Shocking News: NJ Tax Receipts Down

The Star Ledger today reported that New Jersey tax receipts are down:

From January through September, New Jersey collected $20.34 billion in taxes — a loss of one of every seven dollars collected in the same period in 2008.

The decline in New Jersey mirrored the experience of state governments nationwide in 2009, according to the census bureau’s report. Collectively, the states absorbed a 13 percent drop in tax collections.

This news should not be filed in the "breaking news" category for most normal people in the State of New Jersey. One of the more interesting parts of the article was a photo of Jon Corzine with the following caption:

New Jersey is on pace to end the year with the first drop in state tax collections since 2002. Gov. Jon Corzine, seen here in a November photo, has tried to address revenue shortfalls by using federal stimulus money, deferring pension obligations and raiding surplus accounts and dedicated funds to offset the losses.

It is in this caption that the Star Ledger really captures the problem both with Jon Corzine and Trenton's approach to serious issues. Notice that the "solution" per Democrats in our state was:

1. Use Stimulus money (thereby not stimulating)
2. Deferring pension obligations
3. Raiding any department left that is fiscally responsible by taking their surplus money

Notice that NOWHERE does it mention two simple words. Cut. Spending.

Five years ago, our state ran just fine with a 20 billion dollar budget. We could have paid for the entire budget by September even in this terrible economic situation if the budget was 20 billion dollars. That is the real issue impacting New Jersey citizens. And until our politicians GET IT, we will continue to have issues.

Read the Star Ledger article here.

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NJ Democrat Pols: Borrow more before Christie gets here!

Didn't we just listen to the Governor of New Jersey progress through a re-election campaign and claim that he was the fiscally responsible one after many years of irresponsible government? Of course, his rap was much less believable when he last responded to a Schools Construction Corporation (the NJ government agency that manages public school construction money) corruption scandal by borrowing $4.1 billion for the entity. New Jersey Democrats have long been hypocritical on borrowing-decrying Republican Christie Whitman while engorging themselves in debt once they moved into power. And now this:

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- New Jersey, the third-most indebted U.S. state, will sell more than $200 million in bonds today to finance voter-approved capital projects a week after Governor- elect Christopher Christie said he opposed borrowing more money.

The state will issue $209.1 million of bonds, including $205 million of tax-exempt securities, the largest such competitively bid offering in the market today, according to Bloomberg data. Christie, a Republican who defeated Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine last month, said he opposed new bond sales after the state last week detailed $2.7 billion in borrowing it plans for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in June.

It appears that the last acts of the Corzine administration will be apply the maximum amount of long term financial damage to the citizens of New Jersey before they leave office.

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Unemployment at 10% and where is congress? Why spending of course.

From the AP:

The Labor Department said Friday that jobless rate rose to 10.2 percent, the highest since April 1983, from 9.8 percent in September. The economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September, but more than economists expected.

The jump in the jobless rate reflects a sharp increase in the tally of unemployed Americans, which rose to 15.7 million from 15.1 million. The net loss of jobs occurred across most industries, from manufacturing and construction to retail and financial. That tally is based on a separate survey of businesses.

Economists say the unemployment rate could climb as high as 10.5 percent next year because employers remain reluctant to hire.

And what is the President and Congress doing about it? They are trying to ram down our throats a 1.8 trillion dollar healthcare bill that won't reduce costs, won't improve your care and still won't insure everyone. And it won't get you a job. But one thing it will do...raise your taxes.

And if you want to understand who is driving this bus, all you need to do it look at the White House Visitor's log to see who spends the most time there - Andy Stern of the SIEU(from workerfreedom.org via Americans for Tax Reform).

The White House released an incomplete list of visitors who met with President Obama and top White House officials. Predictably, Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union, stopped by the White House more than any other visitor. The Wall Street Journal Reports:

“Andrew Stern visited the White House 22 times between Inauguration Day and July 31, meeting with President Barack Obama seven times and leading all visitors recorded during that period.”

You don't know who the SIEU is? They are the union that show up in purple shirts (IE the Liberal Astroturf) at every protest to outshout the regular people.

Are you getting it yet?

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Foreclosures at a record high - and what is our government doing?

CNN Money today reported that home foreclosures are at a record high:

Despite concerted government-led and lender-supported efforts to prevent foreclosures, the number of filings hit a record high in the third quarter, according to a report issued Thursday.

"They were the worst three months of all time," said Rick Sharga, spokesman for RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed homes.

During that time, 937,840 homes received a foreclosure letter -- whether a default notice, auction notice or bank repossession, the RealtyTrac report said. That means one in every 136 U.S. homes were in foreclosure, which is a 5% increase from the second quarter and a 23% jump over the third quarter of 2008.

