The Record’s Charlie Stiles Gets A Lot Right About NJ’s High Debt Load and Our Water Crisis
Posted OnSeptember 27, 2019 byBut he does leave out some important details. Kudos to the Bergen Record’s Charlie Stiles for identifying the main reason why New Jersey doesn’t have the money to fix its water pipes (and other infrastructure needs): its worst-in-the-nation debt load. Money that is used to pay for massive unfunded pension liabilities cannot be used to…Read More
SHINING A LIGHT ON NEW DIRECTION’S DARK MONEY REVEALS SOME DARK TRUTHS ABOUT NEW JERSEY POLITICS
Posted OnSeptember 17, 2019 by“Dark money” group New Direction New Jersey (NDNJ) is no longer quite so dark. Some nine months after promising to disclose its donors, NDNJ finally did last week. But only after the Sunlight Policy Center of New Jersey (SPCNJ), POLITICO and the Bergen Record dug up the major sources of its funding. And only after…Read More
SHODDY RESEARCH DOES NOT HELP THE CAUSE OF NEW JERSEY’S TEACHERS
Posted OnSeptember 13, 2019 byNew Jersey public schools are among the best in the nation and our teachers are the primary reason for that. They should be compensated fairly. But teachers are ill-served by flawed research. Mark Weber, Ph.D., of New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) has come out with a report detailing a “wage gap” between New Jersey teachers…Read More
FY2023 state pension payment: $6.6 billion. Where do we get the extra $2.8 billion?
Posted OnSeptember 9, 2019 byThe Star-Ledger’s Samantha Marcus does some excellent work this morning in an article on New Jersey’s exploding pension costs. Marcus rightly points out that due to the ramp up to full funding (this year’s $3.8 billion payment is only 70% of the full payment), New Jersey will have to pay $6.6 billion in FY2023. That’s…Read More
Represent New Jersey seems to have a curious blind spot
Posted OnSeptember 6, 2019 byDavid Goodman of Represent New Jersey penned an op-ed in NJSpotlight saying his group opposes Americans for Prosperity’s seeking an injunction against the new disclosure law aimed at exposing “dark money” funding of political operations. There are good arguments on both sides of the issue, but in the main, SPCNJ believes that there is too…Read More
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