Roseff's group backed Oroho on estate tax

Not long ago, some of the very same people who are now engaged in smearing Steve Oroho over the estate tax were urging him to repeal it.  They even held a rally at the Statehouse in Trenton to kick-off their campaign.

Advisory: AFP To Launch Death Tax Repeal Effort, Monday, Sept. 15

SEP 11, 2014 BY AFP

AFP to Launch Death Tax Repeal Effort!
~Monday, Sept. 15 at 12PM at the Statehouse~

TRENTON – Americans for Prosperity, the state’s leading advocate for taxpayers, will hold a press conference on the steps of the capitol on Monday, Sept. 15 at 12 noon to launch an effort to repeal the state’s death tax, or estate tax.

AFP will be joined by a broad coalition of lawmakers, organizations and concerned citizens, among them state Sen. Steve Oroho (R-24), Asm. Jay Webber (R-26), andAsm. Gordon Johnson (D-37); the 60 Plus Association, Commerce and Industry Association, CPA Society of New Jersey, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) and the Common Sense Institute of New Jersey.

Coalition members believe eliminating the estate tax is critical for stemming the exodus of residents and job creators to lower tax states and improving New Jersey’s economy. Repeal is also viewed as a moral imperative since the state’s low death tax threshold saddles many middle class New Jerseyans with tax bills into the tens of thousands of dollars—in effect taxing them for achieving the American Dream.

Sen. Oroho is the primary sponsor of legislation which would phase the estate tax out over a five year period. The press conference signals the commitment of AFP and coalition partners to educating the public and building grassroots pressure to compel the Legislature to pass this legislation this year.

AFP Death Tax Repeal Kickoff Event!
~Monday, Sept. 15 at 12PM on Capitol Steps~
125 W. State Street, Trenton, NJ 08608 (Click for map)

Sen. Steve Oroho (R-24), Asm. Jay Webber (R-26) and Asm. Gordon Johnson (D-37)
Frayda Levin, Chairwoman, Americans for Prosperity
Daryn Iwicki, State Director, Americans for Prosperity
Jim Martin, Chairman, 60 Plus Association
Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey
Ralph Thomas, CEO & Executive Director, CPA Society of New Jersey
Jerry Cantrell, President, Common Sense Institute of New Jersey
Dan Pagano, New Jersey Citizen-Activist
Numerous AFP citizen-activists

Note that Dan Pagano, the president of the group Harvey Roseff claims to represent, supported Senator Steve Oroho's legislation.  This is the very group that is organizing the rally in Newton this weekend.

Oh, another day, another rally.  Steve Oroho did what these people thought was so important.  How important?  Let's hear it from them:

Coalition members believe eliminating the estate tax is critical for stemming the exodus of residents and job creators to lower tax states and improving New Jersey’s economy. Repeal is also viewed as a moral imperative since the state’s low death tax threshold saddles many middle class New Jerseyans with tax bills into the tens of thousands of dollars—in effect taxing them for achieving the American Dream.

Despite saying that they were going to "compel" the Legislature to eliminate the estate tax in 2014, that didn't mean squat to the Democrats who control both chambers of the Legislature.  These people had their rally... and then left it to Steve Oroho to do their negotiating for them.  And he got it done.  Not a perfect compromise, but when you are as outnumbered in the Legislature as the Republicans are, you are never going to get anywhere near perfect.  What you are going to get 9 times out of 10 is... squat.

But AFP, Roseff's group, and all rest said that they believed "eliminating the estate tax is critical for stemming the exodus of residents and job creators to lower tax states and improving New Jersey's economy." 

They held a rally to get it done.  Nobody thought it could get done. 

Senator Steve Oroho got it done!  The estate tax will be gone before Governor Christie leaves office!

So instead of a "thank you for getting that done for us," what did Steve Oroho get for doing what they asked him to do? 

Death threats from Tea Partiers.  Violent, pornographic rants from other Tea Partiers.  His son was attacked by AFPers.  Tea Partier Gail Phoebus, who Oroho had endorsed and supported, spread the most malicious and hateful rumors.  The likes of George Graham stoked the fires and got others to do the dirty work. 

We have all heard the rhetoric coming out of the Tea Party regarding the estate tax.  That it only helps "rich" people and does nothing for the "working class."  This is Marxist language -- and it represents a massive flip-flop, a 180 degree turn by the Tea Party.

In their quest to promote their own candidate against Steve Oroho, the Tea Party has promised to support the judicial appointment of a pro-abortion, ACLU-approved, liberal Democrat (Phoebus' pick).  They have promised to support the control over county government by liberal Hudson County machine Democrat-turned-Republican George "Boss" Graham.  And now they are employing the class warfare of Hillary Clinton against conservatives for ending the estate tax in New Jersey.

To some, gossip is more important than fact.

