tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70872689882674480602010-03-13T10:11:15.977-05:00At NJ Tax Revolution, we fight excessive taxation in the New Jersey and Federal governments by providing information and opportunities to better understand the legislative process. In addition, we want to help people know when the state or federal governments are poised to establish more taxes so that we can communicate our opposition to our elected politicians.Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.comBlogger581125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-825759252095971372010-03-12T15:43:00.003-05:002010-03-12T15:57:57.567-05:00

The Asbury Park Press ran this story the other day that you may have missed but I guarantee you will find interesting. New Jersey Transit's payroll rose more than $154 million from 2006 to 2009, when the agency paid a total of $804 million in salaries and wages.The payroll increase was up 24 percent between those years, about three times the rate of inflation. The consumer price index for New

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-31366190401007817512010-03-09T17:00:00.000-05:002010-03-09T17:00:01.720-05:00

The Chair of the NJ State Assembly Judiciary committee Linda Greenstein has submitted legislation to establish a blue ribbon panel to study....prison inmates. You can review the proposal here. Does anyone wonder why the average citizen of New Jersey has absolutely no respect for our legislators or their ability to correct any of the state's myriad of issues? For example, I wonder where this

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-11688555024811424412010-03-08T16:41:00.003-05:002010-03-08T17:14:27.307-05:00

There were two significant fiscal austerity changes proposed by the current administration that are sure to get NJ residents blood boiling (including mine). The first was the announcement of NJ Transit's fare hike proposal(from this link at NJTransit.com):March 5, 2010NJT-10-020NEWARK, NJ — Citing a looming $300 million budget deficit for the coming fiscal year, NJ TRANSIT today released a

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-49791251768703949512010-02-25T21:43:00.004-05:002010-02-26T23:51:58.322-05:00

Businessweek reports on our Governor making a seriously hard choice politically:New Jersey Governor Chris Christie proposed cutting benefits to the state’s more than 400,000 out- of-work residents to blunt a rise in business taxes that may be triggered by a shrinking unemployment trust fund.Christie, 47, seeks to reduce the maximum weekly payment by $50 as joblessness stands at a 33-year high of

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-56322149935404557452010-02-22T16:25:00.005-05:002010-02-22T17:43:19.906-05:00

Here are my reactions to the Assembly Democrats' commentary regarding Governor Christie's budget. When I've commented inline, my comments are in italics.Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald (D-Camden):“I thank the acting treasurer for testifying and answering our questions. I had hoped that this would be the start of a renewed bipartisan effort to find alternatives to Gov. Christie’s budget

Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-86214430502973041312010-02-21T22:50:00.005-05:002010-02-21T22:59:11.767-05:00

I'm reading Malcolm X: The End of White World Supremacy, four speeches edited and with an introduction by Benjamin Goodman, a.k.a. Imam Benjamin Karim. (As he explains in his introduction, he was initially "Benjamin 2X" when he joined the Nation of Islam. The introduction is worth as much as the speeches.)There are lots of things that strike me when I read about Malcolm X. I am white, so to some

Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-23165805970335758102010-02-20T12:40:00.001-05:002010-02-20T13:03:11.952-05:00

Yesterday it was reported that Frank Lautenberg the second oldest U.S. Senator has stomach cancer. From a personal standpoint, I wish the Senator well and we should all keep him and his family in our prayers.That being said, the Senator should step down. As we posted here many times in the past our Senator has not represented the taxpayer of this state. When Lautenberg entered the Senate the

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-25179533156419505022010-02-14T10:45:00.003-05:002010-02-14T10:59:12.473-05:00

It was very interesting this week to see the reaction of Governor Chris Christie's executive actions to get the state's fiscal situation under control. In case you missed it and only read the newspapers, here is the action the Governor took this week (from the Office of the Governor, NJ):Withholding $475 million in local school aid for the balance of the fiscal year, with the amount of individual

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-71065225540731745992010-02-09T17:30:00.000-05:002010-02-09T17:30:00.644-05:00

Fox News is reporting that congressional Democrats have approaved the purchase of 50 million dollars worth of parkland....in St Croix. Two weeks ago, on a near party line vote, a huge Democratic majority in the House agreed to spend $50 million to buy the former cotton plantation on the island of St. Croix."This is a beautiful and important natural and cultural resource that is in danger of being

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-20878658815063350642010-02-09T11:08:00.005-05:002010-02-09T11:13:56.142-05:00

Yep, that's pretty much it.I'm not sure whether linking to this image is stealing bandwidth or just giving credit where it's due. Cagle.com doesn't seem to give a unique URL that will allow me just to link to the image.Click the image to be taken to Rob Tornoe's section of cagle.com.

Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-21731894251692461722010-02-02T08:03:00.002-05:002010-02-02T08:06:26.899-05:00

Just refer to this (From this in National Post):Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is to have heart surgery in the United States later this week, a press conference this morning is expected to confirm.Media reports last night suggested the popular 59-year-old Premier has opted not to remain in his home province or country for the scheduled surgery, opting instead for treatment at a

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-48989456356876194902010-02-01T19:26:00.002-05:002010-02-01T19:36:20.860-05:00

Following his theme of avoiding even the consideration of a spending decrease, Barack Obama has proposed a new budget short on spending cuts but long on taxes and debt. From the Heritage Foundation:Over the 10 years in which both budgets overlap (FY 2010-2019), this year's budget would spend an additional $1.7 trillion and run up an additional $2 trillion in budget deficits (see Table 1).[1] In

