Torricelli on tough choices

is there anything forbidding a tax on food ordered from "drive throughs"? Maybe we can raise money and decrease obesity, diabetes, and coronary disease at the same time, not to mention environmental issues such as cow run off and discarded styrofoam packaging.  Can fast food be treated similar to cigarettes? The entire system of a child with a five spot having the ability to choke down 1500 calories of fat and sugar is appalling.  But if a compromise needs to be reached, maybe limit the tax to drive through orders only. Sit down "meals" can remain exempt.  Too simple?

obviously i don't like it.  while i realize that poorer people rely on it for "nutrition," essentially aren't we creating a quasi-self fulfilling prophecy?  Poor people can't afford good food.  Poor people can't afford healthcare insurance.  Poor people get sick and eventually go on Medicaid or some other subsidized insurance with significant health-related issues.  An entire chicken at the supermarket costs a few dollars as compared to a super sized meal at the local joint.  Can we help create options at the same time and/or do these options already exist?

This post, for me, is probably the single most honest assessment of the state that I have read in quite some time. Torricelli cites major problems facing the state, including underfunding of universities, funding of open space, and high taxation, and does so with a bleak tone that sets up the question: How are we going to pay for everything without raising taxes, which none of us want to do?

I agree with Torricelli in that raising taxes should not be an option, but, if we've exhausted every possiblity, asset monetization should at least be a plausible option.

Torch mentions the River Line and Hudson-Bergen in the same sentence, as if they had similar ridership numbers. They do not. One thing about making choices is we need to decide where the best bang for the buck is and ignore regional politics. And that's impossible, no matter who's in power. So we spend money in South Jersey on unnecessary projects that can't even qualify for federal funding.

On the contrary, there is strong dissent to the blanket statement that "it's everyone's responsibility to see that kids everywhere have state-of-the-art schools". Some of us don't have kids, for one. Far more of us believe that home rule, that Sacred Jersey Cow, is inseparable from home responsibility, that it's the local school district that should take maximum responsibility for programming and budgeting. Any state aid should be an equal amount for each kid, no matter where. The primary and secondary education of Jersey is far too management centralized as it is.

Tough choices? I'd trust Torch on whether I should order meatloaf or chicken at various NJ Diners, but beyond that...

George Ajjan
REDchoice - 2008 Presidential Primary

New Jersey has the most generous Medicaid/familycare program in the country. Currently there are thousands of people enrolled in these programs that are making high six figure incomes. Many of these people own their own businesses with profits in the several hundred thousand dollar range. Unfortunately in their zeal to meet the Govs for call to insure the uninsured, the Management at Medical Assistance turned off all the safeguards. Current estimates are that 10-20% of the people on these programs do not qualify.

On top of this are the benefits. We annually spend $90million for people to get housecleaning, shopping, and meals cooked. This service is called personal care, and half of the people getting this service for 25 hours per week receive it because they have high blood pressure or mild diabetes.

We spend $1.5 billion for managed care of which $200million goes toward admin and profit.

Our poor (lol) hospitals have offshore captive corporations holding tens of millions of dollars that we fund through these programs. These moneys are basically being laundered back to Pols and Hospital Administrators. And while on the subject of hospitals, take a look at the salaries we are paying the top guys... $1 million plus to manage one hospital!

We have conveniently been led to believe that people need health insurance, when in fact they need healthcare. Health insurance serves to only line the pockets of wealthy businessmen.

New Jersey Medicaid can be reduced from its $9 billion mass to a $6 billion agency providing even more healthcare then it currently does. To do this we need to get more money directly to the healthcare professionals and eliminate all the administration and consultants that are feeding off the system.

If we want to raise tolls we should take the revenues
and target them toward debt reduction.

Monetizing assets with a huge bond sale will only put commissions into Jon's friends pockets at Goldman Sachs. Ten Billion in bonds.. 10% to them = $1 Billion.

This is a worse deal then many loan sharks offer, not only do you have to pay the interest but they are only giving 90% or less of what you borrowed.