Drugmakers Vowed to Campaign for Health Law, Memos Show
By Drew Armstrong on May 31, 2012
Drugmakers led by Pfizer (PFE) Inc. agreed to run a “very significant public campaign” bankrolling political support for the 2010 health-care law, including TV ads, while the Obama administration promised to block provisions opposed by drugmakers, documents released by Republicans show.
The internal memos and e-mails for the first time unveil the industry’s plan to finance positive TV ads and supportive groups, along with providing $80 billion in discounts and taxes that were included in the law. The administration has previously denied the existence of a deal involving political support.
The documents were released today by Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. They identify price controls under Medicare and drug importation as the key industry concerns, and show that former Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Kindler and his top aides were involved in drawing it up and getting support from other company executives.
Memorial Day, celebrated this year on May 28th, is a major driving holiday, with many American families loading up the car to drive to picnics, vacations, and patriotic observances. Below you’ll find the gasoline excise taxes each state levies, with some details in the fine print.
Bleak labor report finds economy added just 69,000 jobs in May
By Vicki Needham and Ian Swanson – 06/01/12 08:29 AM ET
The economy added only 69,000 jobs in May, a result much worse than expected that will heighten fears the economy is sliding back once again as part of a spring slowdown.
The report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised figures for March and April downward, finding the economy created 49,000 fewer jobs than once thought in those two months. The jobless rate rose from 8.1 percent to 8.2.
The report underperformed on expectations and could represent a critical turning point in the presidential race between Republican Mitt Romney and President Obama.
National Donut Day
June 1 2012
the staff of the ridgewoodblog
Ridgewood NJ , National Donut Day is on the first Friday of June each year, succeeding the Donut Day event created by the Salvation Army in 1938 to honor the women who served donuts to soldiers during World War I. The holiday celebrates the doughnut (a.k.a “donut”)—an edible, torus-shaped piece of dough which is deep-fried and sweetened
While , New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has been out and about defending his silly proposed ban on soft drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces the economy continues to struggle and unemployment and high taxes push more and more families into poverty.
We are sure defending the health and safety of New Yorkers is a lot of hard work. So to top it off, the Mayor will be issuing a proclamation celebrating National Donut Day
Time Bomb? Banks Pressured to Buy Government Debt
Published: Thursday, 31 May 2012 | 2:42 PM ET Text Size
By: Jeff Cox
CNBC.com Senior Writer
US and European regulators are essentially forcing banks to buy up their own government’s debt—a move that could end up making the debt crisis even worse, a Citigroup analysis says.
Regulators are allowing banks to escape counting their country’s debt against capital requirements and loosening other rules to create a steady market for government bonds, the study says.
While that helps governments issue more and more debt, the strategy could ultimately explode if the governments are unable to make the bond payments, leaving the banks with billions of toxic debt, says Citigroup strategist Hans Lorenzen.
“Captive bank demand can buy time and can help keep domestic yields low,” Lorenzen wrote in an analysis for clients. “However, the distortions that build up over time can sow the seeds of an even bigger crisis, if the time bought isn’t used very prudently.”
Pedestrian Struck In Crosswalk, West Ridgewood Ave. & North Monroe Street, Ridgewood
06/01/2012
Boyd A. Loving
At approximately 7:30 AM on Friday, June 1, a pedestrian was struck and injured at the intersection of North Monroe Street and West Ridgewood Avenue in Ridgewood. The individual was transported by Ridgewood EMS to The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood. One summons was issued to the vehicle’s driver. Responding were Ridgewood PD, Ridgewood FD, Ridgewood EMS, and paramedics from The Valley Hospital.
Ridgewood NJ, A conceptual plan to improve the pedestrian underpass at the Ridgewood train station has piqued interest among several council members, who last Wednesday expressed desire to meet with New Jersey Transit (NJT) officials and discuss the potential ideas.
NJT recently completed a $40 million renovation project at the station to make Ridgewood’s transit hub accessible to disabled passengers and more convenient for all riders. That project, however, did not include improvement work to the underpass.
In its current condition, the underground walkway shows deteriorated walls, exposed rebar and general disrepair. Though it is out of sight to many village residents, the passageway is an eyesore to those who use it.
Debate over NJ’s education budget quietly focuses on funding formula
While the public discussion about New Jersey’s budget has largely turned on whose proposed tax cut is better and whose revenue estimate more accurate, quieter debate has also surfaced over the distribution of the largest piece of that budget: school funding.
Christie has called for a $213 million increase in school funding, to nearly $9 billion in direct state aid — by far the biggest piece of the budget. But while some have said the increase should be more and fully fund the state’s school finance law, much of the discussion has been around particular details in how the administration plans to distribute the money it has. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
Department of Education plans to release report cards for all N.J. schools
The state Department of Education today plans to release report cards for every school in the state’s nearly 600 districts, a spokesman for the department said.
The report cards give parents and teachers a thorough picture of a school’s academic and fiscal performance, giving them a tool to compare schools. The report cards include information on state test score achievement, per pupil spending and graduation rates among other statistics.
Last year’s school report cards revealed that per pupil spending had increased slightly between the 08-09 and 09-10 school years. (Calefati, The Star-Ledger)
Class warfare: America Lost 129,000 Millionaires in 2011
Published: Thursday, 31 May 2012 | 11:59 AM ET
Text Size
By: Robert Frank
CNBC Reporter & Editor
America’s millionaire population declined last year for the first time since the financial crisis, according to a new report.
