Off for Boston

Well, one of my high school seniors has orientation tomorrow. How expensive is that statement (I have two)? So... off to Boston I go... I'll be back on Saturday and hope you guys keep the Trenton people on their toes.

Forrester Has to Hammer Away

In a quote from a Star Ledger article today about new Norcross tapes:

"In measured tones that hardly muffle his message, South Jersey Democratic political boss George Norcross can be heard belittling his opponents as brain-damaged "kooks," flashing his connections to incoming Gov. James E. McGreevey and U.S. Sen. Jon Corzine and informing state investigators that they are being duped in a "Machiavellian" political plot." Link

Doug Forrester must hammer away at these tapes. He has to use them in his advertisments day after day after day. Corzine can try to paint Forrester as Bush, but it won't fly. What will fly is playing the following Norcross quote "By the way, Jon Corzine is a very good friend of mine. We had a political battle. It's over."

What more does he need.

NJ Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) Info

I did a little poking around about the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) system and found their fiscal year 2004 annual report online. Link

There are a quite a few pension related programs managed by the State:

PERS Public Employees' Retirement System
TPAF Teachers' Pension and Annuity Fund
PFRS Police and Firemen's Retirement System
SPRS State Police Retirement System
JRS Judicial Retirement System
ABP Alternate Benefit Program
POPF Prison Officers' Pension Fund
CPFPF Consolidated Police and Firemen's Pension Fund
NJSEDCP NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan
SACT Supplemental Annuity Collective Trust
ACTS Additional Contributions Tax-Sheltered Program
CPF Central Pension Fund
PAF Pension Adjustment Fund
UCTDSE Unemployment Compensation and Temporary Disability for State Employees
SHBP State Health Benefits Program
PDP Prescription Drug Plan
SEDP State Employee Dental Program
Tax$ave Premium Option Plan, Unreimbursed Medical Expense Plan Flexible
Account Plan, and Dependent Care Spending Account Plan
Commuter Tax$ave State Employees Commuter Tax Savings Program
LTC State Employees Long Term Care Insurance Plan

Some fun facts:

As of June 30, 2004, the active membership of the System totaled 314,673 This includes 94,066 State employees and 220,607 employees from 1,660 participating local employers. Total inactive membership as of June 30, 2004 was 49,203.

• There were 118,114 retirees and beneficiaries receiving annual pensions totaling $1,506,081,057. (This includes cost-of-living increases paid under the provisions of the Pension Adjustment Act).

• Beneficiaries of 705 active and 4,141 retired members received lump sum death benefits in the amount of $97,104,220.

• The System’s assets totaled $23,191,446,226 at the close of the fiscal year 2004.



NJ Pension Fund Shortfall

I was reading a letter to the editor of Business Week yesterday and a pension fund external auditor for the City of Detroit estimated that the City's plan was under funded by $188,000 per elgible person. I wonder if we can find how many elgible people are in New Jersey's plan and even use a lowball estimate to see what the real underfunded amount is?

Anonymous Weighs in on Kelo v. City of New London

Anonymous has his own take on my Kelo v. City of New London post. According to Anonymous:

"...you should be aware that your comments regarding taking away property rights are off a bit. NJ operates under the "Redevelopment and Housing Law," which lays out stricter standards for a taking than in most other states. While a local government can, and has, used eminent domain, a property owner has certain rights and options guaranteed by that law"

Anonymous misses the point. The point of the Kelo v. City of New London decision was to allow for the taking of land for private not public benefit. Just like the law he cites. Just because a law exists doesn't make it right. The Redevelopment and Housing Law ,in the words of Anne S. Babineau, Esq. (a partner in the firm of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. specializing in Land Use), writing for NewJerseyLaw.com

"The new Local Redevelopment and Housing Law streamlines the process of redevelopment by eliminating many overlapping and sometimes conflicting statutes, and replacing them with one coordinated source of legislative authority which expands municipal powers to act to improve areas in need of redevelopment. Resolving some of the problems inherent in the many statutes that it repealed, the new law is designed to allow the legal mechanisms for local redevelopment to be more efficiently employed in municipalities throughout New Jersey."

