NJ Watchdog: New Jersey double-dippers scoop New Yorkers at the public trough

Start spreading the news: New Jersey is a paradise for double-dippers compared to neighboring New York.

New York law requires its state and local government agencies to formally certify an “urgent need” for rehiring the retired workers. officials must declare there are “no available, qualified non-retirees” who can fill the open positions, which must be publicly advertised.

New Jersey governmental units can generally hire back retirees without any justification or legal restrictions. Special paperwork and approvals are not needed – and in some instances, workers can return to the public payrolls the day after they retire.

In New York, 665 retirees are currently working at public jobs with waivers, according to the Empire Center report.

Meanwhile, New Jersey officials do not track the hundreds – and likely thousands – of working retirees who receive both governmental pensions and salaries.

New York State’s efforts to control double-dipping – by “retired” public officials who collect pensions while continuing to work in government jobs – are highlighted in a study released this week by the Empire Center, a non-profit think tank based in Albany.

While the Garden State is not mentioned in the report, an analysis by New Jersey Watchdog reveals significant differences in how the two states approach the double-dipping dilemma.

The story is now online at http://watchdog.org/182661/nj-ny-double-dippers/.

Contrasting Styles Between Cuomo & Christie; Different Approach, Same Outcome No Animosity

NJ.com yesterday had an interesting editorial that I think a lot of people should be reading.

In the face of an $11 billion dollar budget defect, NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo balanced NY's budget by cutting spending and entitlement without raising taxes just as our governor did last year (although that is somewhat debatable). Cuomo achieved this by reaching out to legislator and including them in the process. Gov. Christie on the other hand, has created divisiveness between the governor's office and those in the legislature with his take it or leave it approach and sledgehammer style.

Interestingly Cuomo was able to balance his State's budget without demonizing any one group (public employees) or had to hold nonstop "Town Hall" meetings to convince people that there is a problem and his way of solving it, is the only way that it can be done.

Resident of NJ should take notice and see how a different, less caustic and abrasive style can achieve similar yet far different results.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo just won agreement on a budget for New York state that cuts overall spending and contains no new taxes. He even blocked an attempt by fellow Democrats to extend a surtax on millionaires.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because New Jersey did all that last year. Perhaps Cuomo looked across the Hudson and liked what he saw.

Now maybe Gov. Chris Christie can return the compliment. Because Cuomo has something to teach him as well.

Note the lack of personal attacks in Albany. Cuomo was tough, but he wasn’t abusive. He didn’t call his Assembly speaker a liar, for example, or clear his schedule for a nonstop tour on the unlimited greed of teachers and cops.

And he negotiated. Especially relevant to New Jersey was Cuomo’s approach to Medicaid.

Like most states, New York and New Jersey are facing daunting increases in health care costs. Cuomo’s approach was collaborative.

He invited key stakeholders, including hospitals and unions, to sit together and hammer out an agreement on cuts. If they couldn’t come up with an answer, he said, then he would do it for them.

After two months, Cuomo’s committee pulled it off, agreeing to 79 cost-cutting measures, from lowering reimbursements to shifting patients to managed care plans.

Christie wants to cut $540 million in Medicaid spending next year, a huge sum that both sides expect to be a main point of contention. But he’s drawn up his plan in secret, and even now is keeping the Legislature out of the loop. People such as Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), a key architect of the current system, are still looking for basic answers.

“They are crafting their own proposal in a vacuum,” Vitale says. “They would be wise to include legislators.”

Cuomo’s collaboration ensured that his plan had broad political support, and would pass. Christie’s approach risks just the opposite.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hospitalized With Cancer

 

The New York Times is reporting that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York on Thursday for what was apparently early-stage pancreatic cancer, according to a statement released by the Supreme Court.

The surgery followed the discovery of a lesion during an annual check-up in late January at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. A CAT scan revealed a small tumor, approximately one centimeter across, in the center of the pancreas, the court’s statement said.

According to Dr. Murray Brennan, the attending surgeon, Justice Ginsburg will most likely remain in the hospital approximately for seven to 10 days, the statement added. A spokeswoman for Sloan-Kettering declined to elaborate.

President Obama was informed of the justice’s condition early Thursday afternoon, his spokesman said.

“He has not talked with the justice, but his thoughts and prayers are with her and her family right now,” said Robert Gibbs, the White House spokesman. “We hope for and wish her a speedy recovery.”

Read more>>>Here

Kennedy's Support Fades in New York

New York voters, by a 31% to 24% margin, prefer State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo over Caroline Kennedy for appointment to Sen. Hillary Clinton's soon-to-be-vacant U.S. Senate seat, a new Quinnipiac poll shows.

However, most voters still believe that Gov. David Paterson will ultimately pick Kennedy for the seat.

-Political Wire

AP Exclusive: Kennedy Talks Senate Seat

In her first sit-down interview since expressing interest in a U.S. Senate seat, Caroline Kennedy says she will have to work twice as hard if appointed to the seat representing New York, despite her famous name. (Dec. 26)