The Jaffe Briefing - September 27, 2021

STATEWIDE – We’re gearing up for “Debate Night” in New Jersey; you can just feel the tension, right? Well, not really. But a televised show is still planned for 7 p.m. tomorrow when Gov. Phil Murphy and former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli take the debate stage in the race for governor. Maybe we will see a real discussion on such nagging topics as taxes, infrastructure, transit, finances, education, health care and other issues that never seem to have an answer around election time. Or, we may see silly stuff like Murphy telling voters, again, that Ciattarelli attended a "Stop the Steal' rally. Or, there’s Ciattarelli reminding voters, again, that Murphy once uttered "If you’re a one-issue voter, and tax rate is your issue … we’re probably not your state." Eye rolls all over, as there’s just so much substantial stuff to discuss. Watch it unfold on WABC, broadcast from Newark, and pray for substance.

STATEWIDE – Now that the summer hiring spree is over, the focus is on the fast-approaching holiday season. Will workers finally re-appear and seem slightly interested in actually working? Business owners are rightfully nervous, wondering how they can afford to recruit staff while also faced with higher rents, utilities, wholesale costs, taxes and insurance costs, yet also dealing with pandemic safety. And then businesses need to compete for manpower against such mega-giants as Amazon, Fedex and CVS, who have the purchasing power to gobble up any living, breathing body. Some good news: an end, finally, to the extra unemployment benefits from the feds, which should hopefully drag people back to work. But, as NJ.com reports, that so-called stampede has not exactly happened.

STATEWIDE – How do we get the MVC to start pumping out licenses and permits to all these people who desperately need them? Sen. Troy Singleton has an idea: How about revert the MVC back to pre-pandemic times, when all services were offered at all offices in the state? Seems a simple request, especially as ticked-off motorists continue to be plagued by the awful limits in service, feeling as if they win the lottery whenever they secure an appointment to do anything. Since COVID, MVC made more services available online, limited branch service and went to this ineffective appointment-only system. “I am hopeful that the increased availability of vaccines and the reopening of our schools for in-person learning will lead to a more stabilized workforce,” Singleton said. “I strongly urge the NJ MVC to consider reopening its agencies for all transactions.” No comment yet from the MVC, probably requiring an appointment to issue a response.

BRIEFING BREATHER

In most advertisements, the time displayed on a watch is 10:10. 

STATEWIDE – As New Jersey lawmakers still try to restore a full federal tax deduction of our property taxes, they are now setting their sights a bit lower. You may remember that President Trump famously capped the so-called SALT deduction at $10,000 – a direct hit to property owners in high-tax states like ours. Now, despite a Democratic-run Congress and U.S. President, getting the full deduction restored has been a real challenge for our Congressional delegation. So, the very latest: Our lawmakers are trying to get it back for just a couple of years or so. Perhaps getting something is better than getting nothing in this proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill. And perhaps that would be the first step to making the SALT deduction “permanent” again, before some other president messes with it.

MIDDLETOWN – School board members are thumbing their noses — plainly unmasked noses — again at Gov. Phil Murphy, their town’s most prominent resident. Patch.com says the BOE is now holding its public meetings at VFW Post 2179, instead of High School North, to sidestep Murphy's strict mandate for masks to be worn at all times in all schools. This, after the same school board tried defying Murphy in August, enacting a loose school mask policy. The board did a swift about-face on that policy to avoid a state lawsuit, but these off-site meetings are to continue. The BOE convenes at the VFW again on Wednesday evening. Masks are optional but you won't want to miss Bingo and the bar. 

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The best of the best teachers deserve a nice bonus. Yes, absolutely! And so Florida will issue them $1,000 bonuses! Yay! And then they can buy lots of cool stuff that they certainly deserve! Whoopee. That all sounded good until the checks bounced for 50 of these great teachers. State Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Miami, brought attention to the error Friday morning when he tweeted a photo of a teacher’s bounced bank notice when she innocently attempted to deposit her check. State educators are blaming the bank, of course, which is offering red-faced apologies. And now the state senator, mining for some more PR gold, is now calling for no more paper checks, all direct deposit, when the rare chance comes to shower Florida teachers with appreciation.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1992 that the Dodgers made history – clinching last place for the very first time ever. The very dead Branch Rickey: not pleased.

WORD OF THE DAY

Hobnob – [HAHB-nahb] - verb

Definition: To come together as friends

Example: Plenty of hobnobbing happens in the Giants parking lot.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Kennedy said that if we had nuclear war we'd kill 300 million people in the first hour. McNamara, who is a good businessman and likes to save, says it would be only 200 million.”

-Norman Thomas

BIDEN BLURB

“The nuclear option is ultimately an example of the arrogance of power.”

– Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

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