Additionally she states:

"The new, easier-to-use statute may also attract others, in urban and nonurban areas, to consider redevelopment as a new means to promote social and economic development in their municipalities."

Notice the words she chooses to use: "...expands municipal powers to act..." and "...allow the legal mechanisms for local redevelopment to be more efficiently employed..." and "...easier-to-use statute..." and "...promote social and economic development in their municipalities" These phrases clearly show that the legal profession views this law as a new and stronger weapon in the hands of municipal government to increase property tax revenues at the expense of some land owners.

Traditionally, "public use" was accepted to mean public roads or a public school or municipal building maybe even public housing (Notice the word "public"). In recent years with the advent of runaway and confiscatory government the term has evolved to mean redevelopment of "under-utilized" property. Or in other words, property that the town believes that if given to a different private entity it would generate higher tax revenues for the town. The new Redevelopment and Housing Law even goes so far as to eliminate the requirement that there be a quasi-public redevelopment corporation as were once required for redevelopment projects. The new law allows the property to be transferred directly to a developer generating immense long-term profits for the developer, hopefully, larger tax revenues for the town, but not one single public asset. The risk of corruption, fraud and abuse in this scenario is obvious.

Sandra Day O'Connor, in her dissent in Kelo v. City of New London said: "The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms."

Was Sandra Day O'Connor right? Let's just ask the poor people in Lodi's Brown's and Costa Trailer Court. Why does Lodi want to take their homes? "The trailer park is a poster child for redevelopment," Mayor Gary Paparozzi said. "The land is underutilized ... Aside from being a low ratable, it is an eyesore." Link

Look at today's Ledger article on the subject. According to the article "By the same token, planners all over the state sighed with relief at the decision. Many New Jersey towns -- at least 55 since 2003 -- are counting on their condemnation power.
Without it, they say, they would never be able to accommodate the grand designs they have hatched with developers."

Maybe Anonymous' house is a bad ratable. We can fix that problem too.

What Waste and Fraud?

The good folks over at Enlighten-NewJersey have an excellent post on the State Assembly trying to cut $400 million from next years budget in order to fund the Homestead Rebate program. The best quote was from Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Louis Greenwald: "I find it laughable that out of a $27.4 billion budget we can't find half a billion dollars in greater efficiencies and cuts,..."

Let's see... Democratic candidate for Governor Jon Corzine is going to pay for his health initiative by rooting out waste and fraud. The State Assembly can't find any waste and fraud to cut to close the $400 million deficit. Why doesn't Corzine go to Trenton and show his band of brothers where to make the cuts? It can't be that hard. Corzine's health care plan is going to cost billions and he tells us he can pay for it by cutting waste this should be a no-brainer.

Me thinks that someone here is being disingenuous.

Forget the Patriot Act, Private Property Rights Taken Away

The US Supreme Court today effectively ruled that local government can force anyone from their property in order to give it to a private developer. As a result of this ruling, cities now have wide power to raze entire neighborhoods for any project that generates better tax revenue.

Sandra Day O'Connor authored a blistering dissent saying "...cities should not have unlimited authority to uproot families, even if they are provided compensation, simply to accommodate wealthy developers." and "Any property may now be taken for the benefit of another private party, but the fallout from this decision will not be random,.... The beneficiaries are likely to be those citizens with disproportionate influence and power in the political process, including large corporations and development firms." Supporting her was Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, as well as Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.

Capitalist America will soon be on the ash heap of history. The communists in this country have won through the courts what the Soviets could not win with weapons.

Rest in peace America. Hello Amerika.

The Ledger Deserves Credit on the SCC Issue

The Star Ledger really deserves credit for it's reporting on the School Construction Corporation (SCC). The Ledgers in-depth reporting into the amount of money spent on SCC school construction vs. non-SCC school construction put significant heat on a wasteful organization and forced members of the state Legislature to start demanding answers of the SCC.

In today's paper the, Ledger has an article detailing how the SCC is going to reuse school designs. According to the article this shift in policy will save about 50% on the design phase of a new school. It's about time!

I hope the Ledger continues to keep the pressure on this issue. The reporting on this issue was top notch. Without their effort the SCC would have continued to fly below the radar spending taxpayer money with no accountability.

An outrage two weeks in a row!

There was an auction yesterday at Christies in New York. According to the Ledger there was a lot that contained "...11 yellowed artifacts, including a thick book that contains the first constitution of the colony of East Jersey and details its settlement from 1682 to 1684. There also are five rare maps, including the first printed map of New Jersey from 1677, and a 1683 map of the planned layout of "Amboy Point," which would become Perth Amboy, the capital of East Jersey. It is described as the first map of an American town."

How excited do you think Jay T. Snider, owner of the documents was? There at the auction was the State of New Jersey! Why, just last week State Treasurer John McCormac had told the Ledger "It looks like we are going to do everything we can to buy them," Link . Well they did.
$656,760 went from poor old New Jersey to Jay T. Snider.

Couldn't Codey and McCormac try to get private donations for these documents? This is not the time to be spending taxpayer money.

Don't Look at the Man Behind the Curtain

Here we go again. A Senate panel is looking to fund the Homestead rebate program with $400 million. Where is it coming from? They're going to add service items to the existing sales tax. Link

Assemblyman Louis Greenwald, head of the Budget Committee, said "To me, the property tax relief must be addressed first and foremost and then we can start to focus on some of these other issues,"

I guess "these other issues..." he refers to might be a spiraling out of control sales tax. When are we going to stop playing these foolish games and get real spending cuts in this state?

Is The Aquarium Deal Really Good

Back in early June I pointed out the new deal for the Aquarium in Camden aquarium-bait-and-switch. To refresh memories. This is the deal where a private company, Steiner & Associates, was given the rights to a $135 million development project on 33 acres along the Camden waterfront. In return Steiner has to run the Aquarium and generate roughly 600,000 visits per year and pay the State $1 million a year in rent for the Aquarium.

According to the original article, State Treasurer John McCormac said that New Jersey residents are no longer on the hook for the Aquarium. But let's look at this a little closer. The Delaware River Port Authority gave Steiner a $3 million grant and loaned them $15 million and Steiner got another $23 million in grants and loans from the state.

The only person telling the truth here is Dave Wechsler VP of Steiner "Ultimately, the public pays in some shape or form," he added. "That money came from taxes." Link

It Couldn't Happen to Two Nicer Guys

Dennis Kozlowski ex-CEO of Tyco and his counterpart in crime Mark Swartz ex-CFO have been found guilty of grand larceny, falsifying business records and securities fraud. These two men hurt their shareholders and contributed to creating the strong level of distrust between investors and management. They could get sentenced to 30 years.

I hope the judge throws the book at them!

Pension Fund Saved!

Listen to this! Managers of the State's Pension Fund have found a way to save us from the $30 billion shortfall in the fund. "Managers of New Jersey's $70 billion in pension funds yesterday voted to invest $325 million of the holdings in three privately managed investment funds, marking the first time in 50 years that private managers have had control over money in the pension accounts." Link

Now, I could have sworn when I wrote about this on May 19th in a post titled "Pension Fund Blues " State Treasurer John McCormac was quoted as saying it was a $25 billion shortfall (or was that school construction, I get confused with big numbers).

Well, neither her nor there. After all, what's a few billion dollars amongst friends? What should be of overriding concern is that McCormac and Orin Kramer the Chairman of the Investment Council want to put a total of $1.75 Billion in private investment manager's hands because the two believe "...the pension fund needs to expand beyond its current portfolio of stocks and bonds to generate higher returns and dampen the risk of dramatic losses during stock market declines."

They're going to give control of $1.75 billion to people that run hedge funds and real estate trusts. Just thinking about the secure investments that are derivatives, collateralized debt obligations and reit's will help me sleep at night. How about you?

Outrages of the Week

Chip Stapleton $1 Million No Show Job UMDNJ

"But school officials cannot supply a single memo, letter or report showing any work from Stapleton during the 10 years they paid him."

