My Future Exodus

I feel as though we are on the verge of a mass-migration.

This migration is going to consist of people who have stopped being upwardly mobile that feel as though the dam is cracking and its time to go.

The change in thinking is in large part thanks to the Great Recession.

We now have downsized incomes, downsized credit lines and meanwhile local governments keep raising the ante.

Of course people with children want their schools to be the best.

And it turns out that people with children end up taking the political reigns of their communities.

And, people with children can always justify spending money when it benefits the children.

This includes having state of the art facilities, top-notch teachers and environments that are intended to replace the nurturing that they themselves continuosly fail to provide their children.

I don’t blame the children.

Collectively we do need to provide great opportunity for all children and also care for each and every one of them no matter what their individual “issue” may be.

And, no matter what the cost!

Which is why people with children will tend to migrate towards these high tax areas in order to give their children everything that they deserve; which they do! Willingly!

This migration in turn drives up the taxes in those areas even more and then the ante goes up once again.

And as the ante goes up, people will fold.

When I fold I’m going to go where the land is cheap, the taxes are low and thanks to technology, where I can still get every television channel and a cell phone signal and where I can do all of my shopping via the Internet with next day delivery.

Why don’t I go now?

Because my son is still in school.

Bandwidth crisis!?!

According to CNN, there is a high liklihood of a major bandwidth logjam during the inauguration…maybe the bandwidth companies will finally get noticed!

The cellular phone systems around the National Mall will be overloaded if the expected record crowds show up, according to a spokesman for CTIA — The Wireless Association, a nonprofit organization that represents wireless carriers.

Since Barack’s own website calls for getting Broadband to every community in America, when those communities can’t witness the inauguration this week because of the logjam, perhaps it will help the cause.

I Am Praying for Elliot Spitzer

 

And to all of you holier than thou demagogs out there, please remember a few popular verses from the Bible.

Matthew Chapter 7 verses 1 and 2

Stop judging, that you may not be judged.

For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

John Chapter 8 verse 7

Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone …

I completely disagree with what he has done and I feel that he has volutarily abdicated his right to be Governor, but from this point forward it’s between him, his wife and God.

I’m certain that God can forgive him so we can too.

Rethinking the Toll Increase in NJ

Once again the politicians are discussing raising revenue and once again they want to tax us on services that we have already grown to depend upon and have factored into our daily lives.

For once, couldn’t they give citizens a new or enhanced service that we might actually choose to pay for if given the chance?

I think there is when it comes to the proposed toll hikes that Governor Corzine is pushing for.

Instead of his idea, I propose that New Jersey allows drivers to drive at a higher rate of speed, in return for buying the privilege of driving faster.

With all of our wonderful technology, including the ability to issue tickets based upon EZ Pass data, why can’t we charge a variable toll rate based upon the actual rate of speed during the journey?

This enhanced service would only be available to EZ Pass Customers.

Do you think EZ Pass would like that?

Car safety can be ensured by giving additional safety checks during the inspection process. These additional inspections would be at the expense of the driver including out of staters that could voluntarily get the special inspection.

Do you think that Parsons and all of the small mom and pop inspection centers would like that?

Start small…say the car lanes on the Turnpike and the Express Lanes on the Garden State Parkway. If it works, roll it out to other stretches of road and maybe even build express lanes that would have an ample funding source for once.

How much could they charge for this privilege?

I think they could easily charge a summertime shore commuter $10 extra or whatever it costs to keep the road moving for those willing to pay the surcharge. Extra service vehicles, better roads, video monitoring, whatever. The additional costs could easily be absorbed by the additional revenue…and then some.

Why not vary the rates based upon time of year and projected congestion.  Influence driver behavior like the markets influence buying behavior.

We pay different prices for gasoline don’t we? And we make the decision to buy or not to buy on the spot do we not?

If they post the prices well in advance of reaching the toll a driver can decide if they want or need to go faster or not and if so, how much it’s worth to them.

On the flipside, using our wonderful technology, the State could charge extensive fines for cars that exceed their designated speed limits. No special safety inspection? Pay a fine for speeding.

Is this a perfect solution? Probably not…

Is it worth exploring before we simply tax everyone and they get nothing in return but a higher cost of living?

I hope so.

Marc Acito on the Stimulus Package

 

When I was at Franklin Elementary School in Westfield New Jersey, I was fortunate to be in a 4th and 5th grade “cluster class” which was some sort of experiment in my town that lasted for two years.

I was in the first year of experimentation as a fourth grader.

A fellow classmate of mine, a fifth grader named Marc Acito, was a tremendously funny and artistically gifted person.

He apparently still is.

He was as charismatic as a 10 year old could be, and the perfect foil to Mizzzz Cueman, our incredibly funny and witty teacher that lead us through our educational exploration.

I think that Ms. Cueman would be very proud of Marc, who used to call her Miss America!

Mary Cueman died very young of cancer.

Marc is a writer now, living in Portland, Oregon and has managed to become a political pundit of sorts, commenting on NPR about economic matters that he claims to know nothing about.

Oh! Contraire!

I think he’s saying what we’re all thinking.

 http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18427606

In the words of Ms. Cueman…..”Cuuuuute”