Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie.

Economic meltdown

The housing market is in disarray, and now interest rates are rising — bad news for the American economy, especially those already facing hardships.

The rise in rates is of greatest concern for homeowners whose mortgages required
them to pay only the interest on their loans for the first few years. If such
borrowers are unable to refinance into lower-cost loans, many of them will face
the prospect of having to pay both interest and principal at higher, adjustable
rates.

Or lose their homes.

But that’s not all. Fuel and heating costs are moving beyond what most Americans can afford and politicians — especially the empty suit in the White House — are dithering and pandering, their solutions little more than handouts to the oil industry at a time when we need to be addressing demand.

And then there are food prices. Milk and other staples are rising here, but they are rising even more quickly around the globe.

Taken together, things look pretty bleak — but the president offers crumbs.

Bullpen — what bullpen?

This is not a good sign, is it? A ninth-inning rally by the evil Phillies to beat the Mets. Let’s hope the Metropolitans can rebound and win the next two.

Runner’s diary, Monday

A hot, steamy run, difficult, but still I did four miles in Kendall Park.

Music: a mix

Gay marriage, an economic justification

Alfred Doblin, editorial page editor of The Record of Hackensack, says New Jersey could experience a windfall — like the one anticipated for Massachussets — if it would just call a rose a rose and allow gay couples from all over the country to come to the Garden State to get married.

Massachusetts is about to get a financial windfall. According to a state-commissioned study, 32,000 same-sex couples will travel to Massachusetts to marry over the next three years. Allowing out-of-state, same-sex couples to wed will create 330 permanent new jobs and add $111 million to the state’s economy. That does not include revenue from wedding guests traveling to the Gay State or other wedding-related expenses.

Back to New Jersey. We have everything Massachusetts has and more. New Jersey has proximity to New York. New Jersey has a shore. New Jersey has Atlantic City. What it doesn’t have is enough new revenue.

This month, the state Casino Control Commission released its report on June casino revenue. It stinks. Revenue is down 11 percent compared to the same month last year. Slot machine revenue is down. Table game revenue is down. Atlantic City is a 12-month-a-year tourist destination. There is no reason that the cottage wedding business of Las Vegas could not be duplicated in Atlantic City with same-sex couples. An infusion of same-sex couples into the Atlantic City economy is good business. The state makes money on the licenses; casinos and hotels make money on the couples and weddings.

And it’s not just South Jersey that will see new revenue. Imagine the numbers of out-of-state, same-sex couples marrying in Hoboken and Jersey City with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop. We have the geography. All we need are wedding licenses.

Imagine, doing what’s right and generating revenue at the same time. No wonder the state has failed to move on this.

Runner’s diary, Friday

So, who ordered this weather? It already was in the 80s and as humid as a steam room when it was time to run this morning, so I stayed inside on the treadmill and worked on pushing the pace. I ran three miles in 24:33 — the fastest I’ve run in a while. I find it easier to push on the treadmill because it moves and if you don’t keep up you fall off. In any case, that makes 20 for the week after a couple of light weeks. I finished up with some leg work — balance stuff, squats, etc.

Music: Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal