The letter below was written by the Teaneck Democratic Municipal Committee to President Obama. It was cc'd to our respective U. S. Senators and Congressman, as well as the BCDC and municipal chairs of Bergen County. We are strongly urging the President and his congressional supporters to actively address the issues of unemployment and foreclosures that Americans are confronting on a day to day basis not only in New Jersey, but national as well.
We are requesting that the President, along with Congress, take a Keynesian style approach to the aforementioned problems and come up with sound programs to address these issues.
It is time for the President and our democratic elected officials to stand up to the hardline republicans at both the state and federal levels and to fight for the democratic principles upon which our political party was founded and come up with bold initiatives to stimulate the economy regardless of the republicans refusal to solve these problems.
Take them to task loudly and clearly during the campaign so that Americans understand and recognize that it is the Republicans and not the Democrats who are holding America back.
It is time for our President and the Democratic Congressional members to take a stand!
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August 5, 2011
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
The most important factor in the 2012 election, more important than door-to-door organizing or clever campaign ads, will be unemployment and foreclosures. So we call upon the Obama administration and its congressional supporters to take a much more active approach to address these two areas.
Just resting on current policies and hoping for significant progress by November 2012 is insufficient. Current policies are moving the economy too slowly for 2012. But there is still over a year for a bolder approach to take effect--if implemented right away.
(A bolder approach is even more urgent to correct the setbacks imposed by the debt deal just negotiated with hardline Republicans.)
Bolder approaches mean a large Keynesian-style economic stimulus. The economic stimulus so far tried has been barely more than the continuation of normal amounts of spending. (Paul Krugman, "No We Can't? Or Won't," NYTimes, July 11, 2011) (*1)
The stimulus would include infrastructure renewal (roads, bridges, high speed rail, school buildings), support for starving state and local governments to retain and hire back severely needed teachers, librarians, police, and other public servants, keeping social security at least on a par with the cost of living, market-rate reimbursements for Medicare and Medicaid, and support for industrial research and development to make our economy more competitive worldwide.
And if unemployment still lags, a WPA-style direct hiring program should follow. (It's just hard to believe that it is better for the economy to have large numbers of people collecting unemployment insurance or to have given up on the job market, instead of building infrastructure, teaching, doing scientific research, or otherwise serving the economy.)
Objection: We don't have the money. We'd go into even a bigger deficit to do this.
Answer: This is the textbook Keynesian model. Yes, you do go into deficit to stimulate an economy out of a recession. Otherwise, the economy will never pick up enough strength to reduce even a pre-stimulus deficit. (*2) "A downturn is the one time when red ink is advisable."
Only after the economy regains its strength will there be enough resources to cut deficits--as well as to maintain government services (including health and education), provide employment and keep people in their homes.
And, if the voters see the President and the Democrats in Congress taking these initiatives, they will be given credit, instead of being seen as "me-too, can't do anything but wait, hope and spread suffering" semi-Republicans.
And if the Republicans prevent or damp down these initiatives, the campaign should loudly and persistently point to them as the reason for the lack of progress--and point out that the only way forward is to put more Democrats in Congress. Give Obama a Congress he can work with--to save the economy and the citizens it exists to serve. (*3)
Sincerely,
Laura I. Zucker, Chairperson
for the Teaneck Democratic Municipal Committee
cc: Obama for America (Official 2012 Campaign Committee)
Congressional Democratic Campaign Committee
Senate Democratic Campaign Committee
Senator Frank Lautenberg
Senator Robert Menendez
Congressman Steve Rothman
Bergen County Democratic Committee
Bergen County Municipal Committee Chairs
"Chris has said he would accept some of the funds dedicated to New Jersey with regard to stimulus money," said Christie staffer Maria Comella. "To say he wouldn't accept any of the stimulus money is untrue. He would reject stimulus money that would have strings attached."
If elected governor, Christie would not want to be forced to adhere to federal mandates that were not funded by the U.S. government, according to Comella.
"With regards to programs that he would deem a top priority, like education, he would take that money," said Comella.
