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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Newbie
 
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I hate to weigh in on issues that are so volatile to some people. I get the impression that there are a few persons who have an real (almost pathological) hatred against Brett Shundler but here goes.
We moved to Jersey City in the late 1970's and downtown in 1984 and things were very different back then. My husband and I are what some folks later called "yuppies" but as a stay home Mom ( free lance illustrator) and exporter we certainly never considered ourselves to be white collar, high income people. We have lived in Jersey City for quite a while here, but are still call the "new family" by one of our neighborhs. We are not particularly politically involved people, both registered democrats but we have never had much interest in politics, national or local. When we first moved to town I found out that things in our city didnt always work the way we expected. In fact My husband said that he was told things were "not on the level" in describing local government and city politics. that being said, when we first moved downtown I was frustrated in my attempts to get basic city services in response to simple requests. My neighbors kindly told me that the only way to get things done was to go to our committeewoman and "make nice". that was translated as my husband and I pledging to support "the administration". they explained that if we were "on the team" that they, (the committee folks and council person) would make sure that things got done. Well, things went on for a while and our family grew, we bought a house and moved downtown and sooner after that our home was reassesed and our taxes raised. I saw a flyer about a meeting of block associations and went to try and find out what relief we could get from the sudden increase. Brett was there and spoke briefly. Later there was another election and Brett was on the ballot. My husband I voted for him. We have met Brett I think three times since and spoken to him briefly once. I dont really know him (or any other politician) and like I say am not originally from Jersey City, I can say this though. Things seemed to be better when he was mayor. We saw more police in our neighborhood, our taxes were pretty stable and my impression is that the mayor was trying to run the city well. most of our neighbors felt the same way. the fact that Brett is/was a republican was never a factor in deciding to vote for him. my husband asked me "why is it that whenever any politicial runs for a higher office, nobody has a complaint, but when mayor Shundler ran for governor he was attacked. Also I remember signs all over the neighborhood saying that he was just using Jersey City as a "stepping stone" and would move on. I dont know, did he he move away and has since moved back? the only other thing I know about this is that one of the things our family liked about Brett was the subject of charter schools. When we first heard about charter schools, it seemed like everyone was against them, now everyone likes them. Our kids were in school in Jersey City and briefly attended one of the first charter schools that opened. Now our friends in Ocean County all talk about the new charter schools in their towns. Like I said, I am not political, but our impression is that Shundler was a pretty good mayor who did some good things. In the past few years it seems like things have not gone as well. just my two cents.
Posted on: 2009/1/2 20:22
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall (Governor)
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Home away from home
 
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Quote:
SalOnTheHill wrote: +1. For newbies just moved here since Shundler was Mayor, check out my sig below. 
Posted on: 2008/12/31 18:04
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Re: Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
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Newbie
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HOW ABOUT SOME NEW BLOOD?
GET RID OF ALL OF THESE BACK DOOR CROOKED POLITICIANS!!!
Posted on: 2008/12/31 16:25
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Re: Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
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Home away from home
Joined:
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Quote:
Read my sig.
Posted on: 2008/12/30 17:36
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Re: Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
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Just can't stay away
 
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Maybe he's planning a Giuliani strategy by waiting until the runoff election to enter the race.
Posted on: 2008/12/30 16:55
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Re: Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
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Home away from home
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Fair or not, Jersey City is Mudville for the GOP.
Posted on: 2008/12/30 16:35
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Re: Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
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Home away from home
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I heard last winter that he was going to be running this time but havent heard anything solid.
Its funny I was reading some thread & saw this link in someones post not even related to this. http://stopbretschundler.com/
Posted on: 2008/12/30 16:35
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Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
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Home away from home
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Why is Schundler keeping low profile in Jersey City mayoral contest?