This was the start of the financial crisis. So, the government shores up the banks so that Goldman Sachs can distribute record bonuses by trading on taxpayer money. The politicians get busy on:

- Cap and Trade
- Stimulus for their union friends
- Healthcare reform that won't save money and won't reform healthcare

And the foreclosures keep piling up...

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Corzine's silence on why he should be re-elected

We are back after some much needed rest, relaxation and contemplation over politics and the state of our state and the country. I tried successfully to avoid news of New Jersey politics as I was out of state. It was much harder to avoid the next saga of Obamamania as the national news was pre-occupied wiith Czars and children's educational propaganda. I also had a couple of long drives under my belt where I was not allowed to listen to news so I got some real thought time in.

One reflection I had was about our Governor. This has been an extremely strange election season. Why? Because Jon Corzine has not really given anyone a reason to vote for his re-election. It is almost as if he knows that his record is so poor that it wouldn't be worth trying to convince anyone otherwise. And his media people seem to agree with him.

So he is left trying to trash Christie. And maybe in a normal year here in NJ, that would suffice. The same state that allowed Frank Lautenberg to hide out for the entire last camapaign does not seem to be in the same mood this time. Two thousand people attended the tea party we recently passed on the word for those in North Jersey. This is a different year.

Sometimes silence is golden. Sometimes it is chrystal clear.

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Democrats announce major astroturf push!

Politico today announced that Democrats would be making a big healthcare push. The article begins with a laudable goal:

Faced with a souring public mood on health care reform, Democrats and their supporters are launching a national grassroots push Wednesday to show lawmakers that the majority of Americans still support overhauling the system.

Grassroots. I get that. And if they are the majority, it should be easy to get people out just like the town halls...right? Note the way they are going to do it:


Reform supporters are planning to hold more than 500 events between Wednesday and when lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 8, ranging from neighborhood organized phone banks to professionally staffed rallies with hundreds of people.

Paid volunteers. Paid protestors. Paid outrage. I wonder if these people even consider what they say versus what they do?

Read the entire article here.

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House Democrats want higher taxes for healthcare. Big shocker.

The word is that House Democrats will be proposing higher taxes on "high" wage earners to pay for their healthcare proposals. From Bloomberg:

Two people familiar with closed-door talks by committee Democrats said a House bill probably will include a surtax on incomes exceeding $250,000, as Congress seeks ways to pay for changes to a health-care system that accounts for almost 18 percent of the U.S. economy. By targeting wealthier Americans, a surtax may hold more appeal for House Democrats than a Senate proposal to tax some employer-provided health benefits.

“The surtax is obviously more attractive to Democrats in the House because it’s more progressive, which they find attractive in and of itself,” said Paul Van de Water, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a research group focused on policies affecting low- and moderate-income families.

The real joke here is that Democrats and President Obama keep proposing taxes on the "rich guy". And for every one of these proposals, the "righ guy" keeps changing. I am willing to guarantee that this will eventually translate into a tax across the board for all productive members of society.

But the bigger problem is that Democrats said they were going to pay for the stimulus by taxing "rich people". Then they were going to pay for their irresponsible budget by taxing "rich people". Then they were targeting "rich people" for the carbon tax. It seems to me that they have used this tactic to "pay for" every spending increase they have proposed.

Time to wake up America. We cannot afford another House spending proposal.

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Stimulus ideas you disagree with are still ideas!

This morning I read an editorial in the Trentonian written by Donna Brazile decrying the fact that the GOP was "nitpicking" on the stimulus. Even more so, her contribution to the discussion was that Republicans had no ideas to add to the discussion. I am paraphrasing here because I do not want to dignify her statements by quoting them because they are so disingenuous.

During this stimulus debate, there were several alternative ideas put forward to create something that was stimulative and not just a Democratic party spendathon. Some of the Republicans ideas were as follows:

1. Real tax relief - The Obama plan offered 13 dollars per paycheck for those who qualify. This will have zero is no impact because everyone knows they are temporary. Republicans continuously fought to increase the return of taxpayer money back to those who earn the money. Apparently, this doesn't qualify as an "idea" because it is a core principle of conservatives.
2. Eliminate all non-stimulative spending from the package - We do not even know half the mess that this congress has showered upon its special interests. Every single spending item in this plan should have been evaluated in the context of real impact on the economy.
3. Small business tax relief - Small businesses add jobs. Government spending on welfare doesn't. Isn't it interesting that the small business breaks to stimulate job growth were stripped from the bill.
4. MORE spending on infrastructure. Republicans agree on the infrastructure ideas and wanted them more immediate and more stimulative. Of course, Republicans were not trying to stage this money for Obama's next election as Democrats were apparently trying to do.

