The Jaffe Briefing - October 18, 2017
OUR TAKE ON THE NEWS IN NEW JERSEY
STATEWIDE - (Amazon, please don't read this blurb.) We all know New Jersey is Number One, so it's no surprise the Tax Foundation has found the state is tops when it comes to the most onerous, least competitive tax code in the entire country, NJ 101.5 reports. The foundation combed through all the tax codes in the country - which must have been fascinating work - and found that New Jersey is dead last in competitiveness. We got it all: High taxes for corporate, individual income, property, sales and unemployment insurance. And not only that, New Jersey's tax structure is insanely complex, adding another level of unfriendliness for businesses considering a big move here.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL - Will the two candidates for governor discuss ways to simplify the state's tax code tonight? Likely not, when they take the stage for the final debate before the November 7 election, beginning at 7 p.m. Expect talk about Bridgegate, "limousine liberals" and who acts the most like Gov. Chris Christie. The show takes place at William Paterson University and will be broadcast and live-streamed all over the place. Pray for substantial discussion, as New Jersey needs solutions, not quips.
ON THE ROAD - As New Jersey is downright giddy with the idea of legalized marijuana next year, the AAA is being a real downer. The Asbury Park Press notes weed-related traffic deaths jumped in Colorado by 48 percent after full legalization in 2014. The problem? No reliable, efficient field testing for stoned driving. "This is not being discussed enough," AAA says. And, so before we collectively light up the bong, what do we do to ensure people can still be able to navigate our impossibly-congested road network, rather than laugh their way into a ditch?
IN THE MEDIA
PLEASANTVILLE - The Press of Atlantic City scored an easy scoop yesterday, reporting on the Corvette that crashed into its newsroom. No one was injured, thankfully, when the driver fell asleep, drove through an intersection, jumped a curb, skidded 75 feet and slammed into the building, crashing two first-floor windows. The daunted driver met with plenty of questions from inquiring reporters.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
BROOKLYN - It's unclear which is more surprising: That a bull was found wandering Prospect Park or the fact that no one in this borough of 2.6 million people had an immediate clue where it came from. (CBS assumes a slaughterhouse.) Cops were able to wrangle the bull yesterday as it was roaming streets and visiting the park, to the amusement of camera-wielding tourists. Cops used soccer goals to fence in the bull on a baseball diamond, but it easily barreled though the nets. (Duh, city cops.) Eventually the bull was trapped between two cars, shot with a tranquilizer, dumped in a NYPD horse trailer and moo-ved to animal control.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
WORD OF THE DAY
Palliate - [PAL-ee-ayt] - verb
Definition: To cover by excuses and apologies
Example: The kid threw his Frisbee in my gutter again; and then - as I got my ladder for the umpteenth time - offered me a rhetoric that palliated fears of ongoing occurrences.
WEATHER IN A WORD
Sun-kissed