I usually agree with InTheLobby and Declan O’Scanlon, but in the case of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority granting a $420,000 tax credit to MTV for the 2009 production of Jersey Shore, I’m not so sure.
I’m not fan of the show. I never watched it. The promotions and buzz about it are enough for me to know that I’d rather see a Law and Order re-run. Yet, there is no denying that the show has generated quite a bit of economic activity. That’s what tax credits are supposed to do.
Tax credits are not subsidies in the sense that the government is writing a check. They are promised tax reductions given to induce investment that will, hopefully, generate economic activity and more overall tax revenue than the amount of the credit. Since Governor Christie has taken office, New Jersey has granted much larger tax credits to spur investment in Atlantic City and the Meadowlands.
Is the Jersey Shore tax credit a good deal for New Jersey? I don’t know. The Treasury Department would have to calculate the increased tax revenue that resulted from the show. It would take $6,000,000 in increased sales of hair gel, contraceptives and alcohol to generate $420,000 in sales tax to “break even” on the tax credit. I don’t buy hair gel or contraceptives. I don’t watch the show, so it hasn’t driven me to drink more. We’d have to rely on Treasury data to judge if increase sales taxes paid for the tax credit.
But we’d also have to include increased income taxes in the analysis. How much do Snooki, the Situation and the rest of the cast pay to New Jersey in income taxes? What about the rest of the crew? What about the increased income, and taxes for Seaside Heights businesses and their employees?
Is MTV paying any taxes to New Jersey as a result of the show at all? If they hadn’t produced the show, they certainly would not have paid any taxes. If the tax credit induced them to produce the show, that is what it was designed to do.
“I can’t believe we are paying for fake tanning for ‘Snooki’ and ‘The Situation’, and I am not even sure $420,000 covers that,” said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “This is a great investment for the taxpayers, as if they can make a show called ‘Jersey Shore’ anywhere else.”
Declan obviously doesn’t watch the show either. They can make a show called ‘Jersey Shore’ in Italy.
Boardwalk Empire, the HBO hit series about the history of Atlantic City is not shot in New Jersey. The beach scenes are shot in Coney Island, New York.
The Jersey Shore tax credit made headlines because State Senator Joe Vitale and the Italian American ONE Voice Coalition’s moral sensibilities are offended by how Italian Americans are depicted on the show. They called for Governor Christie to veto the tax credit. Christie doesn’t have the authority to veto the tax credit. Vitale should have known that. He probably did know that and just wanted to get his name in the papers. What he did instead was generate more free publicity for the show he says offends him.
Vitale and ONE VOICE might have better luck in the courts. Earlier this week the Appeals Court set public moral sensibilities as a standard for what is legal in New Jersey. If Vitale can convince a judge that the public’s moral sensibilities are offended by Jersey Shore, maybe he can get the show shut down, or get it moved, along with all the economic activity it is generating, to Italy or New York.
By Dan Jacobson, also published in the September 15th edition of the triCityNews
This is a column I’ve been itching to write.
I’m running as an Independent for the state Assembly in the 11th District. While the odds of winning are tough, it’s not impossible.
And I’m quite serious about holding the office. I’d be great at it. Mostly because I can’t stomach bullshit. Visit my campaign website at danjacobson.net. You’ll see.
But I never take myself too seriously. And since politics these days is pretty much a cheesy joke, I’m also having fun with the campaign.
Like with this column. Oh man, I’d love to be there when Republican State Senator Jennifer Beck sees the headline – she has no idea what to expect! Don’t anyone tell her!
Here’s the deal.Everyone knows that Jennifer and I have been close friends since this newspaper started almost 13 years ago. As a result of redistricting, she’s now in the new11th District where I’m running for the Assembly. So will she endorse me?
“Dan Jacobson is a great friend, and I think he’d make a great Assemblyman – if he were running as a Republican,” Beck said. “I wish he’d join our party already. I would do everything I could to get him elected if he ever ran as a Republican – no matter what office he was seeking.”
“The best thing for our state right now is to elect Republicans to the Senate and Assembly, and I am fully supporting my running mates, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini,” she said. “They are both excellent legislators, and I work extremely well with them.”
