The Jaffe Briefing - July 13, 2022
STATEWIDE – Hey, we’ve all been there, accidentally over-drafting a bank account. It is not exactly the crime of the century; Bonnie and Clyde would certainly not be impressed. But we are paying dearly with bank fees, says Sen. Cory Booker, who adds that our cumulative bonehead errors led to an $8 billion bonanza last year for U.S. banks. He is pushing for a federal law that would limit overdraft fees for checking accounts and ban them for debit cards and ATM withdrawals. He alleges the banks are targeting lower-income people, who tend to run out of money and are more likely to overdraw their accounts. “It is so unpatriotic, it is so un-American to exploit your fellow Americans,” he says. Booker is calling for some control on these pirate profiteers, in their suits and wingtips. No response yet from the American Bankers Association, likely not offering the senator a lollipop the next time he cashes his Senatorial paycheck.
TRENTON – There’s no such thing as a perfect state budget, despite the oodles of surplus. Lawmakers are now getting whacked for raiding the state’s Clean Energy Fund, yet again. Despite all the extra billions, the state budget took $87 million from this fund to plug gaps in the regular budget, a standard move by every governor since Jon Corzine. With a cumulative loss to date of $1.7 billion, environmentalists hoped that lawmakers would keep the fund intact during this unique budget year, adding more funds for such clean-energy initiatives as subsidizing electric cars and solar energy to retrofitting homes of low-income families, NJ.com reports. Hey, there’s always next budget year.
ON THE RAILS – As you trudge into work this fine morning, assume it will be another day without getting kicked, punched, knifed or shot. But we can’t say the same thing for NJ Transit workers, who deal with any and all crazies who don’t feel like paying for a train ticket or have issues far beyond what a rail worker should be forced to deal with. NJ 101.5 reports that 14 fed-up NJ Transit employees are now suing the agency for negligence, each demanding more than $150,000. There are stories of being threatened with a switchblade, a handgun, or a knife, getting spit in the face, sustaining punches to the face and body and even getting assaulted with hot coffee. These workers say they are not law enforcement or first responders, and have zero training in self-defense and psychology. Yet, before the NJ Transit cops arrive, they are stuck on the front lines of wackiness, defenseless to whatever may come.
BRIEFING BREATHER
An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.
STATEWIDE – The key message: abortion remains legal in New Jersey, no matter what the majority of SCOTUS may think. And that’s why law enforcement leaders are creating a “reproductive rights strike force” to protect anyone who travels to the state in need of reproductive care. It is an impressive group of the Attorney General, the State Police and the Department of Law and Public Safety who will be part of the strike force, using whatever laws and policies they can to ensure that no woman is turned away. This effort builds on the state’s “Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act,” which enshrines abortion rights into state law.
ASBURY PARK – If you haven’t yet seen Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band play live for the 10th or 20th time, here is your latest opportunity. There is yet another worldwide tour in the works, with an April 14, 2023 date on the calendar at the Prudential Center. And with the next show set for April 28, 2023, in Barcelona, and a big, fat window of empty time, assume there will be many, many more Jersey shows added before The Boss heads overseas.
IN OTHER IMPORTANT NEWS
NEW YORK – Yeah, you just missed “Manhattanenge.” It was closing night, last night, so to speak, to catch a glimpse of the setting sun within the Manhattan street grid, offering a perfectly-aligned red and yellow glow. (We would show you a glorious image, but all the lawyers who scan sites for copyrighted photos would sue us for thousands of dollars. So, Google it.) Anyway, the setting sun framed with NYC’s skyscrapers grids on east-west streets offered the same striking look as the Stonehenge circle on the solstice. That’s why a clever person, at some point, nicknamed it “Manhattanenge.” Try to catch it next summer.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
It was must-see TV on this day in 1984, when Eddie Van Halen joined a Jackson 5 concert.
WORD OF THE DAY
Inscrutable – [in-SKROO-tuh-bul] – adjective
Definition: Not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood
Example: I remain an inscrutable figure, despite the daily publication of a newsletter.
WIT OF THE DAY
“There is nothing so annoying as to have two people talking when you're busy interrupting.”
-Mark Twain
BIDEN BLURB
“Today is many things. It’s proof that despite the naysayers, we can make meaningful progress on dealing with gun violence…
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We have to do more than that!
BIDEN: Because make no mistake — sit down. You’ll hear what I have to say if you think —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We have to do more than that!
BIDEN: You —
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We have to open an office in the White House. I’ve been trying to tell you this for years.
BIDEN: We have one. Let me finish my comments.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)
BIDEN: Let him talk. Let him talk. No one — okay?”
-Joe Biden
WEATHER IN A WORD
Steamy