by The Jersey Journal Monday December 29, 2008, 6:01 PM Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler has said he plans to run for his old seat come May but he hasn't made any official announcements, leaving political observers wondering if he's really in it this time around. Political observers are wondering if former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler has enough money to seek election to his old seat come May, according to PolitickerNJ.com. The article quotes a Schundler ally as saying it's not the money but maybe the uphill struggle to form a full ticket of qualified council candidates that's keeping Schundler on the quiet side. =================  http://www.politickernj.com/matt-frie ... uiet-schundler-fuels-buzz Quiet Schundler fuels buzz By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter Bret Schundler, who served as Mayor of Jersey City from 1992 to 2001, is mulling a comeback bid next May. While the Jersey City mayoral race is starting to gain momentum, former mayor Bret Schundler, who has not formally kicked off his campaign but has already said that he intends to run, has been relatively quiet. That has led to speculation that Schundler has had trouble raising money and filling out a full council slate and that he has begun to rethink whether he can pull off the same kind of upset in 2008 as he did in 1992. Some say Schundler?s feet are beginning to get cold. Reached for comment today, Schundler said he would like to hold off on interviews until January 15th. Asked if he would rebut or clarify rumors about having a tough time campaigning, he said ?I don?t want to clarify anything.? But attorney Sean Connelly, a close Schundler ally who ran all three of his mayoral campaigns and served as Jersey City Corporation Counsel during his administration, dismissed the rumors. ?The last time I spoke to Bret was last Monday, and of course we send emails all the time. But nothing gave me any kind of concern,? he said. ?I?m very pleased with the fundraising.? Connelly did acknowledge that cobbling together a full slate has been challenging, but chalked it up to a shallow talent pool. ?The only problem I saw in the entire campaign, and Bret and I discussed this way back in February, is putting together a complete ticket. Unfortunately, sorry to say, most of the better people wouldn?t touch elected office with a 10 foot poll,? he said. ?There are all kinds of people calling us up saying they want to be on our ticket. I?m not saying they?re condemned to hell, but they?re not the type that will run on our ticket.? Connelly said he hopes to get Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop on the Schundler ticket, but said "he hasn't given us any indication." chundler eked out a victory in a crowded special election in 1992, after which he cobbled together alliances with key city political players to win re-election to full terms in 1993 and 1997. He left office to run for governor as a Republican in 2001, but lost to Democrat Jim McGreevey. In 2005, he ran for governor again, but lost the Republican primary to Doug Forester. A source familiar with Schundler?s fundraising efforts said that he has banked about $150,000 for his mayoral bid and that he expects to be out-funded by his opponents. Incumbent Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who enjoys a good relationship with the numerous development firms doing business in the city, has over $1 million in the bank. In a phone interview last month, Schundler said that the name recognition he earned during his nine years as mayor ? more so than his two gubernatorial bids ? provide for name ID that would otherwise be expensive to build. ?What I need to raise is less than others. I think if I raised $600,000 I would have a chance,? he said. At the time, Schundler mentioned that he had six fundraising events planned for a two week period. Matt Friedman is a PolitickerNJ.com Reporter and can be reached via email at matt@politicsnj.com.
Posted on: 2008/12/30 14:52
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Re: Bret Schundler to run for Mayor
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Home away from home
Joined:
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Read my sig
Posted on: 2008/8/15 4:18
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Re: Bret Schundler to run for Mayor
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Home away from home
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Anybody believe this is not a direct response to the amount of news print given to the referendum movement.Poor little right wing bret is feeling left out.
Posted on: 2008/8/15 3:09
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Bret Schundler to run for Mayor
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Quite a regular
 
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http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... cial_schundler_to_ru.html
It's (un)official: Schundler to run for Jersey City mayor by The Jersey Journal Thursday August 14, 2008, 4:52 PM Though it's been among the worst kept secrets in local politics, it's more less official now: Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler plans to run for his old job next year, according to politickernj.com. "This is not a formal kickoff announcement, but I do plan to run," Schundler told the Web site.
Posted on: 2008/8/15 2:11
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Bret Schundler for Mayor (Again)
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Newbie
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Anybody catch this in the paper?