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-26863750434166450132010-01-27T21:07:00.031-05:002010-01-27T22:21:18.785-05:00

I wasn't sure I was going to do this, but I heard the ABC commentators claim that Nancy Pelosi was wearing purple because (paraphrasing) "it's not blue, it's not red, it's right in the center. I don't think that's an accident. I think it's symbolic." I had to laugh. Nancy Pelosi is right in the center, of course -- of the Politburo.9:14 It's interesting that he can claim that "these are the

Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-33092421848929037952010-01-27T08:55:00.004-05:002010-01-27T09:04:18.432-05:00

Philly.com reports that community service requirements may be coming to a school near you:Community service may have inched closer to becoming a graduation requirement for New Jersey high school students under a bill signed into law in the final days of the Corzine administration.The legislation calls for a four-year study to start this fall at 15 high schools, including five in the southern

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-32879130030443790012010-01-23T23:39:00.004-05:002010-01-24T10:51:11.166-05:00

Instapundit.com and Hot Air broke this story about an alleged citizen concerned over Barack Obama's issues after the Massachusetts election (and after the NJ and VA elections as well). From Hot Air:Someone appears to be doing a little Astroturfing for Obama.In recent days, a letter defending Obama has appeared in dozens of newspapers throughout the country — all signed by an “Ellie Light.” In the

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-19163039644048936052010-01-17T10:43:00.001-05:002010-01-18T11:30:58.996-05:00

The New York Post reported today the appointment of Brett Schundler as Education Commissioner for the state of New Jersey. While this isn't exactly "new" news (the word on this had been out for a few days), the Post article seemed to grasp the importance of this appointment:New Jersey Gov.-Elect Chris Christie's most audacious move so far has been his choice for state education commissioner --

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-30675250482229066652010-01-17T10:17:00.004-05:002010-01-17T10:22:24.840-05:00

I received an update from Catholic Relief Services today on their efforts to aid the earthquake victims in Haiti:Almost immediately following the earthquake, CRS began delivering lifesaving supplies, including food and water, to desperate survivors. The supplies were already in place in CRS' Port-au-Prince warehouse."We are fortunate to have had water in our warehouse," says Karel Zelenka,

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-24579747460513786712010-01-13T19:30:00.002-05:002010-01-13T19:38:33.768-05:00

I was participating in an all day meeting today when this news item came across:The archbishop of Port-au-Prince was killed in the devastating earthquake that has demolished the Haitian capital and taken untold lives since striking Tuesday, according to a dispatch from the Vatican.The body of Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, 65, was found under the rubble of the archdiocese, and may be one of only

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-343921083126146832010-01-12T20:45:00.004-05:002010-01-12T21:13:35.228-05:00

Here's the headline from BusinessWeek:Corzine Condemns ‘Too Damn High’ New Jersey Taxes as He Exits...and here's the lede:New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, making his valedictory speech to lawmakers, said the most critical issue facing them and his successor boils down to this: “Everyone’s property taxes are too damn high.”Super. Too bad he's about four years too late. He says other good things,

Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-91739219023585749252010-01-12T08:33:00.003-05:002010-01-12T08:52:54.625-05:00

We have noted here the tendency of fiscally challenged New Jersey legislators to use lame duck sessions to stuff through 'feel good' legislation with unfunded mandates while they think no one is watching. We have also noted specifically the poorly conceived bill promoted by Democrats Rice and Ruiz of Essex that would essentially grant a college tuition subsidy (in-state tuition) to illegal

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-76823597353487526432010-01-06T16:10:00.003-05:002010-01-06T16:50:28.965-05:00

Scott Brown is the Republican candidate for Senate in Massachusetts to replace the seat vacated by Ted Kennedy. He has a real shot and could defeat the Democrat(Martha Coakely) in that race who will just be another rubber stamp for Harry Reid. You can volunteer to make calls. Or you can donate to his campaign. With your help, Scott Brown can win and break the Democrat supermajority that has

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-63092134477785248962010-01-05T18:00:00.000-05:002010-01-05T18:00:00.893-05:00

Check out this report from Atlas Van Lines. As usual, New Jersey is a leader in losing residents.Check out the entire report here.

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-82996151594271220052010-01-05T13:18:00.004-05:002010-01-05T13:50:38.572-05:00

In order to understand the weakness of our current policies that produced the undybomber on Christmas day in Detroit, you have to look at a country that has had this problem for decades and doesn't seem to get shoe bombers, undybombers and terrorists doing walkthroughs on their air transportation. Israel. Several years ago, I had to travel to Tel Aviv on business. Now, to set this story up, it

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-38729419851960222572010-01-04T17:24:00.000-05:002010-01-04T17:24:00.276-05:00

It appears that the normal gaggle of lame duck hi jinks will be a bit curtailed this political season (from NJ.com):Although chances are dwindling for Democrats to enact laws before Republican Gov.-elect Chris Christie takes office Jan. 19, lawmakers said most of their grand plans — with the exception of medical marijuana — have fizzled, many with gut-checks over the state’s fiscal crisis. In

Dennisnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087268988267448060.post-70355427701323365122010-01-02T21:56:00.006-05:002010-01-02T22:15:28.986-05:00

Some odds and ends for you to browse this evening.From the Courier-Post Online:The new head of Burlington County government has pledged to continue the tax-cutting policy of the county board of freeholders.Freeholder-Director Bruce Garganio of Florence also said he was truly grateful for the opportunity to serve as director in his freshman year on the board...."We owe this to the taxpayers of

Jake Freivaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01523638337057738776noreply@blogger.com0