Of course, Jennifer didn’t say any of that. I just made it up. I’m 100 percent serious! I do that every so often with Jen in the paper, and it’s hilarious. What’s so funny is that it’s always what she would have said! No doubt I nailed it here once again. Guaranteed.
The reason Jen would stress out over the headline? She’d wonder if I was about to cause havoc with her running-mates or with the Republican Party by somehow making it seem like we’re in cahoots in this election, or that she may endorse me. (Beck wouldn’t freak out about the phony quotes. She’s used to those by now. Bet she burst out in laughter when she reads them.)
But here’s the fun part for me. I get to make my point about the absurdity of party politics. Plus, I get to tease my friend Jennifer Beck.
After all, why can’t Beck say that I’d be a great Assemblyman and suggest a vote for me or her two running mates?I’m an Independent, not a Democrat. Why not just say she supports all three of us, and let the voters pick two? Everyone gets two votes.
Even better, Jennifer and I are almost identical in our views on social and economic issues – even closer than her two running mates! Surely, that should merit some type of endorsement!
(Admittedly, Beck’s running mates – Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande – along with Jennifer and I, pretty much agree on economic issues. The difference comes in on social issues: Jen and I are both pro-choice and favor same sex marriage. Mary Pat is with us on same-sex marriage, but is pro-life. Caroline is a true social conservative: both against same-sex marriage and pro-life.)
But my point remains: I’m still closest with Beck on the issues!
“All the more reason to join me in the Republican Party, and run as a Republican,” Beck responded, in another quote that I just made up.
Anyway, isn’t this all so silly? Who gives a shit about parties these days? People are sick of the partisan bullshit. In fact, I’ve never heard so many people say they don’t care about a candidate’s party. They’ve had it.
Meanwhile, with the recent redistricting, Beck just picked up a ton of new territory that she never represented before – which happens to be exactly where the triCityNews circulates!
Yup, once again this newspaper has made her. For almost thirteen years, Beck has been heavily covered in the triCity region of eastern Monmouth County – a big reason she’s going to kick ass in November. Now she represents this region! And this all started because she was a great story way back in 1999, when as an unknown thirty-two year old Republican she beat the Ed McKenna Democratic machine up in Red Bank to win a Council seat.
TriCity went all out for Beck in that election. We thought Red Bank needed to be shaken up. Our push culminated with a huge front page headline the week before the election stating: “We back Beck!”
The triCityNews – still less than a year old – caught a lot of shit for that. Like we cared. We then predicted Beck’s rise – accurately stating she’d make it to the state Assembly and Senate. We also predicted she’d go higher, such as to Congress or Lieutenant Governor. I still say that will happen.
Although Beck’s coverage in the triCityNews has been overwhelmingly positive, we did have two problems in the past 13 years. Hey, at the triCityNews we always call it like we see it!
The first was about ten years ago when I completely blasted Jennifer for not having the balls – as it were – to challenge Ed McKenna for Mayor of Red Bank. Man, we hammered her. Jen didn’t talk to me for a year. And about three years ago, I again completely blasted her for voting against same-sex marriage. Jen took that one better: she didn’t talk to me for only six months.
(Beck reversed her position on same sex marriage a few months ago – a story first reported in this newspaper. And, yes, the quotes we printed in that article were really from her.)
So, yeah, Jen and I are still great friends. In fact, whenever I speak to her these days, the first thing I ask is what colors she’d prefer for the legislative office I tell her we’ll share when I win.
But all joking aside, let me make something clear: When I declared my candidacy, I told Jennifer that we would have no discussions about campaign activities. She immediately agreed. And that’s what we’ve done. I have no idea what the Republicans are doing, and Beck has no idea of what I’m doing. I insisted on that so Jennifer would have no problems with the Republican Party or her running mates.
And while I’m having a good time here, let me say some kind words about those in the Assembly race from both parties. After all, I like my opponents – it’s the whole Goddamned system that’s pissing me off. That’s what I’m targeting by running.