The population of U.S. millionaire households (households with investible assets of $1 million or more) fell to 5,134,000 from 5,263,000 in 2011, according to The Boston Consulting Group’s Global Wealth study.
Total private wealth in North America fell by 0.9 percent, to $38 trillion.
The ultra-rich were the largest losers in dollar terms. Households in North America with investible assets of more than $100 million saw their wealth decline 2.4 percent. Their population declined slightly to 2,928 from 2,989.
Sunday, June 3
11am-4pm
387 Berkshire Road
Ridgewood, NJ
All items in excellent condition!!
Items for every room in the house for every season for every age!!!
Multi Family Garage Sale (Ridgewood, NJ)
Garage Sale- June 8 and 9th 391 Colonial Road, Ridgewood, NJ
Patio furniture, clothing, sheet music, dolls, jewelry plus much more!
Starts at 9:00 AM done at 4:00 PM!
Moving Sale
Hello…
Moving sale on June 3rd, 2012 in Ridgewood, NJ. Selling large variety of items, below are a few:
couches,glassware,espresso machines,all in one fax/copy/printer,stereo system,rollerblades
books,seasonal items,ice cream maker,panni maker,area rug
Top Five Ways Obamacare Crushes the Middle Class
Alyene Senger
May 25, 2012 at 3:00 pm
President Obama has repeatedly claimed that he is “going to keep on fighting for what matters to middle class families.” Well, in this “fight,” the President seems to be his own worst enemy. His health care law does far more damage than good to the American middle class.
Here are the five most prevalent and harmful burdens the middle class will be forced to bear under Obamacare:
More taxes. Obamacare imposes $502 billion of new or increased taxes and fees. Heritage expert Curtis Dubay explains that several of the taxes “will ultimately be passed on to [middle-income families] through higher prices. These include the fees on medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and health insurance companies and the new tax on tanning services.” The middle class will also be burdened by the individual mandate to purchase insurance, new restrictions and limits on their tax-free health and flex savings accounts, and a new tax on high-cost (Cadillac) health plans. Starting next year, Obamacare increases the Medicare payroll tax from 2.9 percent to 3.8 percent for individuals earning above $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000 and for the first time extends the tax to income earned from investment. But the threshold for the higher rate isn’t indexed to inflation and will impact more middle-class families each year. The 2012 Medicare trustees report states, “By the end of the long-range projection period, an estimated 80 percent of workers would pay the higher tax rate.”
Loss of existing coverage. As many as 35 million people could lose their existing coverage because of Obamacare. This is because Obamacare creates financial incentives for employers to drop coverage for their employees. One report that examined the health insurance costs of 71 fortune 100 companies estimated savings of $422.4 billion between 2014 and 2023 if they dropped their employee coverage and paid the employer mandate penalty. Another study predicts that 30 percent of employers will definitely or probably drop coverage under Obamacare.
Higher premiums. Americans who purchase coverage in the new Obamacare exchanges will find that health insurance is still very expensive. American Enterprise Institute resident scholar Scott Gottlieb, MD, explains, “For a family of four, premiums on even one of the lower priced ‘silver’ options could still cost more than $15,000 annually on the exchanges.” A family’s income might exclude them from subsidies but not be high enough to pay $15,000 for Obamacare’s government-approved insurance. “A family of four earning $90,000 annually takes home about $60,000 after local, state, and federal taxes. If they lose workplace coverage, and move onto the exchanges, they could find themselves spending as much as 25 percent of the family’s take home pay for an average policy ($15,000 for the ‘silver’ plan).”
Rising health care costs. As premiums and overall health care costs continue to rise, middle-class families, including those receiving a subsidy, will be left paying more. Beginning in 2019, Obamacare’s cost-containment strategy for the exchanges is to hold the total cost of the subsidies to 0.504 percent of GDP. Charles Blahous, a Medicare trustee, concludes that “this limitation would likely cause the federal subsidies to grow less rapidly over the long term than the cost of health care and thus require low-income individuals in the exchanges to shoulder a steadily increasing percentage of their health costs.”
More government control of health care. Obamacare transfers massive authority over to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and expands the role of government in delivering care and coverage. This huge expansion of government’s role in health means that, by 2020, more than half of all Americans will be dependent on the federal government for health care and government bureaucrats will be in charge of deciding what you can and cannot buy.
If President Obama is serious about “fighting for what matters to middle class families,” he should start by repealing his own health care law.
New Jersey stands to see as much as $40 million a year in sales-tax revenue from Amazon (AMZN).com Inc., the biggest online retailer, Governor Chris Christie said.
A deal the Republican governor disclosed today will bring to New Jersey $130 million in investments and 1,500 full-time jobs. Amazon will start collecting the 7 percent tax July 1, 2013, Christie said at a Trenton news briefing. Work on two new warehouses in the state may begin next year, he said.
“Today’s announcement marks a first step toward a long- term relationship with Amazon,” Christie, 49, told reporters. “With this agreement, Amazon is stepping up and making a real commitment to our state and to our people.” (Dopp, Bloomberg)
Gov. Christie expects lawmakers to pass ‘user fees’ bill
Railing against the size of local governments, Gov. Chris Christie said tonight that he expects the Legislature to pass a bill that would include so-called user fees within the state’s 2 percent property tax cap.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) introduced the bill (S1914) to reign in towns that tried to skirt the cap by levying fee on services like garbage collection. A vote it set for tomorrow and Christie said he will sign it.
“The towns have to come to Jesus on this one,” he said during a monthly call-in program on 101.5 FM. “They have to cut the size and scope of their governments.” (Portnoy, The Star-Ledger)
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