Revel Without a Cause

UPDATE: For more on Christie's too-cozy-for-comfort relationship with NJ's pension funds, see David Sirota's piece in International Business Times, as reported on by Rosi Efthim, editor of Blue Jersey

**********

Christie's big gamble on the Revel Casino comes up snake eyes for NJ citizens and pension funds.

The headline says it all. The gleaming new jewel of Atlantic City, the hoped-for savior of a town that makes its living off of hope, off of worshipping golden—and silver and green—idols will sink slowly into the sunset on September 1, and along with it thousands of jobs, millions in lost tax revenue, and billions in debt.

A stark contrast to the tacky kitsch and schmaltz of casinos like the Trump Taj Mahal, Showboat and Caesars Palace, the sleek, sophisticated Revel was supposed to usher in a new era in Atlantic City's revival and the state's casino gaming experience. An undulating steel blue wave cut by a giant shark fin, the Revel is the perfect metaphor for a pastime that dulls the senses like the beautiful but dangerous jellyfish so the great white can go in for the kill. Only this time the victim is not merely the hapless gambler with their bucket of quarters and free buffet pass; it's the house—the people of New Jersey. 

Along with the closings of the Atlantic Club, Trump Plaza and Showboat this year, Revel will take with it thousands of jobs (albeit low wage, part time jobs), and the hopes and dreams of so many up and down the political and socioeconomic spectrum. And no one in charge knows when or if the bleeding will stop. And what happens when there's blood in the water? The sharks circle:

"We always like to think we know where the bottom is," said Keith Foley, a casino analyst for Moody's Investors Service. "We don't know where the bottom is for Atlantic City." 

The city's unemployment rate—13.1% in June— is likely to further climb, said Joseph Seneca, an economist at Rutgers University. By the fall, the city could face the loss of 8,000 of the 32,000 casino jobs it had last winter. (emphasis mine)

Moody's, the credit-ratings firm, said the closure would hurt the city's finances because Revel contributes about $20 million in property tax revenue. The firm downgraded the city's bond rating to junk status last week and says further action could come. 

[Mayor Guardian] is asking the state for additional aid and trying to cut spending. Mr. Guardian declined to comment beyond a statement issued by the city. (emphasis mine) 

What's the darling of spending cuts these days? My bet's on public education—just what every low income child needs.

Gentrification for 'other people'

Like Camden, Atlantic City's almost 40-year gentrification experiment has mostly benefitted 'other people'. Great shopping, hotels, shows, gambling and conventions are mostly for people who don't live there: 

But the arrival of casinos has not fixed the deep-seated social problems plaguing a city where nearly 30% of residents live below the poverty line. Unemployment remains high, at nearly 18% last year. Gangs roam in low-income neighborhoods, and the crime rate in 2011 was 107.2 incident per 1,000 residents, compared with 39.3 for Atlantic County.

And the very government agency created to help city residents has since changed its focus — to helping casinos attract more gamblers and visitors. (emphasis mine)

"In hindsight yes, one of the things that we learned in Atlantic City, whether it's gambling or other economic development, [is that] economic development in and of itself is not a cure for social problems," said Jim Whelan, a former Atlantic City mayor who is now a Democratic state senator. (emphasis mine)

"The hardcore unemployed are a social problem. It's not an economic problem," said Whelan, who has taught in Atlantic City's public schools for 35 years. "The help-wanted sign does not solve that problem. People don't have the life skills, the job skills, to function in the workplace." (emphasis mine)

Rolling the dice on the public dime

From the get-go, the casino was drowning in bad timing, terrible tragedy and plain ole bad luck. But with billions already spent, an economy in the tank, and investors jumping ship, Christie rolled the dice on Revel by pledging over $250 million in tax breaks to help finish the struggling project, and with it revive the state's economy and create jobs, albeit many part time jobs that employees would have to reapply for every four years. Nothing screams employee appreciation like making them re-apply, and it's a great way to keep wages low!