Bret bites into all the mayor's race equations so far Wednesday, May 21, 2008 W hat was just smoke and embers is starting to flame up. Blowing on the growing fire is former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, who seems to be positioning himself for another run at the Grove Street office. On Saturday, on the big stage at the Everything Jersey City Festival on Central Avenue, there was Schundler among the elected and other dignitaries. It was Mayor Jerramiah Healy who introduced Schundler to the crowd and during exchanges with residents, the former mayor was asked about a poll and whether he is planning to run again next May. After a bit of goading and some hemming and hawing, Schundler said his running is "possible" - and the flames flickered higher. Possible? Bret is all but waving a placard - Vote for Me. He has paid for a poll that came down to asking people for their opinion of Healy and himself on a series of issues - crime, education, etc. About a month back, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, a Schundler ally when DeGise was City Council president under Bret's administration, said Schundler had his day and that he and the other Jersey City Democrats are firmly behind their fellow Heights Hibernian. Back then, they could say this because they were convinced Healy had state Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham on his side. Now they are not so confident about the sincerity of her partnership with Healy and whether she covets City Hall. Enter Plan B? If Healy cannot keep Cunningham in his camp, it may be hard for DeGise and Councilman Bill Gaughan in the Heights to stay behind their "buddy." The last people they would care to see become mayor is Cunningham or former Assemblyman Lou Manzo. They could live with Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop, to a point - and can he win? This leaves an old relationship, possibly Schundler. Everything is in place. Besides having a number of former Schundler people in the county administration, Healy hasn't helped his position by pushing out some of his old backers, like John Reilly and Tom Moriarty, in favor of ex-Bret people, like Dominick Pandolfo, Healy's chief of staff, and Rosemary McFadden, deputy mayor. The other person who could be hurt by Schundler entering the race is Fulop, who is trying to create a grassroots candidacy. Fulop and Schundler would appeal to the same Downtown people, although the councilman feels he has made inroads with his constituency and Schundler will have to reintroduce himself to many new residents. How does Fulop see Schundler's interest in becoming mayor? "If Bret wants to get back into it, I think he would make a wonderful at-large candidate," Fulop said, even without showing the back of his hand. "Nothing changes for us. We're moving forward - not backward." One problem for Schundler will be keeping his Republican status. For the "others" to truly embrace him, and to be acceptable to most in this day and age, he may have to convert into an Independent, even in a nonpartisan race. Healy still has some influence in all this just by being chairman of the Jersey City Democratic Organization. DeGise and others can put an end to speculation just by holding a rally and swearing their loyalty to Mr. J. In the real world, the question now is whether the small Jersey City fire will burn quickly and hotter, a bit sooner than most expected, or will it continue to smolder until after Labor Day, when campaigns traditionally get started? The city election is a year away, but as one very smart fellow once said, the only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once. NOT ON FAVE 5, BUT HE'S OK A few columns back, it was noted by this columnist that North Bergen Mayor and Sen. Nick Sacco was not crazy about U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews. Sacco's publicist at Vision Media Marketing sent a statement from the senator. "(Some date), a Political Insider column in The Jersey Journal stated that I personally 'can't stand' Congressman Rob Andrews. This is completely false and there is no basis for such an outrageous statement. I know Rob Andrews, have supported him in the past and have a good relationship with him ." Perhaps I confused Andrews for George Norcross? Sacco is probably friendly with all those South Jersey guys. We should all get together for a BYOT lunch. If you wondered, the answer is "taster." ? 2008 The Jersey Journal
Posted on: 2008/5/22 0:49
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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My point was that dealing with a private firm allows one more options than being forced to deal with the government (at no point did I defend a government endorsed monopoly). Yes, the notion of hating how much one has to pay to United Water so much that one collects water and uses a composting toilet or outhouse is an unlikely course of action for most but at least it is an option. Still, if one's water bill was a large % of one's income, one might seriously consider such a course of action.
What I do find absurdly funny is people complaining about private entities (or their water bill) while not complaining about how government forcibly compels them to surrender a huge amount of their income while denying them the freedom to spend it on other things or even chose an alternative provider for their "services". If someone feels that they are getting value from their taxes then they should be willing to pay even more than they are required to, as any rational person would do in a voluntary contract. Why does no one do this. Quote:
Posted on: 2008/3/28 3:43
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Ummmm, okay, I'm sure the hard-working mortgage-paying home-owners of Jersey City will get right on that. Thanks for proving my point (and then hastily changing the subject to Linux versus Windows).
Your point was premised on the idea that Schundler's privatization of municipal utilities was good for people because it allowed them to essentially get their water and sewer service from a monopoly. And their free market alternative is to collect rain-water on their roof. I hope you at least laughed to yourself as you typed that response. Because I laughed out loud. Quote:
Posted on: 2008/3/26 5:20
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Quote:
I don't think so. By turning off the water you're telling them you're doing something with your doodies other than flushing them down, which would raise some code violations I'm sure. Don't they also calculate your sewer bill by the amount of water you use? They'd never let you opt out of both the water and sewer and keep your C of O, not here where no one has room for leach fields and a well water would be suicidal. Do you suppose there's a septic tank in all of JC? As for the rest, grow up. We both hate the war, maybe you also hate social security, I hate corporate welfare, we all dislike something our government does. But govt is like health insurance, it only works if everyone pays, when people opt out and only pay when they discover they need it, it fails. Here's a platitude i think I just made up: government doesn't fail the people, it's the people that fail the govt. The apathy, ignorance, avarice and sheepness that people in JC and the US display at election time gets us the government we deserve.