Even the Republican Study Committee submitted their own bill of which the summary is shown below:

The Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2009

“Responsible and immediate economic stimulus for every American family and business without burdening future generations.”

Financial markets are tumbling worldwide. The unemployment rate is climbing. It is clear that more Americans are struggling to make ends meet and that the economy needs a boost. The question is: from where should that boost come, Washington or the private sector? Conservatives believe the answer is the private sector. History shows that the best way to encourage an economic turnaround, help preserve jobs, and spur widespread economic growth is to ensure that job-creators face a lower
tax burden.

That’s why the Republican Study Committee (RSC) is introducing the Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2009—to provide some much-needed, incentive-based relief to jobcreators and to reduce the cost that government imposes on middle-class families. The RSC’s Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act is designed to provide broad, growth-oriented, permanent incentives for economic activity across all sectors and industries, with immediate application and sustained, long-term implications. This will ensure that Washington takes a back seat to Main Street and job creators are empowered to do what they do best—create jobs.

Highlights: The RSC’s Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act is based on three main themes:

1) Support Families through Tax Relief; 2) Provide Economic Relief for American Businesses and Entreprenuers; and 3) Save Future Generations from a Crushing Debt Burden.

Support Families through Tax Relief
1) Five Percent Across the Board Income Tax Cut. This provision would reduce the six federal income tax rates by 5% beginning with 2008, and make the new rates permanent. Under current law, by contrast, income tax rates will increase in 2011.
2) Increase the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $5,000. Under current law, families are eligible for a $1,000 tax credit for each child under the age of 17. This provision would increase, and make permanent, an increase in the child tax credit to $5,000 beginning in 2008. This will provide a substantial, immediate tax cut for middle-class families. The increased credit would not be refundable.
3) Make the Lower 15% Rate on Capital Gains and Dividends Permanent. The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 lowered the top tax rates on capital gains and dividends to 15%. Under current law the lower rates currently in effect expire at the end of 2010, which means that the top capital gains rate will go back to 20% and the top tax rate for dividends will be 39.6%. The last time the capital gains tax rate increased (1987), capital gains tax collections fell by 54% over
the first five year and then took a full decade to recover. This provision makes the 15% rate permanent.
4) Repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax on Individuals. The AMT was created in 1969 to prevent 155 wealthy taxpayers from using loopholes in the tax code to avoid paying taxes altogether. Under current law, the tax will hit more than 30 million people in 2009. There is a broad consensus that this is both an unintended result and an unfair one, which is why Congress has repeatedly passed an “AMT patch” to limit the scope of the tax. The legislation would permanently repeal the AMT.
5) Permanently Repeal Required Distributions on Retirement Accounts. Under current law, senior citizens, beginning at the age of 70-and-a-half, are required to make mandatory withdrawals from their IRAs and 401(k)s. Though temporarily suspended for 2009, this provision in the tax code is scheduled to go back into effect in 2010 and for every year thereafter. This provision in the tax code needlessly complicates financial planning for retirees, restricts the freedom of seniors to make
their own decisions on when to make withdrawals, and in the short-term will force many seniors to sell a portion of their assets at a loss. The bill permanently repeals this provision.
6) Make All Withdrawals from IRAs Tax- and Penalty-Free During 2009. As a general matter, the purpose of 401(k)s and IRAs is to incentivize retirement savings. However, individuals who are facing foreclosure or some other financial emergency during the current recession should have penalty-free access to all of their savings. Especially since, without any other alternative, some
families facing hardship will have no choice but to take the penalty. The bill would, for 2009, make all withdrawals from IRAs penalty- and tax-free.
7) Increase by 50% the Tax Deduction on Student Loans and the Tax Deduction on Qualified Higher Education Expenses. Under current law, the tax code provides a tax deduction of $2,500 for interest on student loans and a tax deduction of $4,000 for higher education expenses. This provision would increase the value of both by 50% or to $3,750 and $6,000 respectively, and apply both provisions to a larger number of middle-class families by allowing any individual earning up to $75,000, or any family earning up to $150,000, to claim the full deduction.