But while those tax breaks weren't supposed to kick in until Revel turned a certain profit (which it didn't), public pension money was invested with no such strings attached:

Canyon Capital Advisors, a California-based firm, is among a group of funds that stepped in and helped rescue the half-completed Revel when Morgan Stanley walked away from its $1.3 billion investment in 2010. 

New Jersey began investing in Canyon Capital in 2007 with a $75 million commitment. In July 2011, the state Investment Council approved putting an additional $100 million in Canyon Capital, about five months after the hedge fund made its bet on Revel, and in the same month the state approved an incentive package to jump-start the project. 

[Treasury Department Spokesperson Andy] Pratt rejected any suggestion that the timing of the investment was significant. He said the council was unaware of the hedge-fund involvement in Revel, and added that the decision was based on Canyon’s track record, which included a 31 percent return on the state’s 2007 investment. 

Gaming Enforcement records show nine hedge funds, including Canyon Capital, have provided $304 million in financing for Revel in exchange for a hefty 12 percent rate of return and the power to assume up to 90 percent ownership of the casino after three years. Records from the state agency show the group was also given two seats on the casino’s five-member board.

The $304 million investment in Revel carries a high reward for the hedge funds, but significant risk as well. According to public documents, the hedge funds are considered second-lien debt, meaning they would be among the last to get repaid if the casino filed for bankruptcy or liquidated its assets. (emphasis mine)

I am not an economist, but I was scratching my head when I first read about this deal. Yes, sometimes riskier investments do pay heftier returns, and in the middle of the recession with the pension fund already greatly underfunded, those in charge decided to roll the dice because, according to this same report, the risk to the fund is supposed to be minimal:

Andy Pratt said the investment in Revel posed little threat to retirees and the $69.9 billion pension fund. He said the $200 million from the hedge fund represents less than 1 percent of the state’s total investment portfolio, and that the funds were sufficiently positioned to absorb any Revel loss. 

The exposure to retirees from Revel is nearly impossible to determine from public records because hedge funds are not required to divulge their investments, and the state signed non-disclosure agreements with the firms. (emphasis mine)

"Even in a worst-case scenario, the risk exposure is minuscule," Pratt said. 

But the fact is that the state pension fund is losing money on this and there is absolutely no way to determine how much! For the past 20 years, the fund has been pillaged—not by police, firefighters, education professionals, state office or hospital employees who've been dutifully making their required contributions—but by Republican and Democratic elected officials alike. And yet, under Christie's watch, the state takes a huge gamble and loses, but he travels the state this summer on a 'No Pain, No Gain' tour blaming, threatening, excoriating public employees for our 'entitlement' largess. His hypocrisy knows no bounds. 

Whose Pain? Whose Gain? 

When most reasonable people who've watched their paychecks shrink or be eliminated have to choose between paying their bills or playing craps, they'll pay their bills. Our state economy is still in the toilet, our roads and bridges are falling apart, our schools are falling down around students, and we could certainly use another commuter artery into Manhattan, so why are we investing in gambling as a way to boost the economy?

This is not rocket science, folks. The fact that four casinos are closing this year should be a huge red flag that many people simply don't have that kind of disposable income anymore. Investing in the expansion of places of business that rely heavily on people losing disposable income in a down economy just doesn't seem logical. And who suffers? Who always suffers when Gov. Christie puts his needs and the needs of his wealthy supporters first? Here's a recap:

• The Poor—Gambling hasn't done much to help end poverty in Atlantic City. As Sen. Whelan pointed out, poverty is a social problem, one that gambling has never been able to fix.
• Workers—Atlantic City is going to lose thousands of jobs by year's end. 
• Schools (potentially)—Mayor Guardian says spending cuts are imminent, and schools are an easy target.
• NJ Taxpayers—By continuing to give tax breaks to big corporations, we lose. Although Revel never hit their profit goal to benefit from those tax breaks, this is another example of Christie putting the needs of a corporation before the needs of real, flesh and blood citizens. 
• Commuters—By propping up a struggling casino instead of investing in badly needed state infrastructure repairs that will stand the test of time and economic trends, they lose. Flat tires, broken axles and wheel misalignments all cost money. And if we have another winter like the last one, things will only get worse. 
• Pension Funds—Because of non-disclosure agreements there is no way to determine exactly how much of a hit the funds are taking. It could be a little, or it could be a lot.

