>The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight… but They Can Do Damage Anyway
By Steve Lonegan
It is clear that the big-government radicals that are running Trenton will stop at nothing to advance their vision of an even bigger nanny state. So much so that they will pass drastically flawed and dangerous bills that will destroy New Jersey’s competitive business climate in favor of emotion based, job destroying politics. This time, however, they got caught.
New Jersey taxpayers will be expected to fork over another $130 million in new taxes to seed the launch of the radical Paid Family Leave bill and small businesses already struggling in the nation’s worst business environment will be sacrificed on the alter of entitlement.
The destructive Paid Family Leave bill will go back to the Senate for another round of hearings and voting. The bill, which allows every single worker in the state six weeks Paid Leave for virtually any reason at all with pay of up to $550, is so deficient it would result in crippling lawsuits for New Jersey’s beleaguered small businesses.
After prompting from conservative legislators, AFP Citizen Activists and Members of the NJBIA, Attorney General Ann Milgram issued an opinion stating the bill is too vague and opens the small business community to costly litigation. The bill’s proponents are so committed to advancing their socialist agenda and expanding the entitlement state they will stop at nothing to advance what they consider the “Common Good,” no matter what the cost.
Left to their own devices, the backers of this bill would have sought a way to by-pass Senate rules and shove this bill through this past Monday. Thanks to Senator Tom Kean, Republican Minority Leader, it became obvious the required thirty votes would not be there for an emergency vote.
The real lesson here is the willingness of those we elect to represent us to railroad destructive legislation past the voters in order to gain favor from state worker union leaders. It is impossible to believe the Senators who voted to pass the dangerous PFL legislation did not realize the potential for trouble. Set aside the basic fact this is bad policy—the fact that they were willing to ignore clear issues of litigation and costly business destroying lawsuits for the bill’s benefit reveals a far more insidious motive. Even legal laymen were questioning the bill’s disastrous side effects, but the Trenton gang did not care. They just wanted to gain favor from those labor union bosses looking down from the gallery.
They were caught this time. The Senate will have to vote again. Now that we have revealed their lack of consideration for the business community and taxpayers, we must convince more of our taxpayers to pick up the phone and call Senators who voted yes and get them to change their votes.
Here they are. Call them now!
JOHN H. ADLER – Democrat (856)-489-3442
BILL BARONI – Republican (609)-631-9988
BARBARA BUONO – Democrat (732)-205-1372
RICHARD J. CODEY – Democrat (973)-731-6770
SANDRA B. CUNNINGHAM – Democrat (201)-451-5100
NIA H. GILL, ESQ. – Democrat (973)-509-0388
JOHN A. GIRGENTI – Democrat (973)-427-1229
ROBERT M. GORDON – Democrat (201)-703-9779
RAYMOND J. LESNIAK – Democrat (908)-624-0880
FRED H. MADDEN, JR. – Democrat (856)-232-6700
DANA REDD – Democrat (856)-384-5862
RONALD L. RICE – Democrat (973)-371-5665
M. TERESA RUIZ – Democrat (973)-484-1000
NICHOLAS J. SACCO – Democrat (201)-295-0200
PAUL A. SARLO – Democrat (201)-804-8118
NICHOLAS P. SCUTARI – Democrat (908)-587-0404
BOB SMITH – Democrat (732)-752-0770
BRIAN P. STACK – Democrat (201)-330-3233
STEPHEN M. SWEENEY – Democrat (856)-251-9801
SHIRLEY K. TURNER – Democrat (609)-530-3277
LORETTA WEINBERG – Democrat (201)-928-0100
JOSEPH F. VITALE – Democrat (732)-855-7441
JIM WHELAN – Democrat (609)-383-1388