Trump reaches deal with Carrier to stop factory jobs from moving to Mexico

WASHINGTON – Air conditioning company Carrier Corp. says it has reached a deal with President-elect Donald Trump to keep nearly 1,000 jobs in Indiana. Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence plan to travel to the state Thursday to unveil the agreement alongside company officials. Trump confirmed the meeting on Twitter late Tuesday, promising a “Great deal… Read the rest of this entry »

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N.J. could be in big trouble if another recession hit

TRENTON — A new study cast doubts on whether New Jersey can withstand another economic downturn. It’s the second such study this year to find that the state, which has lagged behind the rest of the nation in recovering from the Great Recession, is particularly vulnerable and unprepared for yet another. New Jersey is among 10… Read the rest of this entry »

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Goldman Sachs to pay $5 billion for its role in housing bubble

Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay more than $5 billion to settle charges it sold mortgages it knew were likely to fail during the housing bubble heydays of 2005-2007, the U.S. Justice Department announced today. Of that settlement, $1.8 billion has been set aside to help consumers harmed by the practice – with most of it… Read the rest of this entry »

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N.J. has worst business tax climate in U.S., study finds

TRENTON — New Jersey’s high property and income taxes contribute to its standing as the nation’s least attractive tax climate for businesses, according to a Washington tax policy group’s annual ranking of the 50 states. The Tax Foundation, a public policy group that has two former Republican lawmakers on its board of directors, considered five metrics,… Read the rest of this entry »

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Record number of N.J. residents living in poverty, study finds

More New Jersey residents are in poverty now than in the past five decades and the outlook for the future is bleak in a state that boasts being one of the wealthiest in the nation, according to a report released Sunday. The findings in the study done for Legal Services of New Jersey paint a grim… Read the rest of this entry »

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Most N.J. workers anxious about being able to afford retirement, poll shows

TRENTON — Nearly all New Jersey residents age 35 and older say they hope to retire one day, but two-thirds are anxious about saving enough money so they could afford it, according to a poll released Thursday by AARP. AARP, the influential lobby for people 50 and older, is championing a solution for the roughly 1.7… Read the rest of this entry »

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N.J. lost 26,100 jobs in June and July but the unemployment rate fell

Spring Job Fair at Brookdale Community College, April 2014. file photo

TRENTON — New Jersey lost nearly 14,000 jobs in July, with the largest employment declines posted in leisure and hospitality and professional and business services, according to new labor data released on Thursday. The state’s unemployment rate, which is measured by a different federal survey, decreased to 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in June and… Read the rest of this entry »

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Tesla Loses $4,000 on Every Car Sold

The Silicon Valley automaker is losing more than $4,000 on every Model S electric sedan it sells, using its reckoning of operating losses, and it burned $359 million in cash last quarter in a bull market for luxury vehicles. The company on Wednesday cut its production targets for this year and next. Chief Executive Elon Musk… Read the rest of this entry »

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How long before gas prices hit the $2 mark?

Close the doors, because the gas price elevator is going down, again. How long will it take before the $2 a gallon mark is hit. It may not be that long, especially if gas stations decide to have a price war to move product, said Jeff Pelton, senior oil analyst for Gas Buddy.com “Expectation into next… Read the rest of this entry »

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O’Scanlon: We MUST move forward on pension and budget reform

By Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon

Now that the 2016 budget debate is over, we must get back to the most pressing state issue of our time.  The suggestion of some in the public worker sector that those of us who voted against the budget are in favor of our abandoning our commitment to ensuring their pensions is completely false.  For any responsible elected official, and decent human being, it is imperative that we meet our commitments in a way that protects our pubic workers – and the NJ economy at the same time.

The reason we couldn’t make a payment larger than the $1.3 billion one included in the Governor’s budget has nothing to do with a lack of will or integrity.  It’s about devoting as much $ as possible without inflicting massive, economy-killing, tax increases on an economy just now showing signs of real growth.  Without economic growth there will be no chance we will be able to meet our commitments to the system in the many years to come – so ensuring growth is as important to public workers as anyone else.  We don’t simply have a $1.8 billion deficit this year. We have a $6 to $7 billion hole over the next few years. Taxing the life out of our economy this year, with no plan going forward – and leaving us in a $2 billion hole next year as the Democrat’s proposed budget would – is bad policy, for all New Jerseyans.

But it is true as well that we can’t foster growth to the exclusion of our obligation to our dedicated public workers.  And I can’t state that point vehemently enough.  Our teachers and other public workers are decent, devoted, professional people.  Generalizations to the contrary are without merit.

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