There are always going to be some people who believe that "Navy SEALS blew up the World Trade Center, that WMD's were in Iraq, or that Anna Nicole married for love."  And it's the same with some of the gossip that gets tossed around about the tax restructuring proposal being worked out between the Democrats, who control both chambers of the Legislature, and the Republicans, who hold the Governor's office for another 16 months.

The latest was published by Hamptonian Tris Tristram, a prolific letter writer to the New Jersey Herald.  Tristram has found something to complain about with the portion of the proposal that would eliminate state taxes on the retirement income of most retirees in Sussex County.  According to the State Treasurer's office, the average retiree in Sussex County would see a $2,500 savings on his or her income tax. 

In his letter to the Herald, Tristram wrote: "Raising the 'no tax' threshold to $100,000 leads me to the cynical conclusion that this arbitrary number was reached because law makers and their cronies will be receiving pensions around that amount in the not too distant future (if not already doing so), thus cheating the state out of this needed revenue."

In fact, the threshold wasn't "arbitrary" but was calculated to make New Jersey more competitive against other states that have been luring away middle class and wealthy retirees.  As any financial planner will tell you, New Jersey is one of the worst places to live as a retired person in America.  Anyone who understands basic economics knows the consequences that face New Jersey, which is suffering from an outflow of wealth, while at the same time those moving into the state (including illegals) are often dependent on government services.

And no, lawmakers do not receive public pensions.  That is a LIE repeated over and over again, endlessly, by people who deal in gossip instead of FACTS.

Here are the FACTS.  The LAST legislator who was eligible for a state pension in Sussex County was Gary Chiusano.  And while we know that this must be hard for self-confessed "cynics" like Tris Tristram to believe, Gary Reagan Chiusano TURNED IT DOWN!!!  That's right all you cynics out there.  Your neighbor, Gary Chiusano, voluntarily turned down being grandfathered into the state pension system. Senator Steve Oroho does not get a state pension.  Assemblyman Parker Space does not get a state pension.  Assemblywoman Gail Phoebus does not get a state pension.  So the premise of this "cynical conclusion" is plain, old-fashioned bullshit.

This is the irresponsible way of the gossip.  Find any WMD's yet?  No?  Don't worry, when the facts don't suit you, just make them up and invade.  After the war is over, after the billions have been spent and all those dead boys and girls and all those arms and legs missing, you can always explain away the harm you did by chalking it all up to "whoops".

For anyone planning to continue to reside in New Jersey after they retire, the portion of the tax restructuring proposal that eliminates the tax on retirement income is a must.  But the only way it happens is if there's a compromise between the Democrats, who control both chambers of the Legislature, and the Republicans, who hold the Governor's office for another 16 months.

Time is running out.

Oroho will address police beheading image

This offensive image was tweeted by an NFL player.  It made national news yesterday, followed by demands for action.

Word late this afternoon is that Senator Steve Oroho and other legislators will propose a resolution by the New Jersey Legislature to formally express its outrage and condemnation of this image.  We have hopes for its swift passage.

As we know, sports stars, particularly football players, are often held as role models by children and young adults.  The citizens of New Jersey, led by their Legislature, should make clear their collective position on such violent images aimed at the police officers who are our friends, family, and neighbors. 

While we cannot and should not attempt to ban free speech, even free speech that is disturbing, we can and should reply to such speech with speech.  A strong unambiguous condemnation will let the publishers of such images know that their efforts have backfired.

Franklin Councilwoman explains TTF

In a new radio spot, Franklin Councilwoman Dawn Fantasia explains how New Jersey has failed to pay its way for decades.  Since 1988, the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) has tried to pay for road and bridge maintenance and repair on just 14.5 cents a gallon of gasoline.  New road construction and even public transportation costs come out of that 14.5 cents.  So do the repairs for local roads -- to offset the need for higher property taxes -- all of it has to come out of the same budget.

Other states -- including every neighboring state -- charge 40 or even 50 cents a gallon of gasoline to pay for the upkeep of their transportation infrastructure.  So how has New Jersey done it?  It hasn't.  Instead of pay-as-you-go, it is borrow-until-you-go-broke in New Jersey. 

So now we have borrowed so much that the fund is out of money and it will take the first 10 cents of a proposed per gallon tax on gasoline just to pay the interest on the debt. New Jersey has spent nearly three decades behaving like children with a credit card.  Councilwoman Fantasia makes the point that it is time for our elected officials to start acting like adults, raising the money to pay for road and bridge repairs, paying down the debt, being fiscally responsible.

Click here to listen to Councilwoman Dawn Fantasia

Gas stations say yes to Oroho bill

Many of you asked what the gas stations of New Jersey thought about Senator Steve Oroho's efforts to continue to pay for road and bridge maintenance and repairs while avoiding a property tax explosion.  We found out for you and present it here: