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Bravo 2DogDoll, Well said.

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Exactly, Corzine expanded the sales tax for SOLE reason of reducing property taxes by funding the property tax rebates with the increased revenue. What happened to that. Now only the elderly, disabled and poor are receiving said rebates. So he completely failed. It is time to stop blaming the state of the economy and put the blame on the poor leadership by Corzine over his 4 years. He was horrible even before we were in economic decline.

If Corzine is re-elected, this state is doomed. He is utterly confused about who the middle class in NJ really are. $75,000 gross income for a couple in NJ is poor, not middle class. They are not the ones who will stimulate the state's economy, so they should not be the only ones receiving property tax rebates. My property taxes jumped 50% in one year, ironically right before the market crashed, so of course the hike was based on the value of the house before the real estate market tanked.

NJ is losing middle class, upper middle class and wealthy residents in droves because of our highest in the nation tax burden. Not to mention the the businesses, small and large that are departing to greener pastures.

The only people that Corzine cares about is his base, the unions, state workers and the poorer residents of Newark, Elizabeth, JC, Camden, etc. He can care less about the suburban voters or the more well to do urban voters. We get the short end of the stick.

You would think with his business experience that he would have been more similar to Bloomberg in NY and been a more successful governor, but he has been a disgrace, a disaster and fully fits in with other stellar Democrats that this state made the mistake of electing, Lautenberg, Menendez, Torricelli, McGreevey, Florio, just to name a few.

NJ has to get out from under the control of the corrupt democrat machine and we need real change. I am not saying that Christie is the answer, because he has his own skeletons and was probably the wrong choice for the Republicans.

Anyone who openly supports Corzine has had their eyes closed for the last 4 years or is just another brainwashed member of the Democratic Party.

We need a Ron Paul type, someone who actually cares about the taxpayer, Lonegan would have been my choice, but since I don't have him to support, I might be forced to go with Christie just to get Corzine out, although I would much rather vote for Daggett because he seems like a breath of fresh air compared to the crap that Jersey has put out there in the past few elections.

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Yeah, Reagan was a horrible President, he only ended the cold war, brought Patriotism back after Watergate and a dismal Carter administration. Not to mention that fact that his policies led to a smaller federal government, lower taxes, and job growth and made the military something to be proud of. Peace through Strength. I agree with your stance on the current administration for the most part, but do not lump President Reagan in with George W. Bush and his neocon cronies.

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It would not be hilarious at all. Especially since he is the candidate with the best ideas overall and provides the most straight talk about how he will fix things. It would be a real shame for this country to lose a politician that actually puts the people he represents and the Constitution first, instead of the lobbyists and big government. Your comment here shows that you just don't get it.

http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?q ... pcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk5

Ahearn: Vote 'No' on ballot questions
e-mail print The Record

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

By JAMES AHEARN



THREE OR FOUR WEEKS ago I noticed a row of political signs planted along a Route 17 exit ramp. They didn't advertise a candidate or a party, but they did have a message, and, in big type, it was blunt: "Stop Higher Taxes. Vote 'No' on all ballot questions."

Last week the signs had disappeared. Someone had them removed, someone who didn't like the message, perhaps someone with enough pull to have a state highway crew take them away.

This morning, Tuesday, I spotted a lone survivor and stopped for a close look. In teensy-weensy lettering at the bottom was this acknowledgement: "Paid for by Americans For Prosperity, Mayor Steve Lonegan, executive director." Aha.

That would be the Steve Lonegan who is mayor of Bogota, the Lonegan newly accused of hypocrisy for hiring illegal immigrants even as he was campaigning to chase all illegals out of the country.

Hold on a minute, though. Turns out he has some surprising support for his basic contention that the top three statewide spending proposals are financially insupportable.

New Jersey's bonds used to be rated triple-A. Tax revenues were sufficient to meet operating expenses. The Legislature and whoever was governor would seek public approval to borrow money only for tangible, long-term capital improvements like buildings and roads and preservation of open space.

That consensus eroded. Money was borrowed even for operating expenses, and without public input. Last year the state's finances set off a crisis that shut down the government for a week.

The new governor, Jon Corzine, won passage of a 1 percent increase in the sales tax, but the Assembly speaker, Joseph Roberts, also a Democrat, got half of it dedicated to property tax relief, through an amendment to the state Constitution approved by voters last fall. Roberts then proposed a second amendment, dedicating the remainder of the sales tax increase to that same purpose. The Legislature acquiesced.

The referendum on the first amendment passed easily, by a 2 to 1 margin, and the second one, which you will find on the ballot two weeks hence, is expected to do so, too. Which brings us to the surprising source of support for the contention by Republican Lonegan that the statewide financial referendums look unfeasible without new sources of revenue, such as taxes.

Fiscal crisis

The source of that support is ? ta-da! ? Jon Corzine, liberal Democrat and ardent supporter of those proposals. He has looked at the numbers and has concluded, to his credit, that there is no fudging the facts, that the state faces a major financial crisis. He has directed his department heads to prepare for deep cuts in the budget for the fiscal year that starts next July.