Provide Economic Relief for American Businesses and Entrepreneurs
1) Full, Immediate Expensing. The bill would allow all businesses to immediately expense—or fully deduct on their tax returns—the costs of assets (including buildings) they purchase for their business in the year that they buy such assets (“Section 179” expensing). Under current law, businesses can only take limited deductions in pieces, over several years. By uncapping and accelerating the expensing, this provision would encourage the purchase of assets with which to
grow a business.
2) Significant Reduction in the Top Corporate Income Tax Rate. The bill would immediately cut the top corporate income tax rate from 35% to 25%, aligning it with the average rate in the European Union. By allowing businesses to keep more of the money they earn, this provision would encourage the expansion of businesses, the hiring of more workers, and an acceleration of investment, while making American companies more competitive internationally.
3) End the Capital Gains Tax on Inflation. The bill would index for inflation the cost basis used when calculating the capital gains tax on assets acquired before the end of 2009. Under current law, the capital gains tax is based on the difference in the original purchase price of the asset and the sale price of the asset. However, some of this difference, or “gain,” can be attributed to inflation. By effectively reducing the amount of a gain that is taxable, this provision would encourage the
movement of capital in 2009 and spur voluminous economic investment.
4) Simplify the Capital Gains Rate Structure. The bill would allow corporations to benefit from the 15% capital gains rate. Under current law, individuals pay a top capital gains rate of 15%, but corporations are subject to a 35% top rate. By encouraging corporations to sell unwanted assets, this provision would unleash funds and materials with which to create jobs and grow the economy.
5) Make the R and D Tax Credit Permanent. The Research and Development tax credit is currently due to expire at the end of 2009. Originally enacted as party of President Reagan’s Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, it has since been extended on 13 separate occasions without being made permanent. The purpose of this tax provision is to spur research and development in the private sector.
6) Extend the Carryback Period for Net Operating Losses to Seven Years. A business incurs a net operating loss when its tax liability is negative in a given year. Under current law, there is a twoyear carryback period for businesses to receive refunds on previously paid taxes. In other words, a business may receive a refund equal to their negative tax liability up to the amount of taxes paid
over the previous two years. This legislation would extend this period from two years to seven years, which will smooth out changes in business income, and incentivize private sector investment and job creation.

Save Future Generations from a Crushing Debt Burden
1) NO Trillion Dollar Spending Spree. Even before Congress enacts one penny of spending from a “stimulus” bill currently being put together by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid, this year’s deficit is projected to be, by far, the highest peacetime deficit in the history of the country—8.3% of GDP. And this is because federal spending is projected to be 24.9% of GDP (also the highest figure in American history, excepting World War II), even before any new spending is
enacted. This legislation does not contain one penny of new spending, and rejects the idea that massive new government spending will lead to an economic recovery. Borrowing from one part of the economy and redistributing it to others will not grow the economy.
2) A Down-Payment on Spending Restraint. The bill includes a one-percent reduction to FY 2009 discretionary spending, excepting the Defense and Military Construction-Veterans appropriations bills. This is a modest limit on the extent to which spending will otherwise increase compared to FY 2008, and is a first step toward a commitment of spending restraint.

Lack of ideas indeed. I had lived through this silly assessment in New Jersey which goes essentially unchallenged in the press. The sad thing is that too many people believe it and do nothing, read nothing and do not act.

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Liveblogging Obama talk at Democrat retreat

Obama starts with two jokes in questionable taste:
- Thanks for giving me a reason to waste fuel on Air Force One
- Rahm Emmanuel teaches underpriveledged profanity in his spare time

Then he gets serious.

His initial remarks suggest that the stimulus plan is to help the downtrodden.
Has mentioned seriousness but not anything yet about stimulus.

Michelle thinks he is imperfect.

He is now rousing the troops by acting like all Republican ideas are about tax cuts. He isn't mentioning the 600 billion dollars of pure waste.

We aren't supposed to get bogged down. Don't listen to cable chatter. I am sure he doesn't mean MSNBC.

Leadership as the test of our times. Sounds like PAP to me. Liberals all stand up.

We must move swiftly to enact this massive spending bill. He is really spending a lot of political capital on one of the most indefensivable bills of all time.

He has not mentioned one thing that has concrete validity. He is repeating that magnitude means - quickly - if we don't - it will get worse - Democrats are apparently working around the clock. But still no concrete suggestions or any meat.

Scale and scope are right! What the heck does that mean?

Now he is blaming Bush for the National Debt today. Good news, right after this bill the national debt will be at least 5 times what it is right now. Why would he set himself up this way?

Best minds tell us to spend this money. But apparently those minds don't seem to agree.

No earmarks. You don't need them. The entire bill is an earmark.

This is a spending bill. He admitted it. I am sorry. His arrogant attitude has now turned me off. I have now had enough of you Mr President. You have no class and you are the most partisan president and it now clear.

Good luck to you.

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Democrat Stimulus Bill must be rewritten - CALL YOUR SENATOR!

