By

Ray Pinney

I have a friend living in Southern California who is an actor.  Whenever he appears on a TV show or movie, my wife and I always try to watch it.  At one point, he had a reoccurring role on a daytime soap opera.  Even though it really tested our support, out of friendship we began taping the show.  Never having watched a soap opera before, I was immediately struck by the poor acting, low-cost sets, and the strange and poorly written scripts that always leave the viewer wanting to see the next show.  (My apologies to you soap opera fans.)  Yet despite all of that, I would always ask my wife what happened on the show when I got home.

New Jersey politics has always held my interest much like a bad soap opera.  Yes, the script writing can be strange.  Think back to Governor McGreevey breaking his leg while walking on the beach and to Governor Corzine’s e-mail exchanges with Carla Katz. 

While these low-budget productions and poorly written scripts have been satisfactory for previous New Jersey governors and politicians, it is not satisfactory for Governor Christie.   He is looking to move from the soap operas to the big time.  And you don’t get any bigger star than Oprah Winfrey. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
An’ if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know!

            The Clash

While I have no listening devices and am not in the habit of snooping on public workers, like Big Brother, I know what those workers are talking about in the teachers lounge, at the police station and at home at their kitchen table.  While The Clash’s hit song “Should I Stay or Should I Go” referred to a personal relationship and was a fast-paced punk rock song, the lyrics sung by public workers now concern retirement and may be played as a blues version. 

This week, Gov. Christie announced his Pension and Benefit Reform Agenda (two separate plans) and if even a few of these proposals are passed, they will affect many public workers.  If you remember this past spring, there was a proposal floated to change pension benefits for public employees who did not retire by a certain date. That discussion alone contributed to an increase of 67  percent in the number of public employees who filed retirement papers in the first seven months of 2010, according to the Star Ledger, compared to last year. With the governor’s latest round of proposals, there is a possibility that many workers who are at a certain stage in their life may opt to retire, and retire quickly, because they want to preserve certain benefits that they now qualify for, but may not if reforms are passed. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney 

On Tuesday morning, the upbeat music of the “Boss” Bruce Springsteen was vibrating through the room at the Wayne Country Club. It’s the type of music that gets people enthused, motivated and tapping their feet. As I looked over the crowd, it occurred to me that many of the people were not fans of the “Boss” but of the “Chairman of the Board” – Frank Sinatra.  But the crowd wasn’t there for the music of either of those two famous New Jerseyans. They were there to hear another famous Jersey boy – Gov. Chris Christie.  His message touches them in the same way many New Jerseyans are moved by Bruce Springsteen. Chris Christie is not selling an album or concert tickets, but political policy. From the look of things, many people are buying what he is selling.

Leaving the Schundler incident behind him, Gov. Christie outlined his reform efforts in the areas of ethics, pension and benefits, private sector job growth, and public education at the town hall meeting in Wayne.  These reforms will be rolled out separately over the next four weeks. Governor Christie wants the legislature to act within the next 107 days before their holiday break. (Coincidently, this countdown can also be used to keep track of the number of shopping days until Christmas.  (I guess we will see if the legislature thinks Chris Christie has been a good boy or not.)

While I suspect that the Democrats would like to spend the next 107 days talking about the RTTT grant application, I think that, in all likelihood, Gov. Christie will be able to focus the discussion on his proposals. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney 

When I left you last week I said it was not my place to assign blame in the Race to the Top blunder but that “I will suggest another factor that may have contributed to the mistake – a factor that neither Republicans nor Democrats may like.”  Since then, however, Schundler has taken responsibility for the error.  You would think that should end it, and that there is no other factor in this $400 million mistake.  (Though the soap opera continues over his firing for other reasons) 

I however am not ready to assign the blame to one person.  That is too convenient and also does not solve New Jersey’s underlying problem and if we do not address it mistakes like this will continue.  While we are spending a great deal of time on “who said what” emails, the problem may actually rest with the NJDOE and its inability to perform the work asked of it. 

Since 2008, beginning with the Corzine administration and continuing with the Christie administration, the NJDOE has lost many talented and dedicated staff members and, oftentimes, not replaced them.  In conjunction with this loss of staff has been an increase in the department’s workload and responsibility.  It does not matter whether they are Governor Corzine’s or Governor Christie’s policies…if the NJDOE staffing is inadequate, the department cannot carry them out.  It’s a situation where you have the greatest curriculum in the world but an average teaching staff burdened with oversized classes: academic achievement will not come. (more…)