School Construction Corp Blows $6 Billion

"Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington), an author of the legislation that set up the school construction program, estimated it will cost another $18billion to $25billion to build the scores of new schools still needed to meet the court mandate."

Do We Really Have $375,000 to Buy Antiques.

"All officials have to do now is find the $375,000 needed to get in on the bidding for the documents, which historians say give a rare glimpse into life in early colonial New Jersey.
"It looks like we are going to do everything we can to buy them," McCormac said yesterday."

The Bear Hunt

Roseann Francavilla from Fredon almost sacrificed a child this week on the Alter of Anti-Hunt Bear crowd and the Alter of James McGreevy's re-election. She was unloading groceries from her car while her 3 year old son was outside, but nearby. A 200-pound bear trapped the child inside their car. The car door was open. Roseann had to charge at the bear (with her infant in her arms) in order to rescue her son. The bear then followed her as she backed into the house.

Tom Moran from the Ledger has an excellent article on this as well as his interview with Bradley Campbell. Link

I've written about the bear situation twice under "Lions and tigers and bears... Oh my!" and "Lions and Tigers and Bears... Revisited "

If anyone cares to recall, there was a real dust up during the bear hunt of 2003. Anti-Hunt activists were walking the woods. Some even made up stories of little cub bears being shot right in front of their eyes. The following year, Fish and Game authorized another hunt, knowing that it was the prudent action to take based on the size of the bear population. Bradley Campbell overrode Fish and Game on what appears to me to have been purely political motives, pandering to the anti-hunt activists so McGreevy might pull up his sagging numbers. He even went as far as to fight Fish and Games' decision in court.

Now Campbell is saying "We need to reduce the population, and that's likely to include a hunt," Campbell says. "All indications are there will be a hunt this fall, and it probably will be an annual feature thereafter."

That's good for Roseann Francavilla, but it was almost too late.

Has Corzine Been Watching Out For Us?

According to TaxFoundation.org New Jersey only gets 57 Cents of the tax dollars sent in to the Federal governmant back. That ranks a lowly 50th among the states. Believe it or not New Mexico gets a whopping $1.99 federal tax dollars for every dollar it's residents send in.

What exactly our our representitives doing? More specifically, what did Jon Corzine ever do in the Senate to warrent a run for the Governorship. Did he author legislation that brings in more tax dollars? Can we find a rider to a bill that he authored that brought money back to the New Jersey? Sadly, I can't find it.

I can find Chemical Security Act, Healthy start Acts, Sarbanes-Oxely help, Resident Work Hours. Oh, and he is the lead Senate sponser of the massive land grab called the Highlands Conservation Act. To be fair, he did get initial funding for a study of a new Hudson River Tunnel.

All in all, I can find little that Corzine did to bring money back to NJ.

The Ledger Picks Up Two NJConservative Themes

The Star Ledger's Editorial section today picked up two themes that I've recently written about. The Ledger editorializes about the State's Transportation Fund which I wrote about Here and Here.

It also writes about the MVC's new rules for Used Car Dealers which I wrote about Here.

The SCC Boondogle

The State Assembly held hearings yesterday on the mismanagement and outright incompetence of the School Construction Corporation (SCC). The SCC was created in 1998 to act as the overseer of the State's school construction program that was mandated by the State Supreme Court. Funded with $6 Billion of your dollars the SCC jumped right into spending it with little or no controls or accountability.

Let's take a look at where we stand after 5 years of ongoing construction. According to Jack Spencer, head of the SCC only $1.66 Bbillion remains of the original $6 Billion tax dollars. By time the SCC has spent the remaining $1.66 Billion it will have completed around one third of the required projects. So according to the head of the SCC it will cost the taxpayers at least another $12 to $18 billion to fund this program. The Ledger today reports that Assemblyman Joe Malone, one of the originators of the SCC bill, "...estimated it will cost another $18billion to $25billion to build the scores of new schools still needed to meet the court mandate." According to Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper in her report on the SCC was full of "waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayers dollars."