Ok, so if I follow the Christie logic (which could admittedly give me a headache), they say they'll take education money, but reject anything with strings on it. What about if the education money has the same strings the unemployment funds he rejected do? From a non-partisan OLS memo:
New Jersey could have missed out on nearly $5 billion in federal stimulus funding if the state declined to take money with conditions attached by the federal government, according to a nonpartisan review.
The internal memo from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, dated July 6, lists programs for education, unemployment insurance, transportation and other areas that required the state to meet certain standards to receive money from President Obama's $787 billion recovery plan.
So they'd take the education money because it's so much more important than the transportation and unemployment funding they would reject? Or they'd reject the funding for education too and are just hoping no one will catch them on the fact that it holds the same "strings" that have already been deemed unacceptable by Christie. Maybe some roving reporter will question this inconsistency. And if in fact he isn't going to accept the funding, then what is he going to plug that hole he is making?
Governor Corzine will join Vice President Biden and Attorney General Holder in Philadelphia, PA for what is being touted as "a major American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding announcement for law enforcement agencies across the nation." They will be joined by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Delaware Governor Jack Markell, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and City of Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey.
Biden and Holder were originally scheduled to hold the event, on community policing grants, in Pennsauken, Camden County, but the location was switched to Philadelphia.
The Ledger implies the event was switched as a result of the corruption busts last week. However Biden's office said no final decision was made:
"We scouted several locations and Philadelphia was the most convenient and central location for all the principals," Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said.
It may be the most convenient, but I had also heard that the event was going to be held in South Jersey separately before reading of the current venue. For whatever reason, the event will be held in Philadelphia tomorrow at 10:15am.
The Governor's office put out a video to highlight and explain the efforts being taken to spread the word about the Economic Recovery efforts:
Michellene Davis, Senior Policy Counsel to the Governor sits down to answer three questions on how the administration is keeping people informed and up to date on the economic recovery efforts in New Jersey and the results that we expect to see.
She says they expect to create or save 100,000 jobs and talked about what they hope people can get from the town hall meetings. She also talked about what is being done ensure transparency so that the money is accounted for and used appropriately:They encourage you to go to www.recovery.nj.gov for more information, saying that it is updated constantly. What questions would you like answers to?
You can follow the allocation of stimulus funds for yourself online at www.recovery.nj.gov and the Governor has created a task force to oversee the:
The Web site was created to give the taxpayers of New Jersey the ability to monitor the distribution and spending of federal stimulus dollars, Governor Corzine said. In addition, last week the Governor announced the creation of an oversight group, the New Jersey Recovery Accountability Task Force, to review the distribution and award of federal stimulus funds. The task force will be co-chaired by Governor's Chief of Staff Ed McBride and State Comptroller Matt Boxer. Other members, announced today, will be:
NJ Medicaid Inspector General Mark Anderson
NJ Inspector General Mary Jane Cooper
NJ Chief Technology Officer Adel Ebeid
Former NJ State Auditor Richard Fair
NJ Director of Office of Management & Budget Charlene Holzbaur
Comptroller Matt Boxer said federal dollars will flow into the Garden State from nearly 100 different sources, making the situation "ripe" for misuse.
"This is not one pot of money that's sitting with six rules that need to be followed," he said after an Assembly hearing. "It's dozens of streams of dollars that each have dozens of rules that need to be followed."
Senator Lautenberg held a press conference in Newark today to announce transportation funding from the recently passed Economic stimulus package:
Nearly $1.2 billion for New Jersey's transportation infrastructure, including projects to repair highways and bridges and expand transit systems, passenger and freight railroads, and seaports.
The law authorizes up to $1.5 billion federal commitment for initial construction of Hudson River rail tunnel project.
The law also provides $510 million for improvements to Amtrak?s Northeast Corridor which runs through New Jersey, and shares its track with NJ Transit.
The Senator provided some stats on why the transportation funding is needed:
NEW JERSEY INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS REPAIR
34% of New Jersey's 6,453 bridges are deficient.
Average New Jersey commuter spends an extra 45 hours a year stuck in traffic due to congestion.
NEW JERSEY RELIES ON TRANSIT
10.3% of New Jersey workers use public transportation to get to work- 3rd highest rate of any state in the country.
