New Jersey’s public pensions and benefit are very expensive … for taxpayers
Posted On07/29/2019 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 On07/26/2019 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 On07/10/2019 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 On06/27/2019 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
What a Scam!
Posted On06/26/2019 byInsiderNJ reports on a New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) email blast condemning the legislature’s budget as a “scam” that “screws working people” and benefits millionaires. That’s laughable. Remember that NDNJ is a dark money group funded by the NJEA with $2.5 million of taxpayer dollars. Remember that in 2016 the NJEA supported raising the gasoline…Read More
When You’re In a Deep Hole, You Have to Stop Digging
Posted On06/25/2019 byA WYNC article highlights the fight between Senate President Sweeney and the public sector unions over retiree benefits. Sweeney, who has proposed reforms to pensions and healthcare, has run into staunch opposition from the public unions, and likely from Gov. Murphy, too, who has received great support from these unions. The public union members who…Read More
The Irony of NJEA Members Protesting Pro-Sweeney PAC
Posted On06/21/2019 byThe New Jersey Globe reports that about 50 “progressive” activists protested a fundraiser for the Sen. Sweeney-aligned General Majority PAC. The group’s statement makes it clear that they are part of the “#RedforEd” movement, which is a creation of the National Education Association, the NJEA’s parent organization. How ironic then that they call for greater…Read More
Yes, Governor, It’s a Rigged System Alright – Just Not In the Way You Say
Posted On06/20/2019 by“We are not dealing with a broken system,” said the governor. “This is a rigged system. This was designed by special interests for special interests.” That’s Governor Murphy discussing the report on the EDA by the task force he appointed, as reported by InsiderNJ. Yes, governor, it’s a rigged system alright, but the reality is…Read More
Another large public union rally at the Statehouse: who pays for it?
Posted On06/14/2019 byYou do, taxpayers. $129 million’s worth last year. Your property tax dollars pay for teacher salaries and the union’s dues are withheld from them, so your tax dollars flow through the district and the teachers directly to the NJEA. Of this generous $129 million of funding, SPCNJ estimates that $65 million is spent on politics….Read More
The NJEA Spends $13.99 million Both FOR and AGAINST Sweeney
Posted On06/10/2019 byI guess when you have hundreds of millions of forced teacher dues, derived from siphoned off property tax dollars, you can afford to throw a lot of money around. Even at cross-purposes. In Insider NJ today, Edward Edwards points out that the NJEA’s independent expenditure arm, Garden State Forward, gave a Sweeney-affiliated PAC $5.55…Read More