This is such an outragous story that someone or many someones should be tarred and feathered. $6 Billion in taxpayer money thrown away, and nary a peep from the public. Where is the outrage!

DOT and the Coming Gas Tax Increase

The Department of Transportation is moving ahead with construction projects that are going to take multiple years to complete even though it knows that by next year the Transportation Fund will be depleted. These projects include widening Route 18 in New Brunswick, fixing the Stickel Bridge making changes to the ramps connecting Route 280 to the Parkway.

In a Star Ledger article Transportation department spokesman Marc La Vorgna said "We're moving forward with confidence that the Legislature is going to come up with a solution"

I bet they are. There is Zero chance that one way or the other the State will not raise the Gas Tax rather than cut spending someplace else.

Forrester and Corzine: The Battle is Joined!

It's really starting to look like the battle for Governor will be fought over property taxes. Today in the Ledger Corzine puts Forrester's tax plan squarely on firing line The Ledger highlights the beginning of the argument between the two.

Although, predictably, the ledger leads with a pro Corzine headline and gives Corzine the entire first part of the article. The Ledger does let Doug get in his shots. Forrester's quote "Corzine is offering another warmed-over, McGreevey-Florio rebate gimmick. The only thing it guarantees is higher taxes," Forrester said. "Jon Corzine is part of the same group of people who gave us these problems. He cannot change New Jersey. I can." is strong and he needs to stay on this message. Additionally, while replying back to Rep. Rob Andrews from Camden county, Forrester managed another strong shot at Corzine and his campaign by noting that Andrews "...appearance as Corzine's surrogate is further evidence of Corzine's connection to Camden Democratic powerbroker George Norcross, with whom Andrews has a close relationship, as well as the previous Democratic administrations of Govs. James E. McGreevey and Jim Florio."

Forrester must stay true to both these messages if he's going to have any chance.

The Cracks are Starting to Show

Governor Codey is mulling over whether to sell or lease the Turnpike and/or Parkway in order to fund the shortfall in the State's Transportation Fund and to avoid raising the gasoline tax. Link The most telling part of the article, however, tells us "By next June, the Transportation Trust Fund will run out of money for new projects, with all its money going to pay off its escalating debt."

Now I don't know about you, but this sure looks like bankruptcy to me. If your wild, idiotic brother in law did this with his house you couldn't stop the tsk, tsks amongst the family. Can't you hear old Aunt Mable "You know he was never that bright...." The worst part of this situation is that in the same paper on the same day there is a short blurb about Codey asking the Assembly to fund his Stem Cell Research and State Park program to the tune of $250 million.

Selling assests is just a precursor to the explosion that is coming. It could be bond debt, public pensions or any of a hundred items, but this State is running headlong into bankruptcy.

Voting and Losing Again and Again and.....

Well, I voted yesterday. Not one candidate that I voted for won. Sometimes I wonder why I keep voting in a pattern that pretty much guarantees that my choice won't win. I always vote for the candidates that are the most fiscally conservative and smallest government proponents regardless of the office they are seeking. I always lose. Sometimes it seems like I'm a lone voter, a lost voice in a sea of people clamoring for more handouts from the Government.

Stillborn!

New Jersey's Senate Democrats are going to let the Tax Convention Die according to an article in today’s Star Ledger. In it's place the Democrats want to hold a special legislative session.

I never thought much about the convention as any action on spending was not to be discussed. Actually, all the Legislature needs to do is cap spending growth at inflation levels and require that all projects requiring bonds are approved through referendum. It doesn't seem so hard to me.

Another Abbott Decision

According to the folks over at Powerline The Kansas State Supreme Court, like New Jersey, has decided to override the democratic process and dictate educational spending. "The decision will force a special legislative session and a possible tax increase. The Kansas Constitution apparently says the legislature shall "make suitable provision for finance" of schools. The court used that general provision to take it upon themselves to decide that the legislature's funding was short of what the Constitution required and the increase needed to be ... drum roll .... $285 million."

It's happening all over. It's clear that the will of the people no longer matters.

