Save Our Assets NJ

Turnpike Toll Plan

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:19:02 0000

The following statement was issued today by Peter Humphreys, spokesman for Save Our Assets, in response to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority's new toll plan.

"When the original Asset Monetization Plan was announced, the reaction from the public was swift. The proposed 800% toll hikes were too much, too fast. While the new plan by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has been scaled back, the proposal is far more aggressive on the front end than the original plan. It calls for even greater and faster increases 50 percent this year and 50 percent in 2012. And there is no guarantee the Authority won't enact additional toll hikes in the future if more revenue is needed.

As we consider this new plan, there are a number of questions that need to be asked. And the Turnpike Authority should take the time to answer them.

Is the sky falling? Are we really in a financial emergency? Part V: Does the financial community think that we are bankrupt?

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:13:26 0000

The Governor’s supporters have said that New Jersey is “bankrupt.” The Governor has said we are “pretty much broke.” But Wall Street does not agree.

Independent rating agencies, such as Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s review the finances and economic outlook of companies and government units. They have analyzed the finances of New Jersey and its ability to pay its obligations as they come due.

Standard & Poor’s has given New Jersey a AA rating. This means the state has a “very strong capacity to meet its financial commitments.” Moody’s has given New Jersey a Aa3 rating. This means the obligations of the state are of “high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.”

Is the sky falling? Are we really in a financial emergency? Part IV: Do we owe billions in healthcare benefits?

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 15:55:26 0000

New Jersey has promised health care benefits to its state employees after they retire. However, there is no equivalent of a "pension plan" for healthcare benefits in New Jersey. Healthcare benefits are paid on a current basis by the state. Last year the benefits cost $1.031 billion.

This year they were $1.128 billion.

Is the sky falling? Are we really in a financial emergency? Part III: Do we owe billions to the Pension Plan?

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:36:45 0000

New Jersey currently has about $90 billion set aside in our pension plan.

We could probably pay benefits for most of the next 30 years without making any new contributions. However, the goal of the pension plan is to have enough money in the fund to pay benefits in perpetuity. In other words, we always want to have a pot of money for the future.

The unfunded liability is the amount of money we need to save for the future. It is the estimated amount New Jersey would have to pay in pension benefits over the next 30-40 years in excess of amounts we already have set aside in the plan plus investment earnings on those amounts.

Is the Sky Falling? Are we really in a financial emergency? PART II: Is the Transportation Trust Fund Bankrupt?

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:05:53 0000

The Governor has stated that the New Jersey Transportation Trust Fund (“TTF”) will be out of money after 2011. This is correct. And there is a good reason for this. The legislature only authorizes money for the TTF for stated periods, the last one being for the years 2007-2011. The legislature has just not gotten around to deciding how much money will be provided for the period starting in 2012.

While it is correct that no money has yet been allocated to the TTF, it is not the case that the TTF is bankrupt or has used up all its money. In fact the TTF reports it has sufficient capacity to support the capital program for transportation projects at $1.6 billion annually through 2011.

Is the sky falling? Are we really in a financial emergency? PART I: Are our bridges collapsing?

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 16:46:33 0000

In October there were headlines that repair of New Jersey bridges could “cost as much as $13.6 billion”. This was part of the steady drumbeat of alarming news coming from Trenton providing a prelude to the announcement of the Governor’s monetization plan.

$13.6 billion sounds like an enormous amount of money but when you get past the headlines, you can relax a little. First, this is the cost spread over 10 years, so despite the fact that the money is supposed to go to repair bridges “structurally deficient” or “functionally obsolete” it is unlikely that all of our bridges are going to collapse tomorrow.