Last year, more than 250 million trips were taken on NJ Transit, approximately 80 million trips on PATH, and more than 10 million trips on PATCO.
During peak hours, commuter trains traverse the Hudson River every 2½ minutes, reaching capacity for the existing railroad tunnels.
In an interview on NJN news, Lautenberg said the work will create or save 100,000 jobs. The Essex building trades union voiced skepticism, but Lautenberg said "they're incorrect in their assessment." He better watch out or Leonard Lance will take credit for the jobs and show up for pictures during the work. Now they'll just have to determine what projects get the funding.
Governor Corzine joined Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation this morning. In addition to Corzine, Governors Ted Strickland of Ohio and Mitch Daniels of Indiana talked about the struggles their states are facing. The whole segment is just over eleven minutes.
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is paying for automated telephone calls into New Jersey's third district criticizing freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) for supporting President Obama's economic stimulus package.
The script: "In 2008 John Adler promised us he would oppose wasteful spending, but just last week Congressman John Adler has done exactly the opposite. John Adler voted for nearly a trillion dollars in wasteful spending. That's right - one trillion dollars of your money on more than 30 entirely new government programs."
Ah, those big bad Democrats just wasting your money on their big crazy government programs. If we didn't know they were serious, this would be laughable The funnier part is that while they attack a Democrat who actually supported jobs, the Republicans who opposed the stimulus are trying to take credit. Only in politics.
Frank Lobiondo must be getting dizzy form the circles he is running in. He's trying to figure out reasons he opposes the stimulus, while still looking like he supports everyone. He can't even call it a stimulus according to the headline of his latest press release:
LoBiondo Votes Against So-Called "Stimulus" Bill
Ah, now it's a so-called stimulus. Well lets see his reason for opposing the compromise:
"Make no mistake, this legislation is considerably weaker in its support to New Jersey's transportation needs than the original House-passed bill."
Ok, so he showed loyalty to his House colleagues and opposed the bill that was changed too much, right? Hmm, then why did the Congressman oppose that bill too, if it was so good? Get out the dizzy bat, it's time for our next spin:
Reduction in Medicaid Funding ? While providing a boost to Medicaid funding to the states, which LoBiondo supports, the House-Senate compromise reduced the overall funding levels from the original House-passed bill and changed the disbursement formula to the states which translates into a significant reduction in federal dollars to New Jersey despite the fact that it has high unemployment
Again back to this magical house bill he couldn't bring himself to support. Round and round we go:
Limited "Buy American" Provisions - The intention of the economic stimulus package is to create jobs in America, however, the weakened "Buy American" provisions now allow federal funding recipients to purchase over $300 billion worth of products not made in America. Only U.S. steel and federal/military uniforms are covered under the "Buy American" provisions in the House-Senate compromise.
Funny, he opposed the stronger "Buy American" provisions too. So it seems like he is with the rest of his party opposing any Buy American provisions, while trying to take credit for supporting them. And finally, he hitches his wagon to a popular president:
"The President is right to call for an economic stimulus package that will immediately and positively benefit struggling families and our nation?s economy," concluded LoBiondo. "Congress should have and could have created a true economic stimulus that would create millions of new jobs without saddling the taxpayers with excessive, wasteful federal spending. Today, Congress failed the American people."
That's right, it's Congress who failed, not Frank LoBiondo. Because they were so successful when his party was running the show of course. Either way, for Frank LoBiondo to try and act like all Congress had to do was put the House bill, which he already opposed, up for another vote and it would receive his support is laughable. Beware of Republicans trying to take credit for legislation they opposed.
Senator Menendez appeared tonight on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with David Shuster. He talked about the current situation with the economic stimulus and Commerce Secretary position. Here's a quick summary with the video below.
Menendez said he was surprised by the announcement of Judd Gregg, but that he had been taking alot of hits from the right wing of his party. He gives the administration credit for being transparent, but the problem is we don't quite know what they intend to do and how they intend to do it. The Senator said given the uncertainty of the market place, if you're gonna just produce broad outlines, you would have been better off if you waited to give information. He said having seen the Republican opposition, they should stop drawing from that well for the Commerce position because they are betting against the American People.
