The Morning Briefing - March 2, 2015
STATEWIDE – You were likely unaware, but the Morning Briefing has been embroiled in a grand social experiment over the past nine days. A writer of this e-blast was miraculously bestowed with a $100 bill. A genuine Benjamin Franklin. But there was a problem: No one would break it – resulting in a litany of free stuff. It began innocently enough on Feb. 20 in an effort to buy a $1.95 knish. The writer had $1 and $100. The worker took the buck, rather than the bill (a 95-cent savings). Then a hot dog guy on Broad Street in Newark handed over a double with kraut (value $1.75), but refused to break the $100. Then a mishap with a cab driver resulted in just a penny tip on the meter. But he refused to break the $100. Then, a free bottle of water at a hotel desk, and a free Diet Coke on Amtrak. It mercifully ended last night with a sushi delivery guy, grudgingly willing to break the $100 for a $9 order of tuna rolls – nine days after the $100 bill was first secured.
TRENTON – If bleary-eyed state officials could take a moment to break away from immediate budget crises, imagine what could be reaped if counties merged the sheriffs departments with the county police departments? Whoa! Stop! We get it…Messing with the status quo again. Yeah, a real no-no; we apologize. But you know what? It is really, really, hard to ignore the report from Bergen County that predicts that folding the County Police into the Sheriff's Office would save even more than a previously estimated $200 million over the next 25 years, the Record reports. A greater-than-expected number of positions can be filled with lower-paid civilians and there have been more redundancies and retirements than anticipated in the combined departments, merging this month. But, hey, let’s keep fighting for the status quo. Right? We apologize for suggesting otherwise.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – Well he did it. Gov. Chris Christie has pulled out an official Ronald Reagan fact to prove that his unannounced, yet fledgling, campaign for leader of the free world is still very much alive. Christie was in the bastion of Reagan love – in the warmth of California over the weekend – to remind voters that the former California Gov. Ronald Reagan didn't win the presidential nomination until May 1980, and President Barack Obama didn't win his first Democratic nomination until June 2008, "mere months before the general election." So, Christie says, there is plenty of time for a rebound. So, Republicans better keep forking over the cash, OK? For the love of Reagan. (Not Bush)
FAIR LAWN – The owner of a moving company must have listened to all those mail-order business classes: Create a demand, and jack prices accordingly. He set up a moving company that low balls customers (Create a demand) and then charged up the wazoo to deliver stuff (jack prices accordingly.) The Attorney General was not as impressed with the business model, barring the company from ever doing business in New Jersey, following a stream of complaints from customers dealing with movers threatening to drive off with their worldly possessions if they don’t cough up more cash, NJ.com reports. “Moving Max” quoted customers $225 to $921 over the Internet, but then demanded $500 to $1,665 once all the stuff was loaded because of bogus fees for tape, blankets, some “EPA” fee and perhaps “excessive” use of the tires, the steering wheel and any relevant axels required for the move.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
SPRING VALLEY, NY – They said it wouldn’t last. And all those naysayers have been dead for decades, as a New York couple is celebrating combined birthdays of an impressive 212 years. The groom is nearly blind and nearly deaf (after 82 years of marriage) and is marking age 108. His blushing bridge is a spry 105. The couple quietly celebrated the milestone at home. (C’mon, what else would you expect?)
YOUR WALLET – WealthSoup.com is out with a list of the “Top 7 Things We Blow Our Money On.” No surprises, like $12 packs of cigarettes, brand-named products when the generic is the exact same thing, or high-interest mortgages, for those too lazy to shop around. And the Number 1 way we torch our cash? Those silly cups of no whip, double soy mocha lattes, with a shot of espresso, costing more than $5 a pop. If you bought cheaper coffee and invested the $3.50 savings a day beginning at age 25, you would have an extra $225,000 when you retire. And your buddies would stop calling you such a darn priss.
IN THE MEDIA
HOBOKEN – Should we be surprised NJ.com does not give a hoot about what we have to say about all the free press the website is handing Carlo’s Bakery in Hoboken? On Friday, we talked about this over-the-top gushing “news” story about how the bakery reopened after a week-long renovation. We talked about how it was not news, and how any news editor from any era stretching back to Thomas Paine would be vomiting over their quill pens about the thought of giving so much news coverage to a “celebrity” bakery. (And what the heck is that anyway?) And, so we visit NJ.com yesterday to see that Carlo’s Bakery is a lead story, with 43 photos about the grand re-opening of the bakery that was closed for the week! After flinging the MacBook Pro against the wall, and waking up the kiddies with our painful howls, calmer heads prevailed. Here it the link to our PowerPoint presentation titled “What is News?” We hope it will be used by someone as a helpful resource.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 2012 that the feds announced that Japan has surpassed China as the leading foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities. Uh….Yay?