>Policy change in New Jersey is resulting in fewer welfare recipients

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>Aronsohn Calls for New Approach to Budget ,we have one question Paul  where have you been for the last 3 years?
by Paul Aronsohn on Mar 19, 2012 • 12:00 am

Ridgewood — Councilman Paul Aronsohn called today for a new approach to the Village’s municipal budget — one that starts from a 0% tax increase and gives residents a greater voice in the process.

“We need to get this right,” Aronsohn explained. ”We need to end business as usual.”

Starting from a 0% Tax Increase

Noting that the Council recently began its consideration of the 2012 municipal budget by working off of a document produced by the Village Manager — one that proposes a 7.6 percent tax increase as a starting point — Aronsohn said that the Council had it “backwards.” 

“We have got this backwards,” he claimed.  “Rather than assuming a large tax increase and then trying to whittle it down, we should start with budget proposals that assume no tax increase whatsoever.”

“We should explore different ways of absorbing storm-related and other extraordinary costs into that draft zero-growth budget.  By doing so, we will get a much better sense of the tradeoffs and have a much better chance of keeping down the residents’ tax burden.”

https://www.paularonsohn.com/press_releases/aronsohn-calls-for-new-approach-to-budget

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Obama’s tax hikes threaten a new US recession
By Martin Feldstein

The recent payroll gains and the declining unemployment rate in the United States have raised hopes that the economy will now start growing faster than the tepid 1.7 per cent rate of last year. Optimists are expecting growth rates as high as three per cent for this year and next.

I hope they are correct. The recession that began in December 2007 was deep and painful and the recovery that began in June 2009 has been slow and grinding in spite of unprecedented fiscal outlays and an even larger monetary stimulus. House prices have continued to fall and housing construction remains dormant because of the Obama administration’s failure to reduce the large number of homeowners whose mortgage debt exceeds the value of their homes. Business investment has been depressed by the anti-business rhetoric and policies of Mr Obama’s government.

https://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/0d0e7acc-6f7d-11e1-9c57-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=published_links/rss/comment/feed//product#axzz1pe75m4qZ

>House GOP budget to slash taxes
By Erik Wasson and Bernie Becker – 03/19/12 06:48 PM ET

House Republicans will roll out a fiscal 2013 budget on Tuesday that will slash tax rates for both corporations and individuals, setting a marker for future negotiations with Democrats on taxes and other fiscal matters.

The plan from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) would collapse the current system of six tax brackets for individuals into two marginal rates: 10 percent and 25 percent, according to GOP aides. The proposal would also lower the top corporate tax rate to 25 percent, and scrap the Alternative Minimum Tax.

https://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/domestic-taxes/216813-ryan-budget-to-slash-tax-brackets

>Auto Insurance PIP: medical care a “pot of gold to abuse”  

>THE IMPERIAL PRESIDENCY EXECUTIVE-ORDER PANIC: MARTIAL LAW IN U.S.?
White House quietly releases document that creates widespread worry

The White House’s late-week release of an executive order has sent the online community into an uproar, worried that President Obama had secretly provided himself means to institute martial law in America.

In the common practice of dumping government documents on a Friday afternoon, just as the news cycle is wrapping up for the week – a move critics say allows the administration to avoid widespread coverage of embarrassing actions – the White House released an executive order on “National Defense Resources Preparedness.”

https://www.wnd.com/2012/03/executive-order-panic-martial-law-in-america/

Executive Order — National Defense Resources Preparedness

>Bleak outlook for US newspapers

By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson

The headlines about the US newspaper industry have never been so bleak.

In recent weeks, LinkedIn, the networking website, and the Council of Economic Advisers have reported that the press is “America’s fastest-shrinking industry”, measured by jobs lost; the Newspaper Association of America has shown that advertising sales have halved since 2005 and are now at 1984’s level; and the Pew Research Center has found that for every digital ad dollar they earned, they lost $7 in print ads.

As media from television to billboards bounce back from the recession, newsprint is being left behind. Zenith Optimedia this week predicted that internet advertising would pass newspaper advertising next year around the world – but in the US, where internet penetration is high and newspaper audiences are shrinking, digital will overtake newspapers’ and magazines’ combined ad sales this year, eMarketer estimates.

https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3eef0bc4-6f73-11e1-9c57-00144feab49a.html#axzz1pPJZoshG

>District needs a long-range technology plan
Jim Morgan

I am tempted to reply in detail to Bob Hutton’s and Charlie Reilly’s letters that appeared here last week, but I will confine myself to noting that both gentlemen appear to be supporting my point that the current BOE is not presently aggressively seeking ways to save money and improve our educational systems. Charlie’s reference to 15- to 20 year-old initiatives and Bob’s comments on “lines of people at the microphone” during budget meetings are not examples of the kind of fresh thinking we need on today’s BOE.

Instead, I want to explore a concern I have about the BOE’s role in setting district policy. I believe that we are not correctly approaching classroom technology planning. On Feb. 6, the district staff presented a $350,000 classroom technology spending budget for 2012-2013. This is only about $62 per child. More questionable than the amount, is the district’s focus on hardware planning rather than on what curriculum enhancements are available in exploding field of educational software. The technology advisory committee announced at a recent BOE meeting does not include a member from the Curriculum Department. The assistant superintendent in this area is participating only as an “adjunct member” of the group. Curriculum needs should be driving this planning, not hardware purchases.

Two years ago, the district decided to discontinue most of its Apple systems and move to Windows equipment. This was about the same time that the iPad began revolutionizing the way students use computers. The district is now slowly purchasing iPads, but there is no strategic plan on how to integrate tablets into our educational programs. What is worse is that the district is apparently relying on individual teachers to surf the web and report back on useful applications. While such inquiry can be useful and is to be encouraged, it is my opinion that the district’s Curriculum Department should be taking the lead in this exploration rather than waiting to see what turns up. I believe that the BOE must redirect the staff’s approach in this area.

Technology offers our schools exciting new approaches to teaching our children. In 10 years, the way that basic information is taught will be dramatically different. Textbooks now weighing down backpacks and unchanged for multiple years will be replaced by electronic editions that can be dynamically updated to take advantage of the latest information. Teachers will be getting real-time feedback on student comprehension as systems such as the SMART Board clickers increasingly mature and penetrate classrooms. Internet-based material like the Khan Academy’s YouTube lectures will become important supplements to traditional classroom settings. The effective implementation of this technology, however, requires the district to carefully plan its options now and make intelligent choices for the future.

I am running for the one-year term on the BOE in the April 17 school election. If elected, I will push our professional staff to develop an integrated, curriculum driven five-year technology plan. I ask for your support

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