The Jaffe Briefing - November 22, 2021

The Jaffe Briefing is off for Thanksgiving beginning Wednesday, Nov. 24, returning Monday, Nov. 29.

STATEWIDE – A big, fat tax cut for the rich? That’s the contention of Republicans in red states, slamming House Democrats for trying to reduce taxes in places like New Jersey, through SALT tax deductions, as part of the $1.85 trillion social policy spending package. These are the same Republicans who pushed through their 2017 tax cuts, which continue to overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy. Now, as there is finally a goodie for middle-class New Jerseyans living in high-tax towns, the GOP is screaming that Democrats are all about cutting taxes for the rich. Dizzy yet? Federal lawmakers have no problem taking a ton of money from New Jersey – famously giving us much less back in return. So, when New Jersey finally gets some love from Uncle Sam, suddenly a proposed increase on state and local tax deductions is framed as a huge tax windfall for New Jersey.

TRENTON – A fun fact from New Jersey Globe: A New Jersey state senator has a better chance of dying in office than getting elected to a higher post. Someone at the news site dug through a lot of electoral history, determining that 68 state senators since 1947 had dreams of a bigger job, perhaps as governor or in Congress. Yet only 14 of them were able to convince voters to make the big transition. Another fun fact: All 23 state senators who ran for governor since 1947 were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, no sitting state senator was elected to the U.S. Senate since 1936, showing the upper chamber in Trenton is really a dead-end job. But, wait, now there’s Edward Durr.

JERSEY CITY – We are still looking in landfills for Jimmy Hoffa? Apparently so, as the FBI has dedicated resources to search under the Pulaski Skyway for the remains of the former Teamsters head. The feds executed a search warrant at the end of October and are now analyzing “data” gleaned from the site survey. The search has been underway for 45 years at this point, yet nothing is being “confirmed” or “denied.” Hoffa was last seen on July 30, 1975, when he met mobsters at a restaurant in suburban Detroit. If you know anything, now’s the time to spill.

BRIEFING BREATHER

The sentence, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” uses every letter in the English language.

STATEWIDE – More adults say they don’t want years of financial struggle, zero free time and countless stresses in the 24-hour servitude to others. Makes a lot of sense, as the number of adults deciding to have children in the United States has declined for the sixth straight year. Fifty-six percent of childless adults say, quite simply, they just don’t want to deal with kids, the Washington Post reports. There are other key factors, like ever-climbing costs for health care, college, and all this global instability. Experts are getting a little concerned about the declining birthrate, as society needs a new generation to help fund all the social programs – like Social Security – that we are paying for and hope to one day receive. There’s much more to write on this, but that peanut butter sandwich with no crust won’t make itself.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

MONTPELIER, Vt. – If you ask kids to nickname a snowplow, expect some creativity. That’s what Vermont transportation officials are seeing, with such clever names as “Snowbegone Kenobe,” “Plowy McPlowFace,” “Brr-rito” and our personal favorite, “Steve.” Other names – amongst an endless list of puns – include “Captain Snowpants,” “Yo Bro, No Snow '' and "Jennifer Snowpez" – all of which will be prominently featured on Vermont snowplows. Surprisingly, this program is not exclusive to Vermont, as Colorado, Michigan and Minnesota also ask the kiddies to name their snowplows. If we were asked to participate, our submission: “For Your Ice Only.”

AT THE THEATER – C’mon, do we really need another Ghostbusters? The original 1980s movie was picture-perfect, and there were some funny points in the female remake in 2016. So, why do it again? Ok, we admit we have not seen “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” hyped by Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver and Dan Akroyd, who all appear for a dash of nostalgia and credibility. It is still the leading movie in the country, with decent family-friendly reviews, earning $44 million over the weekend. But there’s no real competition, unless you consider a rehash of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and the very latest Bond flick. Anybody have a new idea for a movie? Anyone?

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

It was this day in 1968 that Capt. Kirk finally makes his big move on Lt. Uhura – the first interracial kiss on television.

WORD OF THE DAY

Univocal – [yoo-NIV-uh-kul] – adjective

Definition: Clear or precise

Example: Fans were wondering if they will experience my signature “turducken” on Thursday. The answer is univocal: Absolutely.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Get up; Everybody's gonna move their feet. Get down; Everybody's gonna leave their seat. You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City.”

-Paul Stanley

BIDEN BLURB

“God, it’s good to be back in Detroit.”

-Joe Biden

WEATHER IN A WORD

Clearing