Hank Kalet

I suspect — and I’m obviously no expert — that approaches to the Middle East like this are seriously flawed, making assumptions about groups like Hezbollah and Hamas that just don’t stand up to reality. The assumption that seems to be unlying this editorial in the Times is that Hezbollah has no legitimacy — something that seems contradicted by nearly everything I read. We may not like it, but we will probably have to deal with Hezbollah and Hamas if we want a resolution in the Middle East.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

From The New York Times: “Federal Judge Orders End to Warrantless Wiretapping“

In her ruling on the wiretapping program, District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor criticized the president for overstepping his constitutional authority, writing that the program violates the First and Fourth amendments:

“It was never the intent of the Framers to give the president such unfettered control, particularly where his actions blatantly disregard the parameters clearly enumerated in the Bill of Rights.”

A victory for the Constitution, I’d say.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Zulima Farber did the right thing — but not without some kicking and screaming and possibly for the first time — in stepping down yesterday as attorney general. This was an absurd situation that has left the entire state looking bad.

The governor handled this well, considering how difficult of a situation he faced. Critics would have liked him to act more quickly, but that’s just politics. He ran Farber through an investigative process and then did not waste time once the independent panel found she violated several ethics rules. (The reality, of course, is that the governor made a grave mistake when he appointed Farber.)

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

So, here is the fullest explanation that young Kean has offered on Social Security to date, a rather long-winded yet empty response full of campaign soundbites, a response that manages to sound thoughtful but that lacks any meaningful policy prescriptions. (Here is the response to a question on Social Security from the Hall Institute of Public Policy in New Jersey.)

If I’m reading this correctly, Kean Jr. is opposed to privatization, but for private accounts and does not say in this piece how he manages to gibe this inconsistency. Is he for creating a separate set of accounts that would be managed like a 401k and leaving traditional Social Security as is? He doesn’t address this, preferring instead to go on the attack.

His lack of specificity on this is all the more puzzling, given the Hall’s very specific, three-part question:

A. Do you believe that individuals should be allowed to direct part or all of the Social Security tax to private accounts? What would be the effect of such a proposal on lower income people, the disabled, and survivors’ benefits?

B. How would the nation deal with the transition costs to private accounts?

C. If the Social Security trust fund faces — in the long-term future — a shortfall between revenues and expenditures:

1. What should be the age for full benefits?

2. Should the Social Security tax be raised and to what levels?

3. Should the current array of benefits be cut for future retirees?

Menendez, also turns to the political cudgel, but his response ultimately is pretty straightforward. He opposes privatization and does not believe the system is in crisis:

We must take privatization completely off the table. Once that happens, I believe in working towards a bipartisan solution to strengthen Social Security over the long haul. This must be accomplished in a way that does not increase the deficit, hurt the middle class or slash guaranteed benefits.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Steve Adubato outlines what the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll may mean for local governments and school districts in the state of New Jersey.

The poll, he says, shows that the time is ripe for service consolidation — and not just hte small stuff like purchasing rock salt.

Adubato writes that he:

had always believed that police and fire services would be off limits for most citizens. If this poll is correct, there may be a narrow window of opportunity to act. When I say act, I don’t simply mean encouraging or supporting mergers or consolidation of services. I’m talking about mandating that these things take place.

The question is how willing will folks be to merge when faced with the actual merger? Reducing the number of government entities makes sense, and I think that most people would agree with that, but given conversations we’ve had with residents and government officials in Cranbury, Jamesburg and Monroe I have to wonder if people agree with the concept more than they will agree with the actual practice no matter the tax savings.

And then there is the question of goals. Should cash savings be the only motivation, or should some mergers be considered to help balance racially segregated communities? And what happens if that is put on the table? What would the poll results show then?

I do believe that reducing the number of towns and school districts makes sense. I just don’t think that residents of smaller communities are going to make it easy.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick