The Jaffe Briefing - December 14, 2021
TRENTON – Following some stunning Republican victories in the last election, how will state Democrats shift the conversation in 2022? The Record believes the key word will be “affordability.” Gov. Phil Murphy says the Democrats need to “get at more kitchen tables” and drill down on the stuff that people are stressing about now. One great example: a bill the governor recently signed, doubling a childcare tax credit to benefit another 80,000 families. And what else can move the “affordability” needle? Perhaps less talk about social justice and climate change, as Democrats drill down on school funding, affordable housing, drug prices, public transit and food insecurity. Let’s see if a new focus wins the hearts and minds of voters, as Democrats brace for mid-term elections next November, rarely good for the party in charge.
TRENTON – And speaking of kitchen table issues, some state lawmakers are trying to slam the brakes on automatic Jan. 1 toll increases on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, NJ.com reports. The legislation would slash all Turnpike Authority rates by 50 cents from the big toll hike that took effect last September and would ban the agency from increasing tolls until 2025 or beyond. Such legislation is certainly kitchen-table friendly, but one must assume the extra anticipated revenue is already earmarked for ongoing road projects and other stuff. Will state lawmakers, including Murphy, go for these last-minute cuts before the end of the legislative session on Jan. 10? And what are the ramifications? Expect a colorful response from the Turnpike Authority.
STATEWIDE – Sure, with all the stay-home orders during the pandemic, a cigarette or glass of wine can help a frazzled nerve. And it is a darn good reason why booze and tobacco sales spiked in 2020. But, as NJ.com reports, it seems we are all drinking and smoking more now. The state Treasury, which tracks this stuff, is seeing a 6% spike this year in booze tax revenues, over the same period in 2020. And – get this – tax revenue on alcohol is up 35% over 2019. Growth in tobacco tax revenue is even higher, up nearly 69% from 2020, which was up 64% from 2019. Great news for the state treasury. But your health? Not so much.
BRIEFING BREATHER
If you lift a kangaroo’s tail off the ground, it can’t hop.
STATEWIDE – So, when all of the kiddies were learning remotely during the pandemic, what were the long-term effects? No clue, whatsoever. But some state lawmakers are eager to find out, with a proposed bill that would direct state education officials to assess what exactly happened during those long months of learning loss, from March 2020 until June of this year. The bill has lots of demands and a short time window, with education leaders required to report by next September about how the pandemic messed with technology access, attendance rates, special education services, graduation rates, teacher shortages, and district-sponsored childcare programs. Oh, and there would also be a comprehensive comparison of learning loss between rural and urban areas, and between the haves and have-nots, assessing race, ethnicity and gender. Unclear if this can actually be accomplished in a few short months, but the results are certainly critical knowledge.
TRENTON – The ugly underbelly of the state budget is the bloated pension system, a constant drag for any state lawmaker with dreams of leveraging tax money to fix New Jersey. This year’s pension payment is $7 billion for a system that costs more than most other states, according to a conservative think tank called “Garden State Initiative.” There needs to be a very unpopular policy shift, the state becoming a Scrooge to bridge the chronic deficit between assets and liabilities. The state’s pension mess was created in 1996, the Record reports, when governors began recklessly raiding the fund to pay for other stuff. Unfunded pension liabilities have ballooned from $58 billion in 2000 to $186 billion in 2019. And, now, to right the ship, pension payments eat up 15% of all state spending. The inevitable future: The state has to shift to 401(k) plans, like private business. But which brave governor – with dreams of a political future – would do that?
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
DAMARISCOTTA, Maine — Fat squirrels are the local attraction this fall, especially one who has earned the nickname, “Fatty McFatterson.” Locals tell the Bangor Daily News that this one particular squirrel has gotten so fat that it can no longer sprint or scoot. Rather, he lumbers and waddles as he is particularly fond of the seeds that fall to the ground from bird feeders. There also is a bumper crop of mushrooms in Maine this year, prompting squirrels to gouge themselves, on top of the typical diet of beach nuts, hazelnuts and acorns – all of which are also abundant this year. Luckily, squirrels don’t hibernate; there's plenty of time for jazzercise.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It’s been one year to the day since the very first dose of COVID vaccine was administered, to a nurse in Queens.
WORD OF THE DAY
Flippant – [FLIP-unt] – adjective
Definition: Lacking proper respect or seriousness
Example: I don’t want to be flippant, but does the typical New Yorker know the NYCFC soccer club made history on Saturday? The team played in its first-ever MLS Cup Final against the Portland Timbers. NYCFC won after extra time and then penalties. After nine kicks, NYCFC was crowned champ.
WIT OF THE DAY
“Libraries are the one American institution you shouldn’t rip off.”
—Barbara Kingsolver
BIDEN BLURB
“You can go on the Library of Congress and, if you don’t know how to read the card catalog, it doesn’t do you much good; it’s all a matter of luck.”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Stable