"I got no clue, no idea."

Now what?

So, what will Gov. Christie do now that Atlantic City is sinking faster than the Titanic? In the words of casino attorney, Lloyd Levinson when asked about Revel's future, "I got no clue, no idea." 

But when all else fails, he falls back to his social safety net: attacking and blaming others.

Closing thoughts

One of the other headlines in that Star Ledger image above reads: "Study says NJ benefits are among the costliest." Instead of threatening the hard-earned and contractually obligated benefits of middle class public employees on his 'No Pain, No Gain' summer tour, why isn't the governor talking about how he's going to sit down with the insurance companies to negotiate for lower health insurance premiums. I mean, he loves to to negotiate, right? 

Christie says that unlike Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, he “loves” collective bargaining. 

“Let me at them. Get me out of the cage and let me go,” Christie promises the crowds at his town hall meetings.

Whether a state employee association or an insurance company, negotiation is negotiation. Could some of those insurance execs be political donors? I can't imagine...


Adding: Be sure to read regular Blue Jersey contributing blogger, Bill Orr's 2 part series on the birth and death of Atlantic City here and here. 

Camden: Improving the quality of life for 'other people'

Taking a break from NJ State BOE testimony to bring you an update on one of the poorest, most dangerous cities in the country: Camden. And borrowing some of the title from a Camden educator's blog post last week (more below).

While my little graphic may be snarky, the daily reality that many Camden residents face is anything but. A quick Google search brings up volumes about the decades-long plight of Camden and her residents. But as someone who grew up in a pretty toxic environment, I know that often times a healthy dose of Gallows Humor is what gets me through difficult times. 

This video, however is no laughing matter. It's staggeringly, brutally, innocently and blatantly honest. It's what just about every child in that city faces every day, and is the very definition of sin. Many don't have the resilience of this young man.  
 

          

More from him later.

Camden in the news

Several recent events have put the city at the center of law makers, news media and civil rights advocates, and prompted some excellent reporting by some of NJ's finest education policy bloggers:

1. Gov. Christie vetoed a budget provision that would have increased the per household amount that food stamp recipients now receive because 'other people' outside NJ might find that more appealing in a presidential candidate. 
2. Writing for Anthony Cody's Ed Week blog, Living in Dialogue, Julia Sass-Rubin of Save Our Schools NJ criticized the recent late-night shenanigans by some Trenton legislators that effectively re-wrote portions of the NJ Charter School law so that previously out-of-compliance charter chains, Mastery and Uncommon Schools, would now be in compliance, and the 'other people' who run them would be able to educate profit from Camden's children.
3. State officials gave another big corporate tax break to a politically connected company that will yet again bring very few jobs to Camden, but will benefit 'other people'. 
4. Camden educator Keith Eric Benson guest posted over at the EduShyster blog (cross-post at Blue Jersey) about the new taxpayer-funded Philadelphia 76ers practice facility being built in Camden that will provide the city with a handful of seasonal, low-paying jobs and not much else. Keith makes the salient point that this facility will, like so many other renewal projects, benefit 'other people'. 
5. No discussion of education policy and child poverty would be complete without commentary from Jersey's own Jersey Jazzman. Along with Julia's piece in Ed Week and her response to reformer Laura Waters, they deliver a 1-2 knockout punch to the 'other people' pushing the 'reform' agenda in Camden's schools .

These issues are not separate. They are all intertwined in a noose that has tightened around the city's neck for decades.

Camden poverty by the numbers

Any discussion of Camden must include statistics on poverty. Depending on which statistics you read, Camden is the poorest and most dangerous city in the country. If you don't believe my words, look at the numbers:

The crisis is beyond comprehension, especially in one of the wealthiest states in the US, and children are the worst victims. If Camden were a third world country, rock stars and George Clooney would be lining up to host a benefit relief concert. The USDA has designated it as one of the top 10 worst 'food deserts' in the country. A food desert is described as:

An area without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. That means there isn't a supermarket within a mile.