Deep, as in $3 billion, equal to almost 10 percent of the present budget. Deep, as in cuts in state aid for cities and towns and a second round of cuts for colleges and universities. Deep, as in possible elimination of whole state departments and in further staff reductions, in addition to 2,000 positions already eliminated. Nothing on that scale seems politically feasible. Which would seem to leave new taxes, or more esoteric revenue raisers.

The governor's new view of state finances is not all that different from Lonegan's. The conclusion I draw is that the state should not be preparing to lock up hundreds of millions of dollars in sales tax revenue for property tax rebates when it cannot balance its own budget. So the responsible vote on Question No. 1 is "No."

As for Question No. 2, it would authorize a $450 million bond issue for stem-cell research. This would be in addition to $270 million in borrowed funds approved last year for construction of stem-cell facilities in no fewer than five politically favored locations: New Brunswick, Camden, Newark, Allendale and Belleville, of which only the New Brunswick center, uniting Rutgers and the state medical university, really makes sense.

No urgent need

The new bond issue would finance the actual research, the hiring and continued support of scientists to do the work. This would be a novel undertaking by the state. There is no telling which lines of research will pay off. That won't be clear for quite a while, if ever. There is no urgent need for the state government to get involved, certainly not to the extent of a combined total of nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars. Better to defeat this proposal and let the State House come back with a more reasonable plan.

Question No. 3 would authorize a stop-gap, one-year, $200 million bond issue to extend the depleted Garden State Preservation Trust, which finances purchase of open space, farmland and flood-prone properties, as well as historic preservation. It is the 12th Green Acres proposal to be submitted to the voters, who approved all 11 predecessors, in a line stretching back to the early Sixties. The need is real. But so is the state deficit. The unpalatable, regrettable conclusion: We should wait for a comprehensive budget solution. Vote "No."

James Ahearn is former managing editor of The Record. Send comments about this column to The Record at letterstotheeditor@northjersey.com.

Quote: I am all for protecting historic buildings, but funding of this sort should be done with private donations not public tax dollars.

NJ does not need any more tax increases. People are leaving this state in droves because of how overtaxed we are. Don't let the politicians fool you with their clever rouse to increase our taxes. Vote NO on all the questions!

I used Roots Home Inspection for the inspection of my new home. He did a great job, brought his own ladder, was extremely thorough. He took time to explain pretty much everything he was doing and he did this all with the seller conspicuously hanging around. He is also very reasonably priced.

http://www.rootshomeinspection.com/

The owner's name is Bill Root.

Good Luck.

Ya gotta love Fox New's take on this story.

Fox News Report


Rocket Launcher Tube Found at a Home Near N.J.'s Newark Liberty International Airport

Friday, July 20, 2007

NEW YORK ? Federal investigators are examining what appears to be an inoperative military rocket launcher tube found Friday morning on the front lawn of a Jersey City home that sits directly in the flight path of busy Newark Liberty International Airport.

Jersey City Police removed the tube, and the incident is now being investigated by the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The New York office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms told FOX News that it appeared to be a military firing tube, and that there was no evidence of any explosive device discovered at the scene.

The Associated Press reported that the tube was an inoperable military training device, and that it was given to Army officials at Fort Monmouth.

Police said the device was believed to be about 20 years old, and that it posed no hazard. It may have been used for anti-tank training, police told the AP.

Quote: They should have given this job to Howard Roark: Architect.

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I think the reason for the above statements is more because of the rise in crime in the area and the fact that people are trying to sell their homes before the housing bubble completely bursts.

Quote: Um, since when was Williamsburg cool? The only good things about Williamsburg is Peter Lugers and the "The World Series of Dice" presented by ESPN live from the Marcy Projects.

I second Carmines

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Yes, because a single senator is able to control the economy of the whole country. I fail to understand what you are talking about.

I disagree with the idea that rich towns should help out the poorer towns. I grew up in Westfield, a fairly well off NJ town and when I was in Jr High the town was given the decision to either allow a certain amount of new affordable housing or contribute money to the school systems places like Elizabeth and Plainfield. Well since the town did not want the property values to go down by building affordable housing, they decided to give a portion of our tax dollars so Elizabeth could put and olympic size swimming pool and other such amenities into their high school. As a result the jr high after school sports programs were cut as well as a bunch of classes at the jr high level.

What this amounts to is basically blackmail by the state. It is Robin Hood stealing from the rich not to give to the poor, but to give to the corrupt and poorly run school systems and local governments. Instead of taking money from successful school systems how you remove the corruption in the local governments of the poorly performing districts first.

I stand corrected

I like this message board, but honestly, how is this really a good way for the JCPD to connect with the community. There is basically the same 20 people or so that post on this message board. I am not sure about the exact population of Jersey City, but I am sure it larger than that. I can understand why they dont take time to post on this message board. I think that the community organization meetings are a better place for the JCPD to interact with the community.

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Maybe they should turn it into affordable housing for the non-producers.