The Governor is definitely trying to utilizie youtube and video messages to communicate directly with people to supplement his public media appearances. Here he's talking about the economy and his economic stimulus plans:
Corzine seems to be putting out a video per week. Separate from the video message, the Governor's office put out a laundry list of accomplishments for 2008. You can see the full list in their press release, but here is some of the recent economic action they highlighted:
To date, initiatives of Governor Corzine's Economic Assistance and Recovery Plan implemented through existing programs or signed into law include increasing energy assistance aid; providing $22.5 million for food, energy and legal aid assistance; expansion of the Senior Freeze program; expediting $2.8 billion in transportation projects; allocating $12.5 million in state funds for foreclosure prevention assistance; created Invest NJ Program; broadened the small qualified business exception under the UEZ program; reforming some of the state's corporate tax laws, and; created the New Jersey Main Street Business Assistance Program.
"While New Jersey was not immune to the financial crisis caused by the national recession, we have been able to better weather the storm because of the tough, fiscal disciplinary actions we took to balance this year's budget," Governor Corzine said.
There are certainly many accomplishments to be proud of, but there are still things left on the table unresolved as we move into 2009 including a large budget shortfall, pension problems, voter verified paper trail, implementation of COAH, further ethics reform, unemployment difficulties, same sex marriage and more. Those are just some of the recent headlines, and that's not to mention, he'll have his own name on the ballot come the end of the year. It's gonna be eventful. What do you think was the best accomplishment of 2008? On the flip side, what would you say is the biggest issue still out there waiting to be resolved?
Gov. Jon Corzine said today that a federal stimulus package worth $600 to $700 billion is needed for state and local governments, and that President-elect Barack Obama should name his treasury secretary "sooner rather than later."
Is $700 billion just a nice round working number these days? On CNBC, Corzine and former GE CEO Jack Welch talked about their thoughts on another government bailout plan and the future of the economy. Corzine said:
There needs to be access in the credit markets. NJ is borrowing at 150-170% of Treasuries. The tax exemption support that you are getting out of the federal government doesn't make any sense. It would be a heck of alot better to provide some subordinated credit support for states and municipalities and we are the ones that can put the infrastructure programs together, but if we have to do it on our credit card, it's gonna cost a heck of alot more than if it was on some kind of support program from the federal government.
You can view the CNBC Interview in 2 parts, Part 1 and then Part 2. Welch made the point that everybody in business is in the same boat as a CEO of a State. Corzine talked about the steps the state has taken already, but then also moved on to discuss many of the tough decisions and choices that lie ahead. The Governor continued about what he thinks we need in the way of support from the federal government:
My recommendation has been have a bigger stimulus package by some multiple, whatever has been talked about and by the way I believe they [the Obama transition] understand that. This is an unprecedented situation because Jack is right, there's nothing going on in the credit markets unless you're going to pay enormous rates.
Corzine said if you look at the real data, it's really bad. I could look at my checkbook and make that observation. I know the problem is serious, but I don't know if we're going to be getting help from Federal Government on this one. They seem to be focused on other sectors that are struggling.
"We need federal help to get through these tough times so that New Jersey and other states don't take actions that offset any stimulus you all provide, or that we further compound shrinking demand for our flailing economy," Corzine said, citing estimates that states might have to clip $100 billion from their budgets. (Reporting by Joan Gralla; Editing by James Dalgleish)
I can't imagine all the cuts that will have to be made should things keep getting worse and that's just at the state level. Because of NJ's home rule setup, we'll have to go through this at every single level of government which will only increase the pain. The Governor's prepared remarks are below the fold.
LoBiondo described a long list of projects in South Jersey he believes will benefit the area's financial situation.
He touted the federal government's economic stimulus package, stating he and others were "crossing their fingers" that the money the government plans to give back to its citizens would positively effect the economic climate.
Yes 2nd district residents, your Congressman is crossing his fingers that a possibly maximum $600 check is the cure to all of our economic ills. Can we please find him a challenger?
Until then, let's give him some other ideas because he needs help to just not sound so damn stupid even if he doesn't have a clue. To be honest, I'd feel more comfortable if he just said no comment when asked about his plans if this is the kind of answer he is going to give.
