Let’s say you are the CEO of ABC Inc. and you want to merge with XYZ Inc., because you believe it will provide great synergies for both companies. XYZ has $600 million in debt. You go to your board of directors for approval, and they ask you how much it will cost to merge XYZ into ABC. You say, “Trust me, the numbers will be forthcoming but we have to get this done by July 1.”
Archive for the ‘New Jersey’ Category
Lou Greenwald, the Willie Sutton of New Jersey
16
Jun
Call Lou Greenwald feisty or gutsy, but the moniker that best describes the Assembly Majority Leader from Camden is “Willie Sutton.” Which is apropos inasmuch as Camden has one of the highest crime rates in the nation.
Dharun Ravi is guilty but not of hate crimes
17
Mar
The conviction of Dharun Ravi on March 15 on all counts of bias intimidation and invading the privacy of his roommate Tyler Clementi, who subsequently committed suicide, is a tragedy for everyone involved in this incident. Ravi and Clementi shared a dorm room at Rutgers University in September 2010 when Davi committed the crimes he was found guilty of on March 15.
For superior tax relief, abolish income and property taxes
11
Mar
Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald calls for “a 20 percent property tax relief credit to homeowners of the first $10,000 in property taxes paid for all homeowners earning up to $250,000 per year” in a March 11 op-ed (The Record). This plan would be phased in over years, according to Greenwald, “and it would be funded by asking New Jersey’s millionaires to pay their fair share.” What is a millionaire’s “fair share” in taxes? Greenwald does not define, identify his redistributionist heist.
Guest column: Medicaid Is Mismanaged Tax Dollars
26
Jan
Alieta Eck, MD, President, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
The essence of Government is power; and power, lodged as it must be in human hands, will ever be liable to abuse. James Madison.
When government controls health care, bureaucrats war against bureaucrats, medical care becomes a commodity, and the taxpayers pay dearly.
The federal government audited NJ Medicaid and determined that the state owes the federal government $145 million due to “mismanagement.” It claims that the state “improperly oversaw Medicaid patient-care services,” the part of Medicaid services involved in the “cleaning, grooming, bathing and shopping for patients” over three years beginning in 2004.
The right to self-defense is not negotiable Senators Weinberg, Menendez and Lautenberg
27
Nov
The House of Representatives passed HR-822, The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow citizens who have a permit to carry a concealed firearm in their state the ability to do so in any other state.
Christie not running for prez. Or maybe he is.
28
Sep
Last year, when speculation in the media began about a potential Chris Christie run for president, my initial reaction appears to have been correct…so far. At the time, I told friends and colleagues if the governor began to lose weight that would be a sign he would jump into the GOP presidential primary.
Government incompetence…again?
31
Aug
Media sycophants have been tripping all over themselves heaping praise on Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Christie and Governor Cuomo for their handling of tropical storm Irene. Yes, Irene turned into a tropical storm before it hit the New Jersey shore, a fact that should have known by the “Big Three” hours before they dominated the airwaves with their dire warnings about the impending Apocalypse inNew York and New Jersey.
Tax windfalls, conspiracy theories and the end of the world
20
May
This week, we received some good news for a change about New Jersey’s economy and state budget. The number (13,400) of private sector job increased last month and income tax revenues are higher than the Christie administration forecast. However, government jobs increased by 600. Given the budget situation at both the state and local levels, why is there any new hiring occurring in government? Local, county and state governments should be downsizing to bring their budgets under control, not increasing the cost of government.
Education is too important for the courts to decide
11
Apr
Paul Tractenberg’s turgid screed, “Let’s get real about education in New Jersey,” criticized me for challenging the assertions he made in a recent Record op-ed defending the current school aid formula. He also claims I live in “eccentric parallel universe.”
Law professor Paul Tractenberg gets a F on the constitution
03
Apr
Rutgers University law professor Paul Tractenberg argues in an op-ed (The Record, “Constitutional showdown,” April 3) that the Christie administration violated the constitutional rights of New Jersey’s public education students when it cut aid to school districts this year.
GE pays zero federal taxes…so should you!
27
Mar
The New York Times, in a front-page article, reported that General Electric paid no federal income taxes in 2010. Should Americans be angry that one of the world’s largest corporations paid no federal income tax while middle income and upper income Americans pay federal, state and in some cases city income taxes?
Give me, give me, give me
05
Mar
In two separate rallies in Trenton, teachers and then police officers, fire fighters and EMS personnel showed their support for Wisconsin teachers and for public sector unions in general. The rallies have a common theme: public sector employees apparently do not appreciate the severity of the fiscal reality facing states and municipalities around the country, and want to preserve their “rights.” Most state governments are broke and their pension plans and retiree health benefits may be underfunded by as much as $3.5 trillion.
A better “new normal” for New Jersey
23
Feb
In his budget address to the Legislature on Tuesday, Governor Christie outlined his paradigm, a “New Normal,” to deal with the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis. Instead of proposing a restructuring of state government that would end the annual crisis atmosphere in Trenton, the Governor has come up with a rehash of the old paradigm–tax and spend—with a much needed dose of business tax cuts to boost the economy.
New Jersey’s dishonor roll
18
Feb
What do Senator Menendez and nine Republican and Democratic New Jersey members of the House of Representatives have in common? They voted to extend the Patriot Act the other day.