Posted on: 2008/3/26 5:16
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Actually one could turn off the tap and tell them to pound sand. My grandfather's house got water by collecting the rain from the roof. Now I'm not saying that one would save money or that it would be easy but it is an option. A similar choice would be using Linux rather than Windows - many choose to do so even though, in my experience, it is a huge inconvenience. Nevertheless, the choice is there for those who want to avail themselves of it because it is a matter of free choice among private entities.
By contrast, where is my choice for the 40% of my income (on the margin) that goes to income taxes? Do I have the option of "gathering my own water" in terms of opting out of government services and providing them for myself. Do I have the choice of not funding things that I find morally repugnant. Quote:
Posted on: 2008/3/26 4:37
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Not too shy to talk
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What has Schundler done for Jersey City since he left office as Mayor? He hasn't moved. If he cared so much for Jersey City why havn't we heard anything from him in all these years? Has he been civically involved in our City and its issues? I guess he needs to use Jersey City for his future political plans.
What City Assets are left for Swindler to sell and privatize?
Posted on: 2008/3/25 14:52
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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+1 on the ross-sewage remark
very astute mr sewage
Posted on: 2008/3/25 14:38
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Just can't stay away
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Bret was luckier than he was smart. Lucky enough to enter a special election with 19 other candidates. Lucky enough to be rich. Lucky enough to face Lou Manzo and Jerry Healy. Lucky that Bobby J preferred having a Republican Mayor of JC. Lucky to have Rudy Giuliani as Mayor of JC.
That kind of luck rarely repeats itself. Lucky for us.
Posted on: 2008/3/25 1:52
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Quote:
So wait, Jersey City homeowners don't have to pay the JC-MUA / United Water for their water? Cool. Where do you suggest they bring their business? Markets are cool!
Posted on: 2008/3/25 1:45
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Just can't stay away
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I do not accept the canard that Hague and a socialism boogeyman can be blamed for the economic decline that you cite. I was born in the hospital that he named after his mother. Shortly after it began offering free pre and post maternity care to a world class standard, this city had the highest survival rate of babies and mothers in the world.
My family survived an astounding onslaught of diseases thanks to the free, state-of-the-art medical care that any local citizen received. Between the time I was 12 years old and 16 years old, I had spent time in the Medical Center for such things as measles, mumps, chicken pox, scarlet fever, diptheria, hepatitis, and tuberculosis. My younger brother had a similar medical history, except he did not have TB. He did have rheumatic fever, which I avoided because I was already doing a two month fractured femur gig in there. Both my parents had TB, too. Without the care we got, we never would have survived. Where is the evidence that Hague destroyed the city's economy and made it a backwater? When I graduated from High School in 1951, he had been out of office 6 years. His political machine had been booted 4 years earlier. The local economy at the time was booming. With a high school education and right out of school, a man could get a job within a 20/30 commute. It was a real job, with wages good enough (after a brief apprenticeship or probationary period) to get married and start a family. The list of local companies who offered those jobs included almost all of the Fortune 500 of the day. JC was, as I recall, the 13th largest city in the nation in the late 40's and early 50s. Frank Hague had nothing to do with the movement of jobs and the overarcing changes in our national economy. The corporate and manufacturing base is what changed. The American work force changed. As the network of federal highways was built, opening up the nation, and as young men like me came out of Korean War service in the early/mid 50's, the nation, its people, its business and its economy moved west and south, anywhere from a few miles to a few thousand miles. I was transferred out of the area a week before my 22nd birthday by a major corporation with what today would be $50/70 K a year, a company car, full med benefits, two week vacation and 9 week bonuses. Guys like me who didn't go off to college, became self-made men, thanks to the opportunities here. And we moved away only because the nation was exploding in opportunity and prosperity, not because some long evicted and dead politician forced that. Companies based in the area eventually had to move for reasons that had nothing to do with that one little man's politics. Examples, in both Hoboken and Bayonne as well . . . Lipton Tea (that great job that transferred me away from here) moved because their factory was obsolete and inadequate for the growth in production. Same thing happened to Maxwell House, Tetley Tea, A &P (world's largest warehouse), Colgates (where both parents worked), Westinghouse, RCA, Maidenform Bra, Lorillard Tobacco and literally hundreds of famous-brand facilities that were successed-out, unable to meet the needs of the booming consumer markets outside the east coast. They closed for reasons beyond anyone's control and their departure for larger spaces in cheaper labor markets had absolutely nothing to do with local politics. I offer no brief for Hague's policies or politics, except for the simple fact that the local population enjoyed the finest medical care in the USA, maybe even in the world, thanks to his "socialist" ideas. If that's socialism, we sure could use some of it now. Of course, if you want to see Brett turn purple - as nice a guy as he personally is - he truly is - just suggest the we all return to that horrible socialism. I like the guy. He's sincere and smart and non-corrupt. I just can't agree with his rightwing politics.
