The Jaffe Briefing - April 26, 2021
STATEWIDE – If you run the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission, you need a really thick skin. You need to know how to play defense. And you need to be prepared for anything that can and will happen. And so it is of little surprise the Biden Administration will be nominating MVC Commissioner Sue Fulton for an assistant secretary position at the Pentagon. She is ideally qualified, as no international defense challenge will compare with the fury of a New Jerseyan who stands in line for seven hours in a desperate attempt to renew a drivers’ license only to find the office is closed.
STATEWIDE – If you are a property taxpayer, by now you’ve heard controversies swirling around the SALT deduction. If not, here’s the quick primer: In 2017, Donald Trump infamously capped the federal tax deduction for property taxes at $10,000, which directly targets states like New Jersey where taxes are higher than anywhere else. Translation: A portion of your tax bill is no longer deductible, meaning you pay more. Our federal lawmakers have been urging Biden to mercifully lift the cap, calling it yet another tax on New Jersey. But now a new study is weakening the argument. A progressive institute reports the proposed repeal would significantly benefit more white households than minority families. So, now the word “inequality” has been thrown into the debate, which had previously focused only on tax fairness and partisan politics.
STATEWIDE – New Jersey sure loves regulating our booze – if it makes sense or not. Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker is the latest lawmaker to shine a light on an overly-restrictive law. Zwicker is questioning why the state arbitrarily limits direct shipment from most U.S. wineries to our homes, thus banning any medium-sized or larger winery from the privilege. That is equivalent to blocking 90% of domestic wines from being shipped to our door and, thus, blocking millions of tax dollars each year from flowing into state coffers. This dumb law, with greatly limits choice, is almost as short-sighted as preventing supermarkets from selling wine and beer. Almost.
BRIEFING BREATHER
The inventor of Pringles is laid to rest in a Pringles can.
ELMWOOD PARK – We don’t know the CFO here. Never met him, but he is making news in the Record for his generous salary and perks. It is quick to demonize a guy who earned $170,000 in sick and vacation time, on top of a $160,000 salary, which also includes service as the town’s tax collector and purchasing agent. This busy guy also happens to be the CFO in Rochelle Park, Garfield and Palisades Park, as well as purchasing agent in Palisades Park. And he’s also somehow the fire inspector in Fairview and Cliffside Park, which earns him at least $347,970 a year in public paychecks, the newspaper reports. Unclear how he can possibly do all of these jobs, but local officials obviously like the expertise. And kudos to him for figuring how to make an executive private salary in the public sector. Yeah, he has plenty of jobs, but none of them requires him to fix the system.
BEDMINSTER – He’s coming back. No, there will no longer be the lengthy motorcade, the heavily-armed choppers, the blocked airspace and all the other major hoopla that comes with a travelling president. But, reports Business Insider, it appears Donald Trump will be spending a chunk of his summer at his Bedminster golf club. Political pundits say it will be a great place for some fundraising, in a stone’s throw from his former power base in NYC, which he famously deemed “as getting dirty and unsafe again.” It was terrific having Trump packed away in Palm Beach, living nice and far away. But the allure of spending summer in New Jersey, evidently, is just too strong to hold Trump back.
CAMDEN – The roll-out of the vaccine – no matter the interest among so many New Jerseyans – will be a failure if lower-income people do not have access. And that is why there is plenty of creativity, TAPInto Camden reports. For example, the non-profit Cooper’s Ferry Partnership is now partnering with Uber to provide 3,000 free rides for city residents so they can get two-dose vaccinations. Uber drivers will be heading to Cooper University Health Care, now with two vaccination sites and big plans to get as many Camden residents jabbed as possible.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
ALL OVER – It’s been described as “Lego larceny,” and it may be coming to a toy store near you. There is an international ring of toy thieves who have been grabbing these plastic toys, likely located under a couch near you. The Guardian reports the latest heist out of Paris, where these brick bandits grabbed boxes of Legos from a toy shop, with a plan to smuggle them into Poland for resale. Lego robberies are not just an international problem, as last month an Oregon man was busted with $7,500 of stolen Lego toy sets. The Holy Grail is the limited edition sets, which, apparently are big-time collectors’ items. Perhaps it is time to clean out the basement, where a super-rare Lego is likely propping up your rickety bookcase.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was this day in 1954 that crazy party girl (and Michigan congresswoman) Ruth Thompson introduced federal legislation that would ban the mailing of rock n’ roll records, referring to the music as “obscene, lewd, lascivious and filthy.”
WORD OF THE DAY
Touchstone – [TUTCH-stohn] – noun
Definition: A fundamental or quintessential part or feature; a basis
Example: Rocky II was an immediate Box Office success in 1979; remaining a touchstone of sports-related movies, prompting this question: Could there be a sequel?
WIT OF THE DAY
“It's clearly a budget. It's got a lot of numbers in it.”
-George W. Bush
BIDEN BLURB
“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget and I’ll tell you what you value.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Sunglasses