These are usually low-income areas, dominated by minorities. In fact, just 8 percent of African Americans live in a census tract with a supermarket.

The effects of food deserts are devastating: they contribute to obesity and other diet-related illnesses, they force families living in these areas to use valuable time traveling to neighboring areas, and they usually lack the resources to improve their situation.

Associated Press

A food oasis... kinda, sorta

So, when Christie vetoes a budget item that will help put food on the tables of NJ's poor, it's a BFD in Camden. (See New Jersey Working Families Alliance for more on how to help.) At this time last year the city had one supermarket —a PathMark—that served the needs of 77,000 people, so hopes were high when Mayor Dana Redd announced that construction was to start on the first new supermarket in 30 years. But as is the case in Camden's long, slow climb out of poverty, it turned into a '2-steps-forward; 1-step-back' solution as the PathMark closed the following month. And the location of this new store has many scratching their heads because even though it will bring hundreds of jobs to the area, it's not easily accessible by foot or bike. Instead, it's on a main route that greatly benefits 'other people': commuters from Philadelphia.

"Admiral Wilson Boulevard is not pedestrian friendly and it's not bike friendly," said Ari Rosenberg, an urban farmer and educator at the Center for Environmental Transformation, located in the southernmost Camden neighborhood of Waterfront South. "If I were going to take (public transportation) I'd have to take two buses. It would take half an hour and I'd have to walk five minutes from the closest bus to the store." 

"That ShopRite is going to be 2.1 miles from my house. I'd have to drive. And it's got to be drivers – especially commuters – they're targeting. Look at where it is," said Carl Chandler, a car-owning homeowner in the middle-class Cooper-Grant neighborhood.

Laws of physics... kinda, sorta

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. 

That's Newton's third law of motion. So, if logic and reason continue (hey, work with me on this), this should absolutely make sense:

This stuff isn’t easy to do. But nor should it be easy for us to continue to ignore these children. Let’s be honest. That’s what we have done. We can rationalize as much as we want. We have ignored their futures. And today is a symbol of the beginning of the end of that conduct.

"Wait! Wait! Don't tell me", you say. "That's Gov. Christie announcing the construction of four new supermarkets in Camden!" 

*Sigh*

"New housing?"

Nah...

"Repairing dilapidated school buildings?"

No. That was Gov. Christie announcing that the state was taking over the Camden public school system because, you know, education professionals are responsible for this...

Credit: www.accountablehealthcare.wordpress.com

 and this...

Credit: www.racelies.com

and this... 

Credit: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 and don't forget this...

Credit: www.philly.com

Experienced superintendent... kinda, sorta

So, instead of doing everything possible to ensure that Camdeners have access to quality food and shelter, schools that are accessible to every child, and well-paying jobs, he blames education for the savage blight, takes control of the district, hires a still wet-behind-the-ears superintendent with so little education experience that they also have to hire a mentor superintendent to teach him how to do his job, and pays him a boatload of money so that he can live here...

Credit: thevictorlofts.com

instead of here...

Credit: newsworks.org

'Other people' run Camden's schools. 'Other people' don't have to see what Camden's children go home to every day because 'other people' don't live where real Camdeners live. 'Other people' can continue to get huge tax breaks to set up shop in Camden without any real obligation to give back to the city. Are ya catchin' my drift?

This might be a good time for an intermission. Don't know about you but this gal's gotta stretch for a few minutes. For your viewing pleasure:

Total amount of time actively teaching students: 21 months. 

And... we're back!

Camden's Waterfront vs. Camden's Neighborhoods: The Boardwalk vs. Mediterranean Ave.