Posted on: 2008/3/25 1:45
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Just to expand on this a bit; let's not forget that "an expanded public sector" is achieved by theft at the point of a gun. If one dislikes a private company, no matter how large and obnoxious, one can simply not give them one's money. If one dislikes how the government is spending one's money (e.g. the Iraq war) one can either pay up, go to jail, become a tax resisting fugitive, or die in a hail of gunfire.
As valid as the argument for the efficiency of private enterprise over government is; at the root of it all is the freedom of choice and competition that private enterprises are subject to vs. how government denies choice, is not subject to competition, and utilizes coercion. Quote:
Posted on: 2008/3/25 1:37
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Quote:
I am not in principle against the free market. I am against captive markets controlled by and for a narrow interest. Why should a privately run monopoly be any more efficient than a publicly run one? It's real competition that creates efficiency, and even real markets like autos sometimes end up competing on anything but price. Witness how they all colluded to keep the profit margins on SUV's sky high. Don't even get me started on the healthcare and drug industries. The creation of municipal authorities in JC ended up simply making the same old graft and inefficiency even more unaccountable. How could the Parking Authority, which should basically make money like it was a mint, possibly ever run in the red like it did recently? Imagine the malfeasance that takes. What do you suppose goes on in the other authorities that we don't expect to make money? I haven't studied the Hague period enough to offer a specific opinion, but blaming him for JC's share of a nationwide trend of white flight and cities losing their industrial base seems over the top. If you want a smart honest hardworking mayor, keep an eye on Fulop. GWB, yes I understand that point. I have 2 points to counter. 1- some of that growth was bought by policies that mortgaged the financial future of the city. 2- JC had some exceptional geographic advantages over many other cities, being in the shadow of the NYC economic engine without actually being part of the city, and being small enough that the inflows made a big demographic difference. There are few cities this close to a very large one without being part of it, like brooklyn is. Yes, Schundler was the best mayor of the past 15 years. Unfortunately for us that's not saying much. The quality of our leadership is astonishingly low.
Posted on: 2008/3/25 1:29
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Quote:
You're playing coy. Brewster's point is that the City was in such a hole in advance of the economic boom of the 1990's, that it only had upwards to go. And only JC had the benefit of being an economic black hole directly across the river from the center of the world market. Schundler did a great job at one thing: taking credit for the economy which he had nothing to do with, and for the fruits of the work that had been planted by his predecessors.
Posted on: 2008/3/25 1:04
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Okay, now read this:
COMMENT: Tim Burrows and Francisco Ascui | November 24, 2007 EMISSIONS trading scheme is a market-based mechanism for trading permits -- known as "allowances" -- to emit carbon dioxide. The European Union ETS is no trivial market. In 2006, the value of allowances traded in the EU ETS reached around $A30 billion . However, the introduction of the EU ETS was not without significant problems. Now, Australia is planning to implement its own ETS. So, are we taking the best of the European scheme and improving on it? Unfortunately, it seems we are set to repeat some of its worst mistakes. If there's just one lesson to take away from the introductory phase of the EU ETS, it is this: governments are not very good at making allocations based on forward projections of industry activity. Consider this. In May 2006, over just a few days, the price of an EU allowance plummeted from around 30 euros per tonne of CO2 to less than 10 euros per tonne. The immediate trigger for the crash was the unofficial release of data on companies' actual emissions performance in 2005, but the root cause was that governments had flooded the market by giving away too many allowances for free -- before trading even started. Prior to the release of emissions data, most analysts believed the market faced a shortfall in allowances. When the actual data were released, the market collapsed and never recovered. It's easy to point the finger at governments for getting the initial allocations wrong, but it's actually unreasonable to expect them to be able to get it right. European governments over-allocated because they wanted to avoid penalising sectors that were exposed to international competition, so cuts in emissions -- where required at all -- were applied to the electricity sector only. In theory, forecasts of industry activity can be used to determine the appropriate allocation to each industry sector, thereby avoiding over-allocation. In practice, governments will always be at an information disadvantage with respect to industry when forecasting sector-specific emissions, and industry will always have a strong incentive to inflate projections in order to increase their allocation. In the end, a familiar battle was played out in every European capital between environment and industry departments. Most often, when faced with