As we have written in the space before, the "stimulus bill" is primarily a collection of Democratic party detritus and paybacks to donors from the Presidential campaign. Since the urgency of this legislation was to stimulate the economy, this bill should be killed in the senate. There are many valid programs in the bill and they should be given the time and daylight the legislation process normally provides. This middle of the night robbery of a 900 BILLION dollars (more than most Presidents spend in an entire term (4 years not 2 weeks) is actually a massive spending bill and should not be fast tracked in its present form. If the Senate believes that a stimulus package is needed, they ought to get to work and actually produce one.

A vote is possible today so you should contact your Senators immediately.

For New Jersey residents(don't hold your breath getting any real fiscal responbibility out of these two), here you go:

Lautenberg, Frank R. - (D - NJ)
324 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3224
Web Form: lautenberg.senate.gov/contact/

Menendez, Robert - (D - NJ)
317 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4744
Web Form: menendez.senate.gov/contact/contact.cfm

For everyone else, follow this link to find your Senator.

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Who's the dope now? Obama and Biden

We just spent 8 years listening to the mainstream media about the stupidity of George W. Bush. There is no doubt that W could really mangle a participle. But the real comparison is whether or not the team surrounding the President have their act together. And while W did an ok job early on, Barack is failing miserably.

. Before he even starts, several key Democrats have scandal problems
- Barney Frank on fannie something
- Chris Dodd on Countrywide
- Charlie Rangel can't pay his taxes
- Pelosi's husband on conflict of interest
- Harry Reid's land deal
- No lobbyists in the admin until there are
And then, we have nominees who are completely unsuited
- Geithner(Treasury) - taxes
- Daschle(HHS) - taxes
- Clinton(State) - Influence
- Panetta(CIAE) - Banking fees
- Steven Chu(Energy) - The sky is falling, run for your lives
- Joe Biden(VP) - taxes are patriotic except for Democrat nominees

And then there is Barack Obama who thinks we should ram the most pork laden non-stimulus bill spending more than the Department of Defense in wartime and no-one seems to be paying attention?

This is like the circus. With no disrespect to the real ones, Ringling or Big Apple. They are even amateurs at that. Is our new President paying attention?

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Stimulus that doesn't stimulate - Part II

In our first post examining the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act we examine each category of spending and commented on whether or not it was worthwhile as well as its impact on stimulating the economy. Last week saw a Congressional Budget Office report (or draft) that drew some of the same conclusions that we did here. From the Washington Post article on the subject:

Less than half the money dedicated to highways, school construction and other infrastructure projects in a massive economic stimulus package unveiled by House Democrats is likely to be spent within the next two years, according to congressional budget analysts, meaning most of the spending would come too late to lift the nation out of recession.

A report by the Congressional Budget Office found that only about $136 billion of the $355 billion that House leaders want to allocate to infrastructure and other so-called discretionary programs would be spent by Oct. 1, 2010. The rest would come in future years, long after the CBO and other economists predict the recession will have ended.

This lays bare what is obvious to everyone but the most partisan Democrat-that the stimulus is a massive spending bill that is using the problems with the economy to justify the biggest government shopping spree in 60 years. And the reason is equally obvious. These politicians know that there will be will not be the normal money spigot they are used to under normal spending evaluation and deliberation in the legislature.

A side story on the CBO report is that the alleged report is no longer available. you can assign any motive you want for it but you can read it here and decide for yourself. Look for a new report soon that will sand over the factual rough edges on this one and make it appear the the spending is more immediate.

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Democrat stimulus package or massive pork bill? You decide-Part 1

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009 is perhaps the most appalling piece of proposed legislation I have ever seen. The stated purpose of the bill is to jumpstart the economy and create jobs. The bill itself claims that there are no earmarks in this bill. That is one of the most comical claims I have seen as this entire bill is an earmark that will be shoved down the throat of taxpayers with little or no debate.

Under the guise of providing help to the economy, the democrats are proposing a spending bill that right up front promises the following:

The package contains targeted efforts in:
• Clean, Efficient, American Energy
• Transforming our Economy with Science and Technology
• Modernizing Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways
• Education for the 21st Century
• Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs
• Lowering Healthcare Costs
• Helping Workers Hurt by the Economy
• Saving Public Sector Jobs and Protect Vital Services

In the first part of this series, let's examine each of these main points and their description to see what is really going on with this bill.

Clean, Efficient, American Energy: To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will strengthen efforts directed at doubling renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.
• $32 billion to transform the nation’s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.
• $16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.
• $6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes.