I voted for Mary Pat Angelini last time for Assembly. I’d vote for her again this year if I wasn’t running. I love Mary Pat. She’s one of the few normal people I know in politics. (This year I’m “bullet voting” for just myself. It’s the best way to send a message.)
And, if I weren’t running, my second vote would likely go to Caroline Casagrande. More than anyone else on the ballot, I sense Caroline shares my gut libertarian instincts on economic issues. And those issue are most important this year.
But that second vote would be a tough choice: The other remaining candidate is Democrat Vin Gopal, with whom I’m in total agreement on social issues. He’s a young guy in his mid-20s who’s also in the publishing business. Vin puts out a community newspaper and magazines in Northern Monmouth. I got to love that! Plus Vin reminds me of a young Dan Jacobson when I served a term in the state Assembly in my 20s. Vin is just a lot nicer. Great guy.
(As of the deadline for this column, Democrat Marilyn Schlossbach, an Asbury Park restaurant owner, had dropped out of the race, and no replacement had been named. If I hadn’t run this year– and Marilyn had stayed in – she’d have gotten my second vote. We’ve known each other for over 25 years, and I love what Marilyn has done for Asbury Park. She too has received extensive coverage since 1999 in the triCityNews for her various activities.)
So there you go. Jennifer Beck is now breathing a sigh of relief. I’ve caused her no trouble with the Republicans in this column. And I’ve been able to say only the nicest things about my opponents. It’s like the fantasy campaign.
Wouldn’t it be wild if lightning struck and I actually won this election? Who runs a campaign like this?
“Restrictions on the exposure of the female breast are supported by the important governmental interest in safeguarding the public’s moral sensibilities,” the two-judge New Jersey Appeals Court panel.
A New Jersey Appeals Court ruled yesterday that women must keep their shirts on in public in order to safeguard the public’s moral sensibilites, according to The Star Ledger.
The plantiff, Phoenix Feeley, is appealing.
I must have been absent the day they taught moral sensibilities in Constitutional Law. I think the judges should have made up different reason: If we let Phoenix Feeley go topless, we’d have to let Snooki do it, and that would create all kinds of public safety issues.
New Jersey’s public employees pension system offends my moral sensibilities. Let’s take a poll. If the majority of the public agrees with me, let’s see the judges rule their own pensions unconstitutional.
Feeley, whose real name is Jill Coccaro, sued New York City in 2005 because she was arrested while topless in the Big Apple. New York’s top court had ruled years earlier that men and women have equal rights to bare their breasts. Feeley collected $29,000. In 2008 she came to Spring Lake and tried to score again.
“In America, the land of the free and where equality reins free, a woman can’t take off her shirt but a man can,” she said. “In another country, a woman can’t take a scarf off her face without getting stoned to death. What’s so different about the two?”
Stoning to death. That’s the difference.
Before appealing, Feeley should commission a poll to find if bare breast really do offend the public’s moral sensibilities. If not, challenge the appellate court’s ruling on the facts.
Red Bank Elks Hosting A FREE Will Planning Seminar, Tuesday September 20th
Red Bank Elks Lodge
The seminar, The Many Costs of Not Having a Will–or Having a Will that Can’t Be Probated, is open to the public and will be presented by Monmouth County Surrogate Rosemarie Peters.
Peters will give a 1 hour presentation starting at 7pm that will cover why you should have a will, common problems that can occur, and how the surrogate’s office can help you. Then there will then be 1 hour Q&A.
This free seminar will begin at 7pm, and will be held at the Red Bank Elks Lodge, 40 West Front Street, Red Bank NJ. Helping our community through important tasks such as this, is very important to the Red Bank Elks Lodge.
For more information about the Red Bank Elks Lodge and our other activities and programs, please visit the lodge’s website at www.redbankelks.org, or email the lodge at [email protected].
Holmdel Republican Chairwoman Marcy McMullen announced today that two term Township Committeeman Dr. Rocco Pascucci had withdrawn his candidacy for Township Committee. McMullen said that Pascucci would be replaced on the ballot by Greg Buontempo, Vice-Chairman of the Township Planning Board .
