The Jaffe Briefing - March 18, 2022

TRENTON – New Jersey governors despise budget season, as they have to explain how the state is hopelessly broke and then blame short-sighted, one-shot predecessors for the hopeless predicament. But Gov. Phil Murphy is skipping through the tulips this season, sitting on billions in surplus. The skies are bright, the sun is strong, and the governor is now announcing that – hey! – the latest forecast shows that – wow! – there’s more than $4.6 billion in savings now projected for this fiscal year, ending in June, NJ Spotlight reports. State revenues have exploded, as tax collections are absolutely soaring. It has all prompted record state spending – more than $49 billion for the upcoming year. But with all this cash coming in, why end the party? Murphy will buy the next round.

TRENTON – This is a rare, fleeting moment to pay off state debt. Actually, it is a gosh-darn gift that no one could have ever imagined. The state has a real chance to reset itself, and that fact is not lost on Murphy, now giggling senselessly as he rolls in the billions of dollars handed to him. NJ Spotlight reports the governor is putting more than $1 billion in a super-special state account designed specifically for debt relief. That’s big news, as New Jersey is famously known for being one of the most broke states. With this extra billion, it means $5 billion would have been tucked aside in the super-special account over the last two fiscal years to pay our old loans or to fund capital projects without borrowing more cash. And, as interest rates will rise, rise, rise in 2022, this is smart, long-term stuff. Who knows? Maybe we can actually afford to retire here! Nahhh…

ON THE ROAD – With eye-popping gas prices, and suddenly plenty of interest in commuting via skateboard or unicycle, state officials say it may be time to roll back New Jersey’s gas tax for 60 days or so. Sen. Shirley Turner is leading the charge, as inflation is hitting the highest levels in 40 years. The state’s gas tax is 42.4 cents per gallon – the fourth highest in the nation – and Turner thinks it’s high time to roll the rate back to 2016, the glory days when tax on gas and diesel fuel was just 14.5 cents. NJ.com notes Turner’s turn at solving economic woes comes on the heels of a proposal from Sen. Ed Durr, who wants to hand out tax credits of $250-$500 to get us through these hard times. And, of course, there may be savings if we just pump our own darn gas.

BRIEFING BREATHER

Cats can recognize individual voices; they just choose not to listen.

SECAUCUS – There will be many, many years to get from here to there. But state and federal officials figure they need to start somewhere with efforts to clean the lower Hackensack River, now nominated for placement on the federal Superfund list of the most polluted areas in the country. Once added, with strong, full-throated support from local Congress members, the river would begin what could be decades of negotiations with potentially responsible parties and then the actual clean-up along the 19-mile stretch. Expect a price tag in the billions, with plenty of drama and hiccups along the way. But there is no other way, at present, to finally get dangerous chemicals out of the river, following generations of abuse.

IN THE MEDIA

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL – In Presidential politics, New Jersey’s June primary is deemed “very late” among media strategists, as the candidates are often determined by then. And that also means the gobs of advertising revenue go to mini media outlets in places like New Hampshire and Iowa. Sure, that is great news for the itty-bitty dailies they get an infusion of ad revenue every four years. But why can’t Jersey get some love? New Jersey Democrats agree, asking the Democratic National Committee to consider the Garden State as an early presidential primary state. There's a great argument here. Why should Iowa – with zero ethnic diversity – lead the primary elections? New Jersey has it all, as well as plenty of media who could really use all these ad dollars from presidential campaigns, both big and small.  Presidential hopefuls: come woo us.

IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS

SACRAMENTO, CA – It appeared to make perfect sense to take two, month-old bear cubs from their mother, after a small den had fallen out of a tree. The 29-year-old man admitted to authorities that he saw the baby bears along Highway 263 in Siskiyou County and figured – wow – what cute pets! Wildlife officers quickly realized the baby bears were taken when they could not find any tracks from the fallen den. As cubs are totally dependent on their mother for survival, the man quickly realized he couldn’t care for them on a diet of perhaps Cheetos and light beer. So, he sheepishly dialed the humorless folks at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife; cops then promptly charged him with possession of a prohibited species.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

You can only play so much golf. At least that was the thinking of Michael Jordan who announced he is no longer retired from basketball, on this day in 1995.

WORD OF THE DAY

Nascent – [NASS-unt] – adjective

Definition: Coming or having recently come into existence

Example: I am a nascent, yet fierce, St. Peters basketball fan.

WIT OF THE DAY

“Nuclear power is one hell of a way to boil water.”

-Albert Einstein

BIDEN BLURB

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

-Joe Biden, referring to Putin

WEATHER IN A WORD

Enjoy!