tremendous uncertainty in modelling future projections, industry departments won. The result, in the first phase of the EU ETS, was massive over-allocation -- up to 50 per cent in some industry sectors. The Australian ETS is heading down a similar path, using free allocation as a means to compensate for "disproportionate loss of asset value" and "trade exposed energy intensive industries". Both of these methods will rely on inherently uncertain economic modelling, which in turn will be highly reliant on sector-specific commercial information. Once again, the government will be at an information disadvantage; the end result is likely to be over-allocation. Whether or not this floods the overall market will depend on how many permits the government makes available to other sectors via auction, but ultimately any over-allocation will simply lead to a larger than necessary cash contribution from those who will ultimately pick up the tab for higher energy and commodity prices: consumers. Further, unlike the European over-allocation, which at least became transparent after fairly soon after emissions data were released, the true extent of "loss of asset value" or "trade exposure" will remain somewhat murky, even after the fact. And because the compensation for loss of asset value is "once and for all", there may never be an opportunity to correct the mistakes that will almost certainly be made. Let's be clear about this: we are not against the principle of providing reasonable compensation for stranded assets, or transitional support to certain sectors, where this can be justified. However, we would suggest that: Any such support should be transparent and based on hard evidence after the fact, not modelling forecasts made at an information disadvantage; Compensation and support should be purely financial -- rather than in the form of free allocations -- to avoid interference with the functioning of the carbon market; and There should be mechanisms to contain future impacts if mistakes are made in the initial design of the scheme. Tim Burrows and Francisco Ascui are directors at Climate Managers, a consulting firm that provides climate
Posted on: 2008/3/25 0:54
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Posted on: 2008/3/25 0:45
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Quote:
#1 vs 99 other major urban areas, who, being American cities at the time of the study, presumably were also American cities during the time being studied, a period of strong economic growth nationally. GWB
Posted on: 2008/3/25 0:39
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Just can't stay away
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Brewster:
So on principle you are against privatization? I guess on principal you are for a European model public sector. If you look at your Jersey City history, it was the socialist Hague who destroyed the City making it a backwater that no one wanted to go business in but assuring himself of life long tenure. Fact is, nothing is perfect, but the flaws of an expanded public sector tend to dwarf those of private enterprises. Schundler awoke Jersey City Municipal government from its dogmatic slumber and made the City more liveable. Obviously, the City swims with the tide and did benefit from the current at that time. However, it is even more important to have a smart honest mayor in the event that this Recession becomes long and deep.
Posted on: 2008/3/25 0:02
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Privatization and deregulation were all the rage for a while. The problem was that ultimately neither accomplished a true marketplace. It's not like you can shop around for a different water company than United Water. And deregulation led to Enron and it's form of corrupt market manipulation, cronyism and fraud. Both turned out to just another way to pick the public pocket. The only reason anyone ever wants to "privatize" the Turnpike is to plug a budget hole today by depriving the future of assets and income. You don't sell your tools to pay the rent on your workshop. You're left with neither tools nor workshop. Lastly, has privatizing security in Iraq by paying Blackwater troopers $1200 a day for thing previously done by GI's been such a good idea? Like most of the privatization, it's been just a way to cook the books and enrich the connected.
Posted on: 2008/3/24 22:02
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Re: New York Times: Ex-Jersey City Mayor Eyes Return to City Hall
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Just can't stay away
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Isn't privatization kind of an accepted way to make government more efficient? I mean, I think it gets out of control, but both sides of the aisle are practicing it (Democratic governors have been trying to privatize the Turnpike since Whitman). I understand that the theory is that by privatization, the enterprise will be better run and the labor costs reduced. The accounting aspect may have some holes, but its not vodoo. Still, I have to ask; why does the mere mention of Schundler bring such howls of indignation when Cunningham when the City was being run by out and out crooks and Heely when the City is not being run at all other than as a conduit to take care of friends and family, there is criticism, but nothing heated or organized. It's got to be because teachers, cops, fireman, the gatekeepers of waterfront development do not want their good thing messed with.
Posted on: 2008/3/24 21:04
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