“Rocco has been a passionate advocate for fiscal responsibility and preserving the character of Holmdel,” said McMullen. “I’m sure I join many others in thanking him for his service to the Township and wishing him Godspeed in his future endeavors.”
McMullen said that in his withdrawal letter, Pascucci said his office spend the next year transitioning to an electronic record keeping system required by recent federal healthcare reforms which would take up much of his time and not allow him to serve the Township in the manner he would like.
“If you know Rocco, you know he doesn’t do anything halfway,” said McMullen.
McMullen called Buontempo an impressive candidate. “Greg is a smart, successful guy and a real go-getter. He shares the Holmdel Republican commitment to keeping the budget under control and preserving the character of Holmdel. When there’s work to be done, he’s the kind of guy who rolls up his sleeves and jumps in. I think when voters get to know him they’re going to be impressed.”
Buontempo, 46, is Branch Sales Director, National Accounts for Sprint Corp. He has a BS in Marketing from Seton Hall University and an MBA from Rider University. He has coached multiple boys and girls sports teams in the HYAA and is currently coach of the Central Jersey Hornets, a national girls softball travel team. He is married with two sons and a daughter.
Assembly Deputy Republican Leader Amy Handlin, R-Monmouth, said that she is committed to continuing her ongoing efforts to reform the pay-to-play laws that were the subject of a report issued by State Comptroller Matthew Boxer today. Boxer said current laws contain “fatal flaws” in the determination of who will receive local public contracts.
“I have always been a staunch supporter of reform to prevent campaign contributors from benefitting from their political patronage,” said Handlin, who is a member of the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee. “The comptroller’s report confirms that the ‘fair and open’ provision in pay-to-play is not only vague, but it is a license for crony capitalism. This is another wakeup call for the Democrat-controlled Legislature to finally address an issue that is costly to taxpayers and undermines their trust in government.
Handlin has been a leading advocate in the Legislature for banning the practice of trading public contracts for political contributions since she was elected in 2006.
“Establishing a uniform set of criteria that applies to all levels of government when a contract is awarded will end the charade of the ‘fair and open contract’ exceptions for businesses that take advantage of existing loopholes,” continued Handlin. “Now that an independent entity has exposed the continued weaknesses in these laws, I hope that we can make substantive reforms.”
In the current legislative session, Handlin is the sponsor of three bills that address pay-to-play issues, including:
A-520 (introduced 1/12/10) – This bill prohibits loans to a candidate, political party, or committee, by corporations which are already restricted from making political contributions. For example, insurance companies, financial institutions, certain utility companies, and casinos would fall under this legislation. It also extends existing restrictions on contributing to candidates, candidate committees and/or joint committees to political parties.
A-521 (introduced 1/12/10) – Provides that an individual or business that has made a campaign contribution would be prohibited for one year from performing a contract for a public entity at any level of government until one year after the contribution is made. The bill also prohibits an individual or business that has entered into a contract with a public entity from making a campaign contribution during the term of that contract and for one year thereafter.
A-527 (introduced 1/12/10 and initially introduced in the 2006 legislative session) – This legislation places limits on campaign contributions which may be made to candidates, office holders, and political committees by entities which do business with the State, local governments and interstate agencies. The bill also limits the amount which a county party can give per election per year to candidates and certain political committees.
Legislators Say Fort’s Closure is Great Loss to the Community
Senator Jennifer Beck, Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (all R-12) said that the closure of Fort Monmouth represents a great loss to the community, but also a great opportunity for new economic growth. The base will be officially closed in a formal retreat ceremony this afternoon.
“Fort Monmouth served our nation for nearly a century developing innovative new technologies that people around the world depend on today,” said Beck. “The great concentration of knowledge and technical ability that surrounded Fort Monmouth helped New Jersey become an economic powerhouse. We are certainly saddened that the Fort is closing, but we are also determined to ensure that redevelopment efforts fill the void to keep Monmouth County a leader in technological innovation.”
Fort Monmouth, which opened in 1917, was a global leader in the development of communications technologies, including FM radio and radar. During its decades of operation, the base served as a foundation for the local economy and local communities.
