I thought we had it bad here in New Jersey, but California is looking to face a $21 billion budget deficit this year. Part of the problem is that prison spending is over budget by more than $1 billion and K-12 schools were underpaid for about the same amount. The other part of the problem, is that the government in California (as well as New Jersey) seems to think that money falls from trees. These trees are the taxpayers of the state who have seen their taxes raise, property values lower and jobs cut.
Tourism is still a big part of California revenue is from tourism (in fact I am going to spend money on Anaheim motels when we visit Disneyland this year), but unless big government learns how to curtail spending, revenues will never meet the demand of spending.
With President Obama’s approval rating dipping below 50%, problems with health care and the economy and now leaks about the Afghanistan war strategy, it looks like the President is going to need the use of a wrinkle treatment earlier than expected. It is often been said that the Presidency ages a person.
It seems that someone in the inner circle, leaked information about deliberations on the Afghanistan war strategy. The President told CBS News that the review involved life-and-death decisions.
For people to be releasing information during the course of deliberations, where we haven’t made final decisions yet, I think is not appropriate.
Staff Sgt. Dennisur Thompson, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, overcompensates a left turn while on a driving simulator as a part of the Save a Life Tour in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Now that the elections are over, I can enjoy watching television again! There were so many political ads that it was making me nauseated. We live in an area were we not only get New Jersey political ads, but New York ads as well for a bigger dose. I would have loved to be living in Canada on the bell tv system for the last few months and missed all the ads.
If you really want to know if the political ads are true (or if you have heard political rumors and want to check them out), try FactCheck.org. FactCheck.org is a great resource. You can simply type in a name or term in the search box and browse through the results. I typed in Christie and found out concerning an ad by Corzine:
One ad makes it appear that a newspaper called Christie’s proposed corporate tax cuts “fiscally irresponsible.” But the newspaper said nothing of the kind; it simply reported on Christie’s proposal. It’s the Corzine camp’s opinion that the cuts would be irresponsible
Use FactCheck.org is you want to find out the truth in the political mud smearing.
New Jersey has some of the highest taxes in the country. Our new governor, Chris Christie, wants that to end. Christie has vowed to cut any tax increases that cross his desk when he becomes the governor of New Jersey. It is bad enough that there is high unemployment rates in New Jersey, but many are moving out of New Jersey to Pennsylvania or other states or even conducting job search PA or NY.
But, in order to get New Jersey back on its feet, Christie will have to do the hard thing – cut spending. He will have to do battle with the entrenched corruption in New Jersey and go toe-to-toe with union leaders and state workers. Only time will tell if he will be able to turn New Jersey around.
The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) cut a deal with President Obama. Unfortunately, this deal will hurt the people they are supposedly lobbying for – retired people. The AARP, which started out as an organization to help retired people by providing information as actually morphed into a private insurance carrier as well. The AARP (through a subsidary) provide Medi-Gap insurance to the elderly. Medi-gap is a high-cost, private insurance policy that will pick up costs where Medicare leaves off. The AARP was having a field day providing this insurance.
Enter President Bush-43. President Bush passed the Medicare Advantage Program. This program offered a subsidized, lower cost program. Many seniors switched from Medi-Gap to the new Medicare Advantage Program. The Seniors saved money and still received good coverage.
So how did President Obama win over the AARP support for his health care bill? President Obama has eliminated subsidies for the Medicare Advantage Program. Seniors will now have to pay more for coverage under Medi-Gap and guess who will make more money – AARP.
Many of the unemployed around the country probably do not believe that the economy is growing. Peter Orszag, director of the Office of Management and Budget, warned yesterday that the next few months will still be concerning for American workers. Orszag stated:
“Unfortunately,even as the economy begins to turn around, the employment picture isn’t going to brighten immediately — as the contrast between the recently reported GDP numbers and the unemployment numbers that we are expecting later this week will likely illustrate.”
The US unemployment rate will probably be 9.9% as the economy grew 3.5% in the third quarter. Many unemployed are not only trying to find jobs but are looking at job retraining, online degree education, and career changes as possible ways to gain employment.
Jon Corzine was voted out of office yesterday. While Corzine claimed that he had helped the state in this economic downturn, the voters were no doubt fed up with the 29% average increase in property taxes over this four year reign and the raise in unemployment. The new governor, Chris Christie, a Republican received 49% of the vote, to cinch the win. Independent Chris Daggett, who looked like a spoiler, received only 5% of the vote. Incumbents won the day in most of the other races, however, signaling that New Jerseyans aren’t ready for complete change.
Hopefully, Christie will be able to do what Jon Corzine couldn’t – reduce spending, cut budgets, cut taxes and make this state more favorable for business. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Too many politicians make promises they are not able to keep.
Spc. Justin Slagle returns to Forward Operating Base Lane in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after an air assault mission in the Zabul province of Afghanistan, Oct. 15, 2009. Even as leaders in Washington struggle with the next steps in Afghanistan, troops there are moving to better protect the Afghan people by separating them from Taliban influence and intimidation.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
How important is appearance in political races? In New Jersey, we have three viable candidates for Governor. Currently, according to the polls, Chris Christie holds a slight lead. But he is also “slightly overweight.” Jon Corzine, the incumbent Governor, is balding and always looks unkempt, but he is slim. The other candidate, Chris Daggett, is the only candidate that has more of a Hollywood appeal, but he is trailing in the polls.
Corzine has been accused of using Christie’s weight as a talking point when he referred to Christie as “throwing his weight around” to get out of parking violations. Christie, who previously ignored such weight comments, has now began to discuss his long time struggle with weight gain. While he has not disclosed what methods he has tried to lose weight, I am sure that this will resonate with many voters who have tried everything from weight loss pills to fad diets to unsuccessfully lose weight.
According to polls, 19 percent say that they are less likely to vote for Christie because of his weight (and they are probably all voting for Corzine), while 78 percent say it makes absolutely no difference.
