Hypocrisy Alert: Spending big on political ads while the pension system crumbles

By Cody McLaughlin | The Save Jersey Blog

First and foremost, Save Jerseyans, a note on my position regarding the never-ending battle between the taxpayers of New Jersey and the public sector unions: I’m going to laugh you off of the stage every time I hear you call someone the “Hundred Million Dollar Bully of State Street” because he can’t afford to pay your pension.

That being said, here are some points to consider as public sector unions and their allies dump millions into ads attacking Chris Christie’s stewardship of the perennially-troubled state pension system:

The cost of political spending

The largest controllable cost of a political campaign (this translates to public advocacy spending as well) is usually its paid media program. Take this into account, and the fact that New Jersey is sandwiched between the two most expensive media markets in the country, and we are talking six and seven figure ad buys to reach a statewide audience just from television.

Add to this the components of digital advertising, consulting fees, production costs, radio advertising, direct mail or other broadcast or direct branding forms of paid media, and the tab for a public sector battle of this magnitude can run in the millions.

Hard truth, as opposed to talking points

Taking into consideration the facts as they are of spending on lobbying, messaging development and distribution, and the fact that the state’s largest public employee union consistently ranks top of the list of lobby spending in the garden state, the question must be posed: is it an honest position to take, demanding budget-busting contributions to a quickly crumbling pension system at the cost of increased taxes on NJ’s already taxed-to-the-max businesses and individuals, when MILLIONS of dollars are being thrown away on ads?

Senior citizens are being taxed out of their homes, trying to make ends meet at real, double-digit property tax increases while subsisting (if at all) on a fixed income. It’s an unsustainable system, and the answer shouldn’t be to punish private sector workers by forcing their employer to flee the state in the wake of persecution by overreaching government.

Even with the 2% cap, which doesn’t address the broken system currently in use for property tax revaluations in the Garden State, sending taxes up a real amount closer to 10% per taxing district, your tax bill is still rising around 5-6% per year. The hard truth, here, is that that is still unaffordable after tabulating compounding interest over the 30-year period for retired citizens.

Coming Together

Consensus and sustainability are something people love to talk about but, when it’s time to collect the checks from donors, politicians rarely follow through. Chris Christie has shown leadership on this issue, bringing together both sides of the aisle to stimulate real discussions about what is most likely the most important issue of fiscal management in the state’s history.

One thing is for certain, Save Jerseyans: we are taxed enough already.

There are certainly better uses for the millions of dollars goings into paid advertising right now, I’m sure, than trying to shut down the aforementioned discussion?

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