Half of this is alleged investment in infrastructure. For any investment in infrastructure to be considered able to produce a "stimulus" effect, it must be able to add money or jobs to the economy immediately. The transformation of the energy grid fails miserably under those terms. Anyone who has ever tried to even consider upgrading the pathetic energy infrastructure in New York knows that the minute you mention it, you are setting yourself up for years of lawsuits from environmental, neighborhood and civil rights groups. Even if this money is to go to giant windmills (no-where near the Kennedy estate please), it would take years for that money to make it into the economy.

The rest of this section is money that will go down the money pit of HUD. Because you see, the only place to distribute this money is via Housing and Urban Development, long a wasting place of billions of your tax dollars. I do not know of a single "public housing" project that I would consider truly successful mainly due to the fact that those who live in them do not consider themselves responsible for the care and upkeep of their own homes. This is welfare pure and simple. And expensive welfare at that.

Transform our Economy with Science and Technology: We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great discovery, creating jobs in cutting-edge-technologies, and making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.
•$10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation.
•$6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy.

Ten billion dollars on research. For what? And how will this impact the economy any time soon? Science is by its very nature long term. This will have zero impact and is likely just liberal code for publicly funded stem cell research. The other 6 million for broadband is a joke. I don't know where these politicians are living but the public sector has expanded broadband just fine on its own. This is just a waste of 6 billion dollars and even though one more cow in Nebraska may be able to watch YouTube, I fail to see the stimulative impact.

Modernize Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways: To build a 21st century economy, we must engage contractors across the nation to create jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads, and bridges, modernize public buildings, and put people to work cleaning our air, water and land.
•$30 billion for highway construction;
•$31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure with investments that lead to long term energy cost savings;
•$19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments;
•$10 billion for transit and rail to reduce traffic congestion and gas consumption.

At least this part of the bill has been debated somewhat in light of day. The biggest issue here is that construction projects take too long to get going to help the economy. While the claim of "shovel ready" projects may have an impact, no one seems to ask why these "shovel ready" projects were not funded and build before under previous transportation bills. It is likely because in the list of state priorities, they were way down. I recently had a three year construction project near my house that netted an extra lane entering the turnpike (despite no traffic jams prior to the construction), a jub handle which now causes traffic jams and a drainage pond that wouldn't have been necessary had the skipped the project altogether. Oh, and it cost me about $2,000 in suspension work to my vehicle due to the ongoing mess and poor road conditions. Can you say "construction union payback"?

Education for the 21st Century: To enable more children to learn in 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our kids compete with any worker in the world, this package provides:
•$41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).
•$79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.
•$15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500.
•$6 billion for higher education modernization.

Over 140 billion dollars to education. And not one new idea to transform our inner city public schools so that poor kids can learn to work instead of learning to become criminals. Need proof? Front page of the Trentonian this morning had the headline "City School Riot". This money is payback to the teacher's unions who excel at spending public money while resisting any accountability. We don't need
21st century classrooms. We need teachers who can teach, students and parents who want to learn and a commitment from the community that anyone who wants to get in the way of that should be removed from the equation.

Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs: We will provide direct tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, and spur investment and job growth for American Businesses. [marked up by the Ways and Means Committee]

The first mention of a direct impact item on the economy. And guess what? No money mentioned. No mention of the fact that this tax cut will be coupled with a tax increase for those making more than 250,000 (IE the small businesses that will be doing the alleged hiring). This will do nothing to help the economy and will also do nothing to help business as it is just cleverly worded drivel. And while we are at it, we have mentioned before that given that 48% of workers pay no tax and this plan is to provide tax relief for 95% of workers, this is pure and simply a welfare check for half of the recipients.

Lower Healthcare Costs: To save not only jobs, but money and lives, we will update and computerize our healthcare system to cut red tape, prevent medical mistakes, and help reduce healthcare costs by billions of dollars each year.
•$20 billion for health information technology to prevent medical mistakes, provide better care to patients and introduce cost-saving efficiencies.
•$4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments.

Does anyone believe that any government plan will decrease the red tape that is crippling the nation's healthcare system and driving doctors to other jobs? Computerization will not reduce medical mistakes and will not save lives. It may make the system more efficient but how about some other ideas. For example, how about spending money on tort reform so that billions of dollars in cost can be wrung out of the healthcare system from frivolous lawsuits? Has anyone considered standard testing methodologies so that doctors do not feel that they have to prescribe tests that purely serve to protect themselves in case of a lawsuit? In any case, this is all long term investment and will have zero impact on the economy.

