Archive for New Jersey
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The Aussie ballot keeps voters down under
Category: Ballot Access · State: New Jersey Oklahoma · Source: NewJersey.com
They used to call him "the man with the golden arm."
Nick Caputo was the Essex County clerk for 29 years. Among the clerk's duties was the task of putting capsules representing the political parties into a drum and then giving it a good spin. Apparently Caputo had calculated that centrifugal force would keep the capsules in place. And the Democrats got Row A for all but one year of his tenure.
Meanwhile, over in Hudson County the choice was made by picking Ping-Pong balls at random. But if a smart pol put the Democratic ball in the freezer overnight, it was Row A all the way.
Such are the drawbacks of the Australian ballot. That's the technical name for the type of government-created ballot that's been in use in America since the 1880s. It seemed like a good idea at the time. But the Australian ballot made all sorts of mischief possible. Worse, it solidified a two-party system that gives us no real choice at the polls. On Tuesday, Americans get to choose between the big-government party and the bigger-government party. Which is which? It's hard to tell these days.
This is fine for liberals, but conservatives have nowhere to go, except to a third-party candidate who has no real chance of winning. That's no accident, says J. David Gillespie, a semi-retired political science professor from Charleston, S.C., and author of "Politics at the Periphery: Third Parties in Two-Party America."....
Opinion: "Soprano State" Taxpayers Victims of Too Much Government
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: New Jersey · Source: Asbury Park Press
I've just finished reading "The Soprano State" by Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure. What a mind-numbing experience. No fault of the authors. But 287 pages detailing the ways by which self-serving pols and their greedy cronies raid state and local treasuries and gang-rape the New Jersey taxpayer end up being a real downer. Is this what democracy is all about?
Opinion: Share Power With Citizens
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: New Jersey · Source: Asbury Park Press
A succession of recent governors and legislatures have had their chance to make things right in this state and have failed miserably. It's time to give New Jersey voters a crack at it: They should demand that lawmakers give them the power of initiative and referendum — a power granted citizens in 27 states and most Western democracies.
TOPIC OF THE DAY: Budget gimmicks
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: New Jersey · Source: Asbury Park Press
Gov. Corzine's asset monetization scheme is a folly of biblical proportions. Paying off past debt by borrowing against future income is foolish, particularly when that income is generated by increased taxes or fees imposed upon already overburdened taxpayers.
Opinion: Modified I&R could work
Category: Initiative and Referendum · State: New Jersey · Source: nj.com
Another election season is over, and the status quo in Trenton is pretty much intact. Yet the ballot questions showed that voters are clearly not content. Rather, people feel that they have no real ability to influence the direction of state government. Districts are carved to protect incumbents. Choices seem without consequence; neither party in Trenton has been able to deliver property tax reform or bring truly thorough and efficient education to our cities. The legislature is overly influenced by special interests, the courts step in with mandates, and the people feel they have no ability to bring about needed change. They feel that all they can do is send a message of discontent by voting "no" on more debt or more fiscal gimmicks.
Monthly Archives for New Jersey
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