>Congress and the Administration are looking into scaling back or eliminating the Mortgage Interest Deduction
Congress and the Administration are looking into scaling back or eliminating the Mortgage Interest Deduction. The consequences would be devastating to the recovering housing market and the tens of millions of home owners who benefit from the deduction.
The House recently introduced a resolution to retain the mortgage interest deduction and I hope that you’ll help spread awareness about it on The Ridgewood Blog. We created https://SaveMyMID.org to support this initiative and I’ve also created a useful site for bloggers and journalists to borrow resources from:
>Medicare and Medicaid Made $70 Billion in ‘Improper Payments’ Last Year—More Than All Spending by Homeland Security and State Departments Combined Tuesday, March 15, 2011 By Terence P. Jeffrey
(CNSNews.com) – The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services—the federal health-care agency that is a key bureaucracy in implementing Obamacare—made at least $70.5 billion in “improper payments” last year.
These improper federal health-care payments amounted to more than the combined total of $68.3 billion spent by the entire Homeland Security and the State departments last year, which spent $44.5 billion and $23.8 billion respectively according to the White House Office of Management and Budget.
>Village moves to a merit based pay system the Staff of the Ridgewood blog
The Village council put into effect a merit based pay system this week putting management, non-union and supervisor’s salaries on merit based system rather than the customary 4 percent automatic pay raises .
This new pay increase method more closely matches the private sector, and has attracted interest from other municipalities looking to learn how the Village put this new merit based system in place. .
The lone dissenting opinion on the council came from Paul Aronsohn who publicly expressed concerns about giving any raises while the Village had laid off so many last year.
Although sources tell us that Aronsohn who ‘s pro union views are no secret to anyone is setting himself up for a move up in the state Democratic machine and supporting any merit based pay system for state workers would run contrary to his goals.
Several residents also voiced skepticism over granting any raises to anyone in theses difficult economic times especially when the primary focus should be to rain in all the run a way spending in the Village.
>Annual St. Patrick’s Dinner Dance Saturday, March 19th, 7:00 p.m.
Mount Carmel gymnasium
52 Passaic Street
The Village Caterer will be providing traditional Irish fare of corned beef and cabbage. Renowned New York City musicians Bob and Norm will be playing Irish classics and great dance music. There will also be a special appearance by the Irish Step Dancers. “This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, and it is a great opportunity for friends and neighbors to get together for a night of fun”, said Doug Findlay, organizer of the event.
>Hearing sheds little light on how schools get on the SDA short list
The Assembly’s education committee yesterday held a hearing to try to clarify how the Christie administration chose the school construction projects it will advance in the next year. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
An actuarial report on Gov. Chris Christie’s pension reform proposal shows that funds for both teachers and state workers will dip precipitously if there are no changes to the system. (Method, Gannett)
>NJMET Announces National Multiple Sclerosis Walk 2011 Sponsorship
Ridgewood NJ- Joseph Federico, Vice President of NJMET, announced that NJMET will sponsor a team in the 2011 Walk MS event at the Ridgewood, NJ Graydon Pool on Sunday, April 11, 2011.
NJMET Vice President and director of operations Joseph Federico has announced their fifth annual sponsorship walkathon to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of the New Jersey area.
“On Sunday April 10, 2011 team NJMET will assemble at the Ridgewood Graydon Pool on 259 North Maple Avenue in Ridgewood, NJ at 8:00am for the 9 mile walk” said team leader Joseph Federico, of NJMET headquartered in Clifton, NJ.
Walk MS is a simple, but incredibly powerful way for everyone to share in the hope for the future.
Walk MS is a rallying point, a time and a place for us to stand together – to help raise critical funds that support cutting edge research, drive change through advocacy, facilitate professional education and provide programs and services to help people with MS move their lives forward.
If anyone is interested in participating on NJMET’s 2011 National Multiple Sclerosis Society Walkathon team, please call Joseph Federico at NJMET’s headquarters in Clifton, NJ at (973)546-5393. Please visit NJMET at https://www.njmetmtl.com.
NJMET provides professional electronic component testing to the Commercial, Military, Aerospace, Industrial and Automotive fields worldwide. Its state of the art Mission Imposter® Counterfeit Detection Process identifies counterfeit or cloned products.
>Sen. Kean Jr. pushes for another vote on ending payouts to N.J. employees for unused sick days
The Republican leader in the New Jersey Senate wants to see another vote on a measure to end huge payouts for unused sick days by retiring public employees. (The Associated Press)
>The NJEA, a big player in local school budget elections
Much is made of the New Jersey Education Association’s power in state politics and policy, but the union’s most dominant role may be in a very local place: school budget elections. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
With an unspecified number of companies submitting proposals Monday to run cash toll collections on the state’s three major toll roads, officials have about a month to evaluate them. (Higgs, Asbury Park Press)
>Union’s proposal promises state millions in savings on benefits
The union that represents some 35,000 state and local government workers is offering to make changes in New Jersey’s health insurance system that would, as one official promised, save “tens of millions of dollars.” (Method, Asbury Park Press)
>New Jersey Redistricting Attempt to Silence Suburban Voters
There is currently a plan being discussed that will diminish registered voters in the suburban and rural areas by as much as 50% because of low voter turnout in the cities. The districts will be weighted in favor of urban areas 2 to 1.
This proposal, if passed, would in essence allow one person’s vote in an urban area to count twice as much as the same vote in the suburbs, continuing and possibly worsening, the unbalanced & skewed elections we have had in the past.
1 person = 2 votes + voter fraud + high voter turnout = your voice is SILENCED! What is being proposed is DIAMETRICALLY opposed to common sense and the Constitution. The fairest way to establish the districts is one person, one vote.
You can also send your comments to the commission directly at the link below.
>Stakes are high for winners and losers in N.J. Congressional redistricting
Next month, after we learn what New Jersey’s 40 Legislative districts will look like when the State Apportionment Commission completes its work, we also will get a sense of which political party fares better under the new map. (Lee, New Jersey Newsroom)
>Business-friendly bill up for vote in N.J. Assembly
A sweeping bill to prevent New Jersey from adopting rules that are more stringent than federal standards is up for a vote in the Assembly on Monday and has environmentalists worried that it could undermine the state’s efforts to control pollution and development. (O’Neill, The Record)
