of what the state owes its retirees, which amounts to a $135 billion shortfall. Adding to this unfunded liability, the state also owes retirees $67 billion for future health-care payments, and has set aside no money for that obligation. That’s a combined tab of $202 billion. The entire state budget, by contrast, is $35 billion. To fund its obligations properly, the state would have to put aside $4.8 billion a year, or almost 15 percent of the budget; those costs are expected to grow to $11.3 billion by 2027. Unreformed, the cost of these benefits is unsustainable. During his campaign, Murphy promised to fix the pension system by fully funding it, though he wouldn’t give specifics.”

A very ugly reality for the governor elect , but even uglier for taxpayers is the fact that ,” Murphy’s problem, however, is that his biggest allies, especially the teachers’ union, contributed mightily to the pension mess over the years by winning plush benefits, acquiescing to accounting gimmicks that made the system look well-funded, and fighting against cost-saving reforms. Murphy has already proposed $1.3 billion in new taxes, and without making the changes to the pension system that the unions oppose, the state’s taxpayers face years of additional tax increases and spending cuts to pay the pension bill.”

Lilley goes on , “Murphy’s pledge helped win endorsements from the NJEA and other public-sector unions. By law, public school teachers must join the NJEA or, if they decline, pay a so-called agency fee to the union representing 85 percent of dues. The money is deducted from their paychecks, which are largely funded by local property taxes. Last year, the NJEA took in over $120 million in union dues and agency fees. Since 1994, the union has collected $1.85 billion, and it has invested much of this money in New Jersey politics: since 1994, the NJEA has spent $874 million on political activities, or about 56 percent of its annual operational expenditures, an average of $38 million a year.”

A beholden bought ad paid for  politician and a massive pension short fall can mean only one thing ,massive new taxes .

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Murray Sabrin : Phil Murphy and Democrats are legal versions of Willie Sutton

Murray Sabrin

 

Murray Sabrin
Professor of Finance at Ramapo College

Regarding “State senate president plans to push tax bill,” (Nov. 9, page 1A). The people of New Jersey spoke loud and clear on election night. They want state government to spend more of their money. Not really their money, just upper income folks who make up a small percentage of the population. And they want Trenton to expand its already overbearing micromanagement of the economy.

Senate president Stephen Sweeney announced that he will put a “millionaire’s tax” on the front burner when the legislature convenes after Governor-elect Phil Murphy takes office in January.

Raising taxes on millionaires is another example of why government is like Willie Sutton, the notorious bank robber who was asked why he robbed banks, he replied, “That’s where the money is.” Phil Murphy and Democrats are legal versions of Willie Sutton.

Higher taxes on upper income taxpayers will cause any out of state high-income individual, business owner, or corporate executive to think twice about relocating to New Jersey. In other words, we will never how many upper income folks will not move to New Jersey because of the highest marginal taxes Murphy is so hot to increase. In addition, how many people and businesses will leave New Jersey because of higher income taxes? We will soon find out.

The proposed tax increases on millionaires will eventually hit middle-income families, because that is how big government proponents operate—tax the smallest number of families first, then go after where the big bucks are, the middle class.

As H.L. Mencken remarked decades ago, “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard. “

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Marijuana could take New Jersey to New Highs

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November 10,2017

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Following Democrat Phil Murphy’s victory in New Jersey’s gubernatorial election on Tuesday, marijuana legalization in the state could very quickly become a reality. The incoming governor, made cannabis legalization a key part of his campaign platform. Murphy has promised to legalize pot for Garden State stoners aged 21 and older within his first 100 days in office, with an eye on raking in an estimated $300 million a year in taxes.

Murphy’s “Pot” proposal would legalize the recreational use of marijuana across the state. Democrats now have full control of the state’s legislature, and are making the issue a key part of their agenda going into 2018. New Jersey Senate President Steven Sweeney  told the Washington Examiner this week that he is confident that a marijuana legalization bill will be signed into law before April.

If New Jersey legalize the recreational use of marijuana it would become the ninth state in the country to legalize the recreational use of marijuana, and the first to do so through legislation instead of a ballot initiative.

Even though a New Jersey marijuana legalization bill could be signed into law in the first few months of 2018, it would still take a while to go into effect. Legal experts claim it could take up to 18 months after the bill passes before adults 21 and older could start consuming cannabis legally.