“The jobs of more than 20,000 people were directly or indirectly tied to Fort Monmouth,” said O’Scanlon. “An entire community of businesses supported the operation of the base, and local residents provided much of the talent and brainpower that fueled cutting edge research and development within the Fort’s walls. While a void has been created by the closing of Fort Monmouth, any successors will have a first-rate infrastructure, both physical and intellectual, ready to assume.”
“It certainly is sad to watch a pillar of the community be pulled out from under us,” added Casagrande. “In change, however, there is also opportunity. Looking to the past, we praise the many people who served at Fort Monmouth for their invaluable contributions to our nation. Looking to the future, we must seize this once in a lifetime opportunity to transform this central element of our community into something greater.”
The Bergenfield school system has a long tradition of excellence and out of the box thinking. It is appropriate that one of their schools was chosen for the pilot program.
Senator Loretta Weinberg, whose district includes Bergenfield, and Senate President Stephen Sweeney used the occasion to issue a snarky partisan statement that has nothing to do with the merits of the teacher evaluation system.
Snark is par for the course with Weinberg, but I didn’t expect her to make such a blatant gaff about Bergenfield’s history and the history of a New Jersey Hall of Fame member, Jersey Boy Frankie Valli.
Weinberg and Sweeney opened their statement as follows:
“It is great to see the governor visiting the wonderful schools in Bergenfield, home to the outstanding music program where Frankie Valli got started.
Bergenfield does have an outstanding music program. It has for decades. But that is not where Frankie Valli got started. Valli grew up in Newark.
Bob Gaudio, Valli’s partner in The Four Seasons and the writer of most of the group’s hit songs, got his start in Bergenfield. Gaudio had his first hit record, Short Shorts, at the age of 15 while still a student at Bergenfield High School.
Guadio and Valli met in 1958 while they were both touring with different groups. Two years later they formed The Four Seasons.
Weinberg should know this. Not because it is Bergenfield trivia, but because she attended Gaudio’s honorary graduation from Bergenfield High School only two years ago in 2009.
That Gaudio didn’t graduate with his class is an example of the long history of out of the box thinking for Bergenfield educators. Paul Hoffmeister, then-principal of Bergenfield High School, helped Gaudio convince his parents to let him drop out of school to pursue his musical career, according to the Jersey Boys Blog:
But, in 1958 he was only a 15-year-old kid who had tasted the success of “Short Shorts” and knew in his gut that music would be his life.
Concerned parents
Now he only had to convince his parents that it would be a good idea for him to leave school so that he and the Royal Teens could go on tour with the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry.
Though it was an easy decision for Gaudio, he knew it would be a hard sell to his parents.
But an ally came to his aid from a very surprising corner during a meeting with Bob, his parents and Paul Hoffmeister, then-principal of Bergenfield High School.
“My parents were very concerned,” said Gaudio, “and this meeting was my last resort to try and convince my dad, in particular, to let me go.”
“But I didn’t expect what happened,” he said. “I thought the principal would side with my parents, but he didn’t; and he shaped my future.”
“It was very astute of him,” said Gaudio, “and I think he was very tuned in to what kids were thinking and how they’re feeling at that stage in their lives.”
“I don’t know if he gave that type of advice to other people,” he said, “but it just made sense to him and was definitely the right decision for me, though I’m sure a major part of it was that I already had a hit record — I wasn’t just going to quit school and twiddle my thumbs and throw darts.”
Not only was Gaudio’s life shaped by Hoffmeister’s risk. American culture was shaped by it.
Weinberg and Sweeney should get their facts straight if they’re going to be snarky.
made up different reason: If we let Phoenix Feeley go topless, we’d have to let Snooki do it, and that would create all kinds of public safety issues. 
Feeley, whose real name is Jill Coccaro, sued New York City in 2005 because she was arrested while topless in the Big Apple. New York’s top court had ruled years earlier that men and women have equal rights to bare their breasts. Feeley collected $29,000. In 2008 she came to Spring Lake and tried to score again.