So, the Christie administration just gave a massive tax break to a politically connected company that will contribute next to nothing to the local economy, but the 'other people' who own it will walk away with a nice chunk of change:

Under the terms of the award, Holtec will create 235 new full-time positions and relocate 160 existing jobs from other parts of the state to Camden. Once those workers are in place, the firm will reap subsidies of $26 million a year for 10 years. 

In exchange, New Jersey will realize $155,520 in net economic benefits over 35 years, the authority estimated. Under the terms of the agreement, however, the company is required to stay at the Camden location for only 15 years. 

Liberals and conservatives alike criticized the $260 million tax break for a politically connected firm at a time when New Jersey is strapped for tax revenue to pay for its schools, hospitals, property tax rebates and pension obligations.

"This is just another form of crony capitalism, and it needs to end," state Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren), one of the state's most conservative lawmakers, said. "The more we do of this, the worse the economy gets in the state of New Jersey."

(emphasis mine) 

I don't always agree with Sen. Doherty—especially on education funding—but I do here. This development will do absolutely nothing for the people of Camden other than give them the appearance that something is being done. Meanwhile 'other people' take the money and run when their time's up. 

NJ Spotlight sums it up perfectly:

Holtec's CEO, Krishna Singh, was George Norcross’s partner when he owned The Inquirer, and Norcross sits on Holtec’s board of directors. The company is expected to create 235 new jobs in Camden, but there's no guarantee Camden residents will get those positions. 

The waterfront is filled with similarly-gleaming investments that were intended to revitalize the economy here — an aquarium, a battleship museum, a minor-league ballpark — but so far none of them has had a transformative effect, and few jobs for city residents have been created. All make so-called PILOTs — Payments In Lieu of Taxes. None of that money goes to the Camden school district, which relies on the state for almost all its funding. 

Other budget cuts have negatively affected Camden’s poor even as Christie argues that he is trying to help them. He eliminated the Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor. He rolled back benefits for businesses in cities’ Urban Enterprise Zones. And he slowed the school construction program, so century-old buildings in Camden continue to fall apart.

(emphasis mine) 

More from the nj.com piece:

Since Gov. Chris Christie took office in 2010, New Jersey has distributed more than $4 billion in tax breaks — far more than under any previous governor — yet private-sector job growth has been one of the slowest of all 50 states, according to federal data.

New Jersey Policy Perspective, a liberal research organization, said the tax break awarded to Holtec was one of the largest ever bestowed in the United States. The state is paying $658,228 for each job — "a sky-high number that has never been seen before in New Jersey and is even far higher than the average per-job cost of the largest 'megadeals' across the country," Jon Whiten, Policy Perspective's deputy director, said.

Doherty said the real cost was even higher, since 160 of the jobs already existed in the state."It looks like New Jersey is paying over $1 million for each new job that's being created, and this is a disturbing trend," he said.

(emphasis mine) 

Why?

Christie needs urban support to win in 2016, and what better place to start garnering it than his home state? Plus, George Norcross is a big ally, so it's a safe haven when the going gets tough. But in a city that gave 97% of its votes to Obama in 2012, he clearly has his work cut out for him. It's going to take a lot more than a sprinkling of shiny new waterfront playthings to make people realize he's in it for them.

So while Christie may be opening the floodgates for 'other people' to build things like this...

and this...

he still needs the votes of people who live like this...

Credit: casino.org

and this...

Credit: nj.com

And I don't think that's going to happen too easily. As the young man in the video at the beginning of this post said, 

"Take my hand and walk with me. Walk my streets to school. Will your bombs save me? If you want to defend me, come and live on my block." 

There is no war on poverty, but there is a war on the poor.

Asm. Ciattarelli to NJs 1%: Keep Calm and Count Your Money

I'm sure the taxpayers of New Jersey's 16th legislative district will rest comfortably tonight knowing that their Assemblyman, Republican Jack Ciattarelli, is looking out for their financial well being. I ran against Ciattarelli in 2011 and 2013, so I was particularly interested in this piece he wrote for the Star Ledger today about that oft-touted Christie phrase, 'shared sacrifice'.