Primary Tomorrow

After a long a boring primary season tomorrow is the day. The Republicans look like they are going to put Forrestor on the ballot. The Ledger reported that the final debate between the candidates was a circus. As if anyone stayed in on a beautiful Sunday to watch it.

Make sure to get out and vote!

The Aquarium: Bait and Switch

According to State Treasurer John McCormac New Jersey taxpayers are no longer on the hook for the aquarium in Camden. The State has gone and hired a private firm to run the aquarium and the private company, Steiner & Associates has paid the state 1 million dollars for the privilege. According to the Express-Times " Under a lease agreement with the state, Steiner & Associates -- the Ohio-based, for-profit management firm contracted to run the facility -- will pay the state $1 million annually and guarantee at least 600,000 visitors annually in subsequent years "

This sounded way too good to be true and the catch my friends, came blasting out at me on the second page of the article.

"Along with the aquarium project, Steiner will redevelop a neighboring 30-acre site on the Camden Waterfront, both part of a $175 million Camden revitalization package enacted in 2002 by Gov. James E. McGreevey. The McGreevey administration called the initiative key to reversing the economic woes of Camden, the nation's second-poorest city."

So, let's get this straight. The taxpayer is off the hook, but Steiner gets 175 million contract. Amazing!

Big Box Retail in the Crosshairs

I was reading my local paper yesterday and an article ( Clinton Township may ban "big-box' stores on Route 22 ) caught my eye and made me think.

There seems to be a growing fad amongst towns and cities to ban "Big Box" retail like stores like Home Depot and Walmart. I don't get it. It burdens local taxpayers at least twice directly and indirectly many more times. First it deprives the local government of the significant ratable to keep property taxes down. Secondly, it taxes local taxpayers by making them pay higher prices for common goods.

People clearly want Big Box retail. If they didn't the stores wouldn't be as popular and crowded as they are. The argument posited by opponents of these types of stores is that they lead to congestion, destroy local business districts and change the character of the town in which they locate.

But, do the opponent’s arguments really hold water?

Does Big Box lead to congestion? It can, but doesn't have to. The best local example of this is Route 22 in Greenwhich Township where three Big Box malls went up in a few years. The traffic situation in the area was congested, dangerous and pointed to by critics of the development to be the main reason to oppose development. However, the township working closely with DOT, actually made the traffic flow in the area better than it was before.

Does Big Box lead to the destruction of local business districts? Again, it can, but doesn't have to. Downtown Clinton seems to thrive with a Walmart right next door. The businesses there don't compete with Walmart directly. They sell items that Walmart doesn't carry. Being in business requires flexibility. If a business can't sell to customers because of price or whatever it is up to the ownership to change strategy or go under. The citizens of a town shouldn't be required to pay a higher price locally because of government protection.

Does Big Box change the character of the town in which they locate? I think they do. It might, however, be good for the town. Big Box brings more jobs for teens and low skill workers than small stores. A local hardware store may have 10 employees as opposed to the hundreds of a Home Depot. Having these big anchor stores brings in other business too. Restaurants, gas stations other smaller retail businesses. An economic vitality grows in towns that allow these businesses to set up shop.

I suspect that the opponents to Big Box stores have the same approach to them as others have to prisons. We have to have them just not in my town.

Why the Fair Housing Act

Clinton Township in Hunterdon County is the current poster town for the ills brought on by the enforcement of the State Supreme Court's 1975 Mt. Laurel decision.

First a little history. The State Supreme Court's 1975 Mt. Laurel decision held that "New Jersey’s municipalities have a constitutional obligation to provide for the “regional general welfare” – including the regional need for housing. The court held that every developing municipality must affirmatively provide its “fair share” of the region’s affordable housing needs." Link . Of course, instead of ignoring the court's egregious decision to insert court ordered changes into the real estate market, the State Legislature went immediately to work compounding a bad decision with bad legislation and in 1985 created the Fair Housing Act of 1985. A provision of the act created the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)which has dramatically altered the real estate landscape of New Jersey.

