The Jaffe Briefing - May 12, 2021

NEWARK – It is a grand and interesting experiment. If you hand a low-income family $500 a month, with no strings attached, will it change lives? That’s the big question in Newark, where city officials are following Paterson to launch a two-year money give-away. Funded through private donations and charity, the city is planning to issue $500 checks each month to 400 households. This all comes from a national group, which is rolling out this bold initiative in 22 cities. The whole concept in a nutshell: People know what they need, so here’s $12,000 to help. In such a high-cost state, another big question: Is this enough cash to substantially move the needle?

TRENTON – While some lucky Newark families will have $12,000 to spend, it looks like Gov. Phil Murphy has to blow through $5 million or so for his uncontested primary election in just the next few weeks. Why? Because the governor accepted matching public funds for his campaign. The more money he raises, the more money that taxpayers chip in. Because Murphy raised $3.5 million on his own, he is eligible for the maximum amount of unneeded cash for his primary: $4.6 million. NJ.com notes the governor asked for $4.1 million, and now he will be spending like a soon-to-be drunken sailor approaching the port. And that means we will be seeing plenty of Murphy on all of our airwaves, all the time, through June 7. Could the money be spent better? Perhaps to help even more families in Newark? Do we really need to answer this?

STATEWIDE – More cold, hard cash? New Jersey is seeing a significant drop in the number of residents who are getting vaccinated, while Murphy is squarely focused on getting shots in the arms of 4.7 million adults by the end of next month, the Record reports. Currently, the state is bombarding residents with a federally funded $25 million public awareness campaign, with ads all over some news outlets, yet blatantly ignoring others for mind-boggling, nonsensical half-reasons. Whatever. The real incentive here is cash. This is Jersey. Bribery works. Start low, around $10 or so. Steadily increase the payout until we hit the mark and shrewdly use hyper-local media advertising to promote this “special, limited-time deal.”

BRIEFING BREATHER

You are 13.8 percent more likely to die on your birthday.

STATEWIDE – Are we still talking about money? Yep. While New Jersey nervously borrowed $3.7 billion last year to cover expected funding gaps because of the pandemic, it appears the Garden State can’t use the billions in federal aid to pay off its debt. Bloomberg reports new direction from the feds, saying the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan” is designed to help people, not debt service. Of the $350 billion available to support the government all over, it needs to be used to make up for lost revenue, fight the pandemic, support economic recovery and support business. But for a financially-stressed government drowning in debt? Yeah, you are still on your own.

NEW BRUNSWICK – More cash talk, if that’s possible. Sorry, but there is just so much money flying around at the moment. Now we are talking about the $895 million in federal cash that is to be used to shore up colleges and universities in New Jersey that have been pummeled over the past 15 months. New Jersey’s 78 higher education institutions, including private schools, will be splitting the state’s bounty. The big sweepstakes winner is Rutgers, to receive nearly $148 million in sorely-needed relief for its three campuses. RU announced a $4.45 billion budget for the 2020-21 school year, with a $97 million shortfall, TAPInto New Brunswick reports. The lowest grant goes to the $65,523 for the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, within steps of the Rutgers campus. Hopefully, this means the dining halls can still offer endless ice cream.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Parker Hanson, a right-handed pitcher, was born without a left hand. But he overcame it all to play college baseball at Augustana College. But he never expected this obstacle: someone stole his prosthetic arm from his unlocked pickup outside of his home on May 3. He went on social media to tell his tale, prompting an outpouring of support and even a fundraising campaign to buy him a new arm, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. But then – more drama – the prosthetic was actually found by a worker in a recycling plant, where it had been discarded. The device, described as “pretty banged up” was delivered to the pitcher. But it's useless, prompting Shriner’s Children’s Twin Cities Hospital to give him a free replacement. All money raised will now go to charity.

LAW TALK

Attorney: Now doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning?

Witness: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1986 that someone rode a bicycle at 65 mph. It was downhill from there.

WORD OF THE DAY

Importunate – [im-POR-chuh-nut] – adjective

Definition: Troublesomely urgent

Example: I’ve already walked my importunate dog three times this morning.

WIT OF THE DAY

“I’m Irish. I think about death all the time.”

-Jack Nicholson

BIDEN BLURB

“His mom lived in Long Island for 10 years or so, God rest her soul. Although she's, wait... Your mom's still alive. It was your dad that passed. God bless her soul. I gotta get this straight.”

-Joe Biden, referring to Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen (2008-11)

WEATHER IN A WORD

Glorious