The Jaffe Briefing - June 10, 2019
TRENTON - It'll have very little meaning in your life, but political junkies are really excited about what is happening today at the Statehouse. It looks like the Democratic-controlled Legislature - for the first time in more than two decades - may override a governor's conditional veto. It is for good reason. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy is fighting proposed legislation that would force more political action groups in the state to disclose their donors, many of whom work in the shadows to direct legislation with their "dark money." The political junkies will tell you - very excitedly - that the last time the Legislature overturned a governor's veto was in 1997, when Gov. Christie Whitman rejected a bill banning abortions after the first trimester. If lawmakers override the governor today, those political junkies - still very excited - will note the growing gap between the Democratic governor and the Democratic legislation has become a gaping chasm.
TRENTON - Watching the Trump administration and Republicans in Washington try to hobble the Affordable Care Act is like watching a bear play slo-mo whack-a-mole. They continually must deal with states working around them, shifting from the federal health insurance exchange to establish state-run exchanges. Count New Jersey among these, as NJ Spotlight reports. To enable the process, state lawmakers have advanced a dozen bills. Sen. Joseph Vitale Jr., who is the lead sponsor of several of the measures, said "We cannot leave the health and safety of New Jerseyans up to the whims of the Oval Office." Well, at least this Oval Office.
STATEWIDE - It is alarming that the state needs to spend $1.5 million on June 18, giving away free doses of an opioid overdose antidote in a desperate effort to save lives. One would have hoped that the massive drug companies, who have reaped billions and billions by pushing their products, would be stepping up to provide this emergency statewide response. But it will ultimately be taxpayers, in some way, who are buying these 20,000 twin packs of the antidote for the big, give-away day. Funding is through the state's $100 million opioid initiative - a public solution to a problem created by the private sector. The antidote, known as Narcan, saved thousands of lives last year, but still more than 3,000 New Jerseyans died by overdosing on this so-called "pain relief" medication. Drug companies need to do much, much more.
STATEWIDE - There's another list out there, with the amount of money that teachers earn, per district. NJ 101.5 lists every town in the state, the median salary of their teachers and the maximum salary. (State average: $68,650) Some would see this list as demonizing teachers, publicizing all the money they earn with zero context. Others would quickly perceive the salaries as low, especially with teachers now kicking in 20 percent or so for pension and benefits, and the cost of living in New Jersey somewhere near the stratosphere. Our take: Teachers are saints who spend their days magically molding our kids into educated, employable people. Give `em what they want. And keep their union dues as low as possible.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
TORONTO - McDonald's net income for the first quarter this year was $1.33 billion, so it's really hard to pity the fast-food chain for having to give away $6 million worth of french fries this pro basketball season. That's because McDonald's is handing out free medium-sized orders of fries whenever the Raptors hit 12 three-pointers in a game. This year, that's happened 54 times so far between the regular season and the playoffs, costing 2 million orders of fries, and counting. Corporate honchos should be specifically blaming Toronto Raptors stars Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, who have been draining baskets - and profits.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1925 that Tennessee adopts a new biology text book denying the theory of evolution.
WORD OF THE DAY
Claque - [CLAK] - noun
Definition: A group hired to applaud a performer
Example: In announcing his Independence Day celebration plan, did Trump hire another claque?
WIT OF THE DAY
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"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect."
- Mark Twain
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WEATHER IN A WORD
Soaker
THE NEW 60
A Jaffe Briefing Exclusive
by Andy Landorf & John Colquhoun