Supporters of the Fair Housing Act, and COAH specifically, argued that people that worked in many communities couldn't afford to live in the areas that they worked and that the towns had an obligation to provide them affordable housing. In order to force towns into creating affordable housing, a relative term if I ever heard one, The Fair Housing Act had another provision called "the Builders-Remedy". Under the Builders-Remedy of the Fair Housing Act, a builder can file a Civil lawsuit against any town that has not filed a plan for affordable housing with COAH or a town that has not built the affordable housing required. The net affects of these suits is that a builder will find land in a town where there is a COAH issue and propose a development of hundreds or thousands of units of which a very small percentage (usually under 5%) will be "affordable".

Clinton Township in Hunterdon County is and has been facing the prospect of having 911 homes built because of a Builders-Remedy lawsuit brought by Pulte Homes after the planning Board denied their application to build 911 homes on 292 acres in the township. Although local residents have fought against the development by getting the planning designation of the area changed and making sure that a creek that runs through the property was designated as a class 1 stream and the town has spent large amounts of money on professionals, the town council recently voted to accept a compromise with the builder allowing approximately 350 age restricted units and 90 low income units to be built.

Why? Everyone had fought this development. No one seemed to think it was a good idea. Because, even had the township won in court or had the builder not been able to DEP approvals for sewer the town would have to build the low-income units somewhere or be open to another Builder-Remedy lawsuit and potentially a larger development.

It just seems wrong... doesn't it? What was the Fair Housing Act supposed to address? An increase in affordable housing so people that work in a community can live there? Since it's inception until 2001 only 26,000 affordable units had been built while 480,000 standard residential units were built. Link So clearly the law didn't fix that.

The NAACP along with others brought the original lawsuit. Was it to end segregation and allow minorites to flee urban areas? According to a recent article in the Star Ledger (sorry can't find the link) minorities tend to live in minority areas even when their income allows them to move to more expensive areas. So that's not it.

Does the State Constitution require the State provide home ownership for all residents? I think not.

Perhaps, and only perhaps, it is just another example of "do-gooders" dictating to everyone else solutions to a problem that never really existed.

Enlighten pounds away at Corzine Care

Enlighten-NewJersey has an outstanding post on Corzine Care. It should be must read material for every tax payer in New Jersey.

Don't forget to read Ken's outstanding posts on Corzine care.

MVC to Make Buying a Used Car More Expensive

This past December I had two children that having gotten their license needed their own transportation. Now out here in the wilds of New Jersey there is no public transportation and you can't just walk to where you need to go, so... my wife and I decided that they should have cars.

Every day I drive past cars for sale in parking lots all over the area. Supermarket lots, auto repair lots, anywhere there is high traffic and good visibility. So I saw a couple of cars I like in one of these lots and called the number listed. The person was a small used car dealer. He worked from a cell phone and his car he did have an office nearby. He was a registered car dealer and collected sales tax. I got a great deal from him. Two decent cars for 5K. He has limited overhead and the savings are passed to the buyer. Additionally he actually sells cheap cars. Large car dealers only keep the primo cars on the lot because they don't want to warranty the bad cars.


Just this week the MVC has decided to put people like the man I bought from out of business. The MVC is attempting to pass new rules for used car dealers.

"the state has crafted reforms that require auto dealerships to set up offices equipped with phones, furniture, electricity and even air-conditioning and heating.

The proposals also would prohibit dealers from using cell phones to make sales outside their offices, require safes for storing motor vehicle documents and impose tougher insurance requirements."

According to the report "Several people with small auto dealerships said the new regulations, including provisions that would require them to hold on to vehicles longer before they resell them, would strain their finances.

"Basically, it would put us out of business," said Rob Morales, owner of Flashback Motors in Little Falls. "We're a small business and we don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to sit on."

So here we go again with an over-reaching State agency acting as "mommy" for the people. What do residents get. Not the security the agency thinks it's providing, but higher costs passed on to consumers, small business being driven to bankruptcy and very possibly hurting the less fortunate because they won't be able to afford a car from a bigger dealer.

The State should stop trying to protect everyone. Caveat Emptor!