The facts about “Chapter 78 relief”: New Jersey taxpayers will pay more
Posted OnSeptember 5, 2019 byNJ.com reports that Speaker Coughlin has crafted a bill that gives teachers so-called “Chapter 78 relief.” This issue has been one of the NJEA’s top political priorities. Here are the salient facts: The current plan is a “platinum-plus” level plan, which means that 97% of the cost of the plan’s benefits are paid by taxpayers…Read More
GSI is spot-on when it comes to New Jersey’s underperforming economy.
Posted OnSeptember 5, 2019 byIn a Star-Ledger op-ed, Regina Egea of the Garden State Initiative (GSI) is absolutely correct that New Jersey’s economic reality does not match Governor Murphy’s happy talk. SPCNJ is coming out with a new research report that details the long-term underperformance of New Jersey’s economy (in terms of personal income, state GDP and job growth)…Read More
Tax Foundation: N.J. is suing over the SALT cap to enable tax avoidance, help high earners
Posted OnAugust 15, 2019 byJared Walczak of the Tax Foundation wrote an op-ed in today’s Star-Ledger about New Jersey’s suing the federal government over the $10,000 cap on the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes. Walczak captures the situation perfectly: “Ultimately, this lawsuit may be more about posturing than law. It’s about supposedly progressive states trying to…Read More
BuryPensions goes where Jay Lassiter won’t: Look where the NJEA spends teachers’ dues.
Posted OnAugust 14, 2019 byInsiderNJ’s Jay Lassiter wrote a column this morning about the influence of special interests over New Jersey politicians. Lassiter rightly questions who these pols are working for. But he curiously failed to mention the most powerful special interest of all: the NJEA. John Bury of BuryPensions posted a piece that looks at how and where…Read More
InsiderNJ’s Lassiter decries special interest influence on politicians but leaves out the biggest one.
Posted OnAugust 14, 2019 byInsiderNJ columnist Jay Lassiter rightly calls out the influence of special interests on New Jersey politicians. He mentions New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ), the “dark money” group backing a millionaire’s tax. He also mentions Speaker Coughlin’s law firm, Assemblywoman Lampitt and others sponsoring legislation for special interests , and Senator Lagana’s ties to the insurance…Read More
Another $1 million from the NJEA deepens the governor’s conflict of interest
Posted OnAugust 12, 2019 byThe North Jersey Record reported today that the NJEA funneled another $1 million to the dark money group New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) – this time via its Super PAC Garden State Forward. SPCNJ previously discovered that the NJEA had donated $2.5 million to NDNJ, so the NJEA has now pumped $3.5 million of its…Read More
New Jersey’s public pensions and benefit are very expensive … for taxpayers
Posted OnJuly 29, 2019 byRegina Egea of the Garden State Initiative published an eye-opening op-ed in the Star-Ledger today. Highlighting a study by the former chief economist for the state, the report concludes that “our cost of benefits for public sector employers is 50 percent higher than the public sector in other states.” The costs of benefits are also…Read More
NJBIZ: Ratings Agency: Pensions still a drag on NJ economy
Posted OnJuly 26, 2019 byNew Jersey was infamously downgraded 11 times during the Christie administration, largely on account of its massive unfunded retiree liabilities, and due to continued insufficient funding of its public pensions, no upgrade is coming anytime soon. It’s a sad testament to the current situation that Gov. Murphy’s record $3.8 billion contribution is only 70% of…Read More
Why is the Media Ignoring that New Direction New Jersey is an NJEA-funded vehicle?
Posted OnJuly 10, 2019 byPolitico ran a story about how Assembly Speaker Coughlin took New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) to task for attacking Democrats. The article describes NDNJ as “a ‘dark money’ group Murphy does not control but which is run by his allies and promotes his agenda.” As SPCNJ uncovered, and as exposed in an earlier Politico story,…Read More
Whose Side Is the Governor On?
Posted OnJune 27, 2019 byNew Jersey Globe reports that Gov. Murphy has questioned whose side Senate President Sweeney is on when it comes to the various programs and taxes wants in the state budget. But whose side is the governor on? On the side of New Jersey’s most powerful special interest and the lavishly compensated one-percenters in its leadership….Read More