The Jaffe Briefing - October 2, 2020
BEDMINSTER – Awakening to the word that the President and First Lady both have COVID 19, we join all Americans in wishing a speedy recovery. We hope this is a wake-up call for all the Trump supporters who show their allegiance by proudly ignoring all health precautions. As we myopically focus on all things New Jersey, we can’t help but shudder by the fact that Trump has been spending plenty of time here and his events have not exactly embraced social distancing. The Washington Post reports he held a speedy fundraiser and roundtable discussion yesterday afternoon at his golf club and was in “close contact with dozens of other people.” Wonder who they were?
TRENTON – After four difficult years as the leader of New Jersey, you would think Gov. Phil Murphy figures he has done enough as a public servant. Yet, it looks like our favorite millionaire is willing to hit the diner circuit once again, announcing he will begin raising money for re-election next year. Chants of “Four More Years!” are likely echoing through the halls of his Middletown mansion, as the lure of being one of the most powerful governors in the nation is so much more interesting than monitoring his stock portfolio. This time around, Murphy has a track record as our chief executive, such as $4.5 billion in borrowing in the current budget. Republicans, eager to reclaim this seat, have taken notice.
TRENTON – Of course, New Jersey’s economy will be front and center in any statewide election. And that begins and ends with jobs. As Murphy can’t be blamed for the pandemic – although some will try to blame him as an originator from a hut in rural China – he will need to dig New Jersey out of this recession. And he will need a big shovel, as new unemployment claims rose for the second straight week, up 10% from last week. The total – as Republicans will be quick to note – is 1.63 million unemployment claims in New Jersey since mid-March, in a state with about 5.6 million adults of working age.
BRIEFING BREATHER
While CIA headquarters has its own Starbucks, baristas are banned from writing names on cups.
ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – If anyone is going to get President Trump to finally disclose his tax returns, it will be Rep. Bill Pascrell. The Paterson-based congressman, always feisty, is now chair of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee. And, NJ.com reports, he is already demanding the IRS finally release Trump’s business and personal income tax returns and explain it all before his panel. That would be in public, of course. Pascrell says the request is legally binding, noting the IRS has been “illegally withholding” the documents from the committee for the last 540 days. If this could all be divulged before the election, while it is all still relevant, that would be great.
STATEWIDE – Do New Jersey lawmakers really want to mess with financial honchoes at the New York Stock Exchange? A coalition of financial leaders have their suspenders in a twist, as the state may want to slap a financial transaction tax on transactions. While business is done on Wall Street and online, there are financial data centers in New Jersey where the back office stuff is executed. The proposal calls for a 0.25 cent surcharge on people or entities that process more than 10,000 financial transactions each year via the state’s infrastructure, New Jersey Globe reports. Yep, this is nothing more than a money grab. And the financial institutions are eager to show New Jersey that they can process their trades in Chicago, like on Oct. 24, when they run a test to show our lawmakers how portable their wingtips can be.
STATEWIDE – Unclear why anyone would want a pet hedgehog. And certainly no one is surprised that there’s now a 17-state salmonella outbreak connected to people who have this odd choice in pets. That includes, of course, at least one person from New Jersey. Since we are now learning more about pet hedgehogs than we ever thought, here’s what the feds are saying: Hedgehogs carry salmonella in their droppings. And all these germs can be spread to their bodies, toys, bedding and your kids. Just get a dog.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
DUBLIN – If it is not bread, then what the heck is it? That is the question for the Subway food chain, after the Irish Supreme Court deemed the bread used for sub sandwiches can not be defined as “bread” because of the alarmingly high sugar content. A Subway franchisee raised the issue, as he was trying to get the chain’s sandwiches deemed a “staple food” exempt from tax. The sugar content is 10% of the weight of the flour used to make the dough – far more than the 2% specified under the legal definition of bread. Underlying message: If your lunch today somehow costs you less than $3, assume someone, somewhere, is cutting corners.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Why is this beagle sleeping on his doghouse and why is that kid bald? Questions, like this, were posed on this day in 1950, when “Peanuts” was syndicated in its first seven newspapers.
WORD OF THE DAY
Pachyderm – [PAK-ih-derm] – noun
Definition: Any of various nonruminant mammals (such as an elephant, a rhinoceros, or a hippopotamus)
Example: The hunter thought it made great sense to hang the heads of pachyderms in his den.
WIT OF THE DAY
“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver."
-Mahatma Gandhi
TODAY'S TRUMPISM
“We will begin our quarantine process!”
-Donald J. Trump
WEATHER IN A WORD
Clearing
THE NEW 60
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