As a public school teacher, I'm well acquainted with Christie's version of that lofty and noble goal; I've done quite a bit of it in the past 5 years as my paycheck has gotten smaller and my workload and the number of jobs I hold have gotten larger. Although this is not WWII England and Christie is no Winston Churchill, Ciattarelli is doing his best British government impersonation as he allays the fears of the 1%:

That's right, folks. In the run up to the June 30 budget deadline, Ciattarelli wants to publicly ease any fears his super wealthy constituents may have about anything that may harm a single blade of grass on their perfectly manicured and gated lawns. He wants to make sure that the "mega-rich" (a word he never wants us to utter lest it suggest "that Republicans are 'shielding a certain population'", and they would never, ever do that, now would they?) are not fettered and stressed as they count their money and compound their interest. But you and me? Pshaw! We better just hunker down in our bomb shelters 'cause that blitzkrieg on the middle class and the poor ain't lettin' up any time soon.

(Hey, sorry for that run-on sentence in that last paragraph, but that's what happens when I've been fed a steady diet of cow pie for 5 years.)

"Elected leaders should be prepared to ask all New Jerseyans to be part of some 'call to arms.'"

Yes!! Let me grab my sword and shield, utter some profound parting words, kiss my children goodbye, and head off to fight the good fight for... Who? You? Me? Not in Ciattarelli's eyes.

Assemblyman, where was your call for shared sacrifice to reinstate the "millionaire's tax" (another one of your 'never, ever' words) when Gov. Christie failed to renew it, thereby giving a tax cut to those making over $500,000? Where was your call for shared sacrifice when Gov. Christie vetoed an increase on the earned income tax credit, thus taking real dollars out of the hands of the poor? Where was your call for shared sacrifice when Christie tried to pass an income tax cut that even the Office of Legislative Services said would have greatly benefitted the wealthy? Because as much as you try to deny it, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the "1 percent" (another 'never, ever' phrase) in New Jersey pay a much lower portion of their income in overall taxes as compared to the rest of us:

"How about re-engineering and reducing our state workforce?"

In Christie's first 19 months in office, the state workforce was reduced by almost 29,000. That was 29,000 middle class people collecting unemployment and not contributing to the economy. That was 29,000 middle class people who were not able to pay their bills or put food on the table or save for emergencies. That was 29,000 middle class people who lost their jobs so the 1% could keep more of their money. That was 29,000 middle class people—some of whom may still be out of work. That's 29,000 less middle class people who work in our schools, libraries, police and fire departments, who fix our roads (but there's no money for that anyway), who keep our courts, hospitals, state, county and municipal offices functioning. But I guess that's ok for the 1% because as you point out, even though "they pay exorbitant taxes on their homes... many times [they don't use] all the local services those property taxes fund." Yes, because they can afford to send their children to some of the best private schools in the country instead of the increasingly underfunded public schools. They can hire their own security details, so who cares if the local police force is decimated? They have landscapers on call when the Bentley needs to be plowed out. The private jet is waiting at the local airport so it doesn't matter if the major roads are a disaster. And even if they do have to drive to Newark, they aren't actually driving. No, they don't really need New Jersey, but I'm so glad they are here because what would we do without them? After all, aren't they the job creators?

The "successful... should not be demonized. Nor should the poor or struggling middle class."

In all seriousness, you are absolutely right. Anyone who works hard to earn a decent wage should not be demonized. But they should also be expected to share the sacrifice, and quite simply, thanks to policies you support, they aren't, and that's why so many people are so mad. And the more Republicans shield them from real shared sacrifice, the more they will be demonized because the rest of us are getting screwed. We are being demonized for everything from being able to bear children, to needing to eat, to simply being poor. And the economic climate in this state is so dismal that there is very little hope for many of us who work hard every day to pull ourselves up out of the hole that we did not dig ourselves into.

"How about public employees not collecting a huge payment upon retirement for unused sick and vacation time?"

