Are New Jersey voters (that would be you) greedy jerks or just stupid and impressionable?
By Art Gallagher | MoreMonmouthMusings.com
New Jersey voters are either greedy jerks or stupid and impressionable buffoons if you buy The Star Ledger Editorial Board’s (Tom Moran’s) reading of the QuinnipiacPoll released on Thursday. The poll reported that New Jerseyans favor wage freezes for state workers, by a 53-42 margin, and oppose an increase in the gasoline tax by a 65-33 percent margin:
New Jersey voters are jerks. The new state motto: “Screw you, not me.”
That is how Moran starts off his rant. He finishes by cutting the poll respondents a break. Maybe we aren’t greedy jerks, maybe we’ve been led to think the way we do:
We’ll cut the folks responding to the Quinnipiac poll a break – they’ve been goaded in this direction. Despite widespread reforms to state workers’ pay and benefits during the past four years, not to mention budget cuts that led to historic layoffs of police, teachers and firefighters, Gov. Chris Christie used his annual budget address to continue to blame state worker compensation for our fiscal aches and pains.
Hmmm. Moran’s frustration is showing. As the editorial page editor of the state’s largest media outlet, Moran should be the most powerful opinion maker in New Jersey. How could his readers be so stupid?!
Insulting your customers (readers) is a interesting strategy to stop the bleeding of a company (media outlet) that is contracting rapidly and recently announced 167 layoffs which followed millions in concessions from the outlet’s unionized workers and a smaller round of layoffs.
The heck with Moran. More for millionaires, less for the workers despite rising costs and let the roads crumble.
I’d suggest an easy way out of the puzzle. Increase all public sector salaries by 1% for every 2% of salary fund savings due to layoffs. Then buy some popcorn futures, because the ensuing infighting will be spectacular.
The star ledger and NJ.com are New jerseys most liberally biased sites in the state, They appeal to the ignorant and low info voters.