Help Workers Hurt by the Economy: High unemployment and rising costs have outpaced Americans’ paychecks. We will help workers train and find jobs, and help struggling families make ends meet.
•$43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training.
•$39 billion to support those who lose their jobs by helping them to pay the cost of keeping their employer provided healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.
•$20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.

Help for out of work employees is not a bad thing. 102 billion dollars seems a bit out of line with the actual unemployment figures I have seen. But wait. 20 billion of this has nothing to do with people out of work. It is an increase to food stamps. 39 billion to Cobra? One of the main reasons businesses are letting people go right now is the rising employee social costs. A big part of that is healthcare. The Cobra system is an exceptionally inefficient way to provide healthcare as it costs the employer the ability to scale back their overall healthcare plan while costing the government far more than it should pay than if it created its own group insurance. Someone should get creative here. But no matter, these outlays are in no way going to stimulate anything. They are a necessary thing to do but won't help the economy.

Save Public Sector Jobs and Protect Vital Services: We will provide relief to states, so they can continue to employ teachers, firefighters and police officers and provide vital services without having to unnecessarily raise middle class taxes.
•$87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching rate.
•$4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.

Save public sector job. That's a winner. Does anyone not get the fact that the people who are losing their jobs right now are the people who pay the bills? And while this plan does nothing for them, it borrows from our children to ensure public sector employees keep their jobs. In New Jersey, private sector employment has been falling for several years while public sector job growth has continued unabated. Enough is enough. And much the same as the other categories, this will have zero impact on the economy.

This is frankly unbelievable. 800 billion dollars and virtually no spending aimed at fixing the economy. This bill is one big spend fest that will do nothing to turn our economy around. It's sad that no one seems to care.

Read this horrific proposed bill in its entirety here.

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Illinois corruption coverage still mentions New Jersey

This week as the story of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich looking to sell Barack Obama's senate seat to the highest bidder broke, I expected to see plenty of coverage of the history of political corruption in Chicago. I have always thought that the Chicago political machine represented the worst political corruption of all the 50 states (or 57 if you are Barack Obama). But I was wrong.

Apparently, New Jersey is considered one of the elite for political corruption(from the AP):

If it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor," Chicago FBI chief Robert D. Grant said when the charges were announced against Blagojevich.

The top competitors seem to be New Jersey and Louisiana. More than 130 public officials in New Jersey have been found guilty of federal corruption in the past seven years. And Louisiana more than holds its own. A congressman once described the state this way: "Half of Louisiana is under water, and the other half is under indictment."

And this article is not the only one that mentions New Jersey while discussing this scandal. It seems like our state has a lot in common with a series of corruption scandals are the country:

1. While the scandals cut across both parties, they Democrats are the current hands on winners for sheer numbers. In New Jersey, almost all of the 130 corruption convictions the past few years were Democrats.

2. The stupidity associated with this current crop of corrupt politicians is amazing. Selling a senate seat while under investigation for corruption with Tony Rezco(Blagojevich), Cash in the freezer (Jefferson)and tax fraud in at least two states and one foreign country followed by pay to play with donations(Rangel).

3. When the politician in trouble is a Republica, you can count on the media to mention the word Republican over and over again. When a Democrat gets caught, party is rarely if ever mentioned.

4. The media outrage is comical if not pathetic as it concerns the two parties. It wasn't that long ago that the media was in a frenzy over Foley's instant messages (he was never charged with any crime), Tom Delay's airplane rides and Larry Craig's foot tapping. But they can't seem to whip up any interest in William Jefferson's freezer bags of cash, Chris Dodd's sweetheart deal on his mortgage while ignoring his oversight responsibility for the mortgage mess, an army of Democrats running Fannie/Freddie into the ground.

Some day, it will be great when the people have the last word. I know it will happen at the Federal level because it always does. I have a lot less confidence that New Jersey voters will ever wake up and realize the corruption that they accept every day in this state is neither normal nor acceptable in a civilized society.

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Bush fails yet again and may revive auto bailout!

Last night it was reported that talks about the auto bailout in the Senate broke down because the Unite Autoworkers Union refused to make a serious concession toward solving the real problem in Detroit-automaker profitability(from the Washington Post):

The legislation would have provided emergency loans to General Motors and Chrysler, which have said they face imminent collapse without federal help. The high-stakes talks broke down over when the wages of union workers would be slashed to the same level as those paid to nonunion workers at U.S. plants of foreign automakers such as Toyota and Honda.

Sen. Bob Corker (Tenn.), the lead GOP negotiator, said the sides were on the brink of a deal on the amendment he had offered. Representatives from the United Auto Workers -- who were present for most of the negotiations -- would not agree to a specific date, Corker said.

"We offered any day -- any day -- in 2009," Corker said.

The UAW IS THE PROBLEM. While lawmakers keep spewing about hybrid cars and quality, our Detroit automakers are building good cars that people want to buy. The problem is that they lose money on every car, roughly $1,500 on each and every car. No business can operate that way and they won't make it up on volume. And it is frankly about time the Republicans stood up to this continued bailout frenzy by this congress and President.

And now Bush wants to bail them out anyway. Is there anyone left in this country that has any confidence in George Bush anymore? If so, I don't know them.

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Voters do what Pelosi wouldn't. Fire Jefferson.

Anh "Joseph" Chao beat Louisiana's William Jefferson yesterday to finally remove this corrupt Democrat from office(from the Times Picayune):

Indicted U.S. Rep. William Jefferson suffered what may be the final blow of his storied political career in the most improbable way Saturday, when an untested Republican opponent took advantage of Louisiana's new federal voting rules -- and an election delay caused by Hurricane Gustav -- to unseat the nine-term Democrat.

Jefferson was caught with bundles of cash in his freezer. He was known to be corrupt and has been under investigation for some time. He has also been under indictment for some time as well. And Nancy Pelosi, who claimed that she was going to run the most ethical congress in history, looked the other way. Just like she is looking the other way on Charlie Rangel's tax evasion.

Leadership according to the Democratic party is that anything goes as long as it keeps Pelosi in power. At least this time, the voters had a different opinion.

Read the entire article here.

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Missing Person Report

Anybody got a milk carton handy?

We’ve been looking for Jon Corzine, deficit hawk.

http://www.inthelobby.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=916

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Hey...Where's my bailout?

As I watch the steady progression of business people march on Washington to apply for their bailout, I am starting to really question my own sanity. For example, we have had:

1. Investment banks
2. Insurance companies
3. Mortgage banks
4. Auto companies
5. States

And they have all lined up at the trough to get money from....you and me.

Well, I work plenty of hours a week. I am a platinum traveller in my job. I pay my bills including my mortgage and didn't take a loan I couldn't afford. My financial wellbeing has been damaged by:

1. Politicians in congress like Barney Frank and Chris Dodd who wanted people who could not afford houses to get loans they couldn't afford.
2. Barney Frank having a "personal" relationship with an executive that completely screwed the taxpayer....(I will reisist the rest)
3. A market that has now collapsed and sent my 401k through the floor

Where is my bailout? Better be careful congress. It is almost time for pitchforks and fire.

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Charlie Rangel has done it again. Taxes for you but not for him!

The New York Post has once again caught Charlie Rangel playing tax games on residences. You may recall the scandal before the election about Rangel's vacation residence in the Dominican Republic that he didn't bother to declared on his tax return. Or his use of two rent stabilized apartments for himself and his campaign offices. And now this:

Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel took a "homestead" tax break on a Washington, DC, house for years while simultaneously occupying multiple rent-stabilized apartments in New York City, possibly violating laws and regulations in both cases.

You may ask, what is wrong with that?

The situation raises a number of potential problems for the congressman, including:

* New York City law requires that tenants use rent-stabilized apartments as their primary residence.

* DC's real Property Homestead Deduction Act also requires that a property receiving the benefit be a primary residence.

* Tax lawyers told The Post that a property owner cannot have two primary residences - or take advantages provided to primary residences at two different addresses simultaneously.

* DC's law also requires that the owner of a property benefiting from the tax break be a personal-income taxpayer in DC. District law exempts members of Congress from paying personal DC income tax, but they must pay property tax.

The real issue is so much deeper than this newly reported story. This mean is Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. This committee is responsible for setting tax policy. And this is the third time in three months that Charlie Rangel has had serious allegations brought up accusing him of at least an ethical violation and at worst a crime. If it were you or I, we would be in handcuffs.

And worse than this, Nancy Pelosi has not seen fit to even reprimand Rangel. It is frankly the kind of corruption the Democrats have perpetuated for some time with a public too dense to hold them to account. Rangel has crossed the line and is actively subverting exactly the tax policy he wants applied to you. He is a criminal.

Read the entire Post story here.

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Chris Christie has resigned. Democrats breath a sigh of relief.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Two down, one to go? New Jersey U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie has announced his resignation, effective Dec. 1, after nearly seven years at the office.

It's a sad day when the state of New Jersey loses the only adult fighting corruption on behalf of taxpayers. Christie has successfully prosecuted 130 public corruption cases without an acquittal. He will be missed as I guarantee you he will be replaced by a lightweight who will make the NJ Attorney General look like...well...another lightweight attorney. Sad but true.

Here is hoping that Christie will run for Governor.

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