The state and municipalities have always had the ability to scale back or eliminate sick and vacation payouts at retirement. It's called the bargaining table. But as we've seen time and again, many Republicans are all too eager to attack organized labor—one of the last vestiges of a strong middle class—while giving billions away in tax breaks to the wealthy, and big corporations that either don't pay a decent wage and benefits, or don't deliver the jobs in the first place.

How do you spell bankrupt? R-E-V-E-L

If you and other Republicans want to continue to push austerity measures which, by the way, only benefit "the mega-rich" (another of your never, ever words), please tell Christie that if he is going to reneg on the state's legally obligated pension payment this year, he should stop investing some of it in boondoggles like this. ------>

"How about replacing the double-dippers' grandfather clause with a sunset provision that ends the practice once and for all?"

Well then... I expect you've been leading the charge on the investigation into that messy little situation with Lt. Governor Guadagno's term as Monmouth County Sheriff. That story's been kicking around for a few years and I haven't seen your name attached to any investigations.

“The documents show Guadagno made false and misleading statements to enable Michael Donovan to continue collecting pension checks that should have stopped, and that she helped him circumvent the rules by playing around with job titles,” said Mark Lagerkvist, investigative editor for New Jersey Watchdog, who sued for release of the documents. “Based on the information released, there is a real question whether the Division of Criminal Justice did the legitimate investigation that the PFRS (Police and Firemen’s Retirement System) Board asked it to do.”

Christie beat the double-dipping war drums when he ran in 2009, but has done nothing to change the system. So you can lay the blame for that squarely at his feet. You can hem and haw all you want about Dems blocking any legislation, but just take a look at the roster of Democrats Christiecrats who endorsed him last year. 'Bipartisanship' has a completely different meaning in NJ, especially when you see how many R's and D's are enjoying that double scoop of pension on top of their government sundae. It's an equal opportunity loophole—one that I agree needs to be plugged. But if Christie spent half as much time excoriating the 'greedy' and 'selfish' (his words, not mine) public employees who do that instead of rank and file workers, he'd have had that sewn up a few years ago.

Don't worry, Assemblyman, I wasn't grandfathered into the pen-ben bill, so I'll have to work until I'm 67 before I retire. But before you go throwing around $40,000 pension caps, consider this: many retirees' pensions are nowhere near that much. And their cost of living has been frozen for the past four years. Then, consider this: pensions are more stable than 401(k)s. You want people to work longer, pay more into the plan (which we're currently doing) get less when we retire (also currently doing), and now you want to change the rules of the game again to create less stability for retirees when they did not cause this mess in the first place? And you wonder why the 99% think the 1% are getting off easy?

"How about making a new case for freezing state aid in school districts whose current aid and/or cost-per-student exceed state averages by, say, 150% or 200%?"

... Because low income students don't need any more help than their more financially stable suburban counterparts—even the ones who can afford to attend $30K/year elite private schools. *Sigh* I will leave the school funding debate to the experts. If you really, truly want to educate yourself on school funding and why NJ's beleagered but still highly effective school funding formula works for our low income students, start reading Jersey Jazzman and Dr. Bruce Baker—both NJ educators, both experts in their field, both have done their homework and have debunked the reformy rhetoric.

Leveraging "New Jersey's fiscal crisis for political theatre and gain"

May I remind you that your governor, the one you and the rest of your fellow Republican legislators down in Trenton have failed to stand up to time and time again in matters affecting the middle class, the poor, senior citizens, children, women, healthcare, public education and a whole host of other issues, takes the cake. Do I really need to explain?

"Leadership is putting your own political ambitions aside, rallying the people around a common cause and solving New Jersey's challenges in the best interest of all its citizens."

Assemblyman, it's time to walk the walk, not just talk the talk, not only on the issue of state workers and how they are compensated, but a whole host of other issues. As one of your constituents, I'll be watching very closely over the next 20 days to see how you stand up for all of us.  

And I'll be watching how your caucus votes on the Sandy Bill of Rights veto override Thursday. You know, that little bill that both houses unanimously passed, that Christie conditionally vetoed, that Sen. Tom Kean has now announced you all won't be supporting?