The World Didn't End Today

Dec 12th, 2011

That said, the wonderful, wacky world of technology led a whole bunch of folks in New Jersey to think it was about to.

Chris Christie, Dr. Strangelove And Tax Cuts

Feb 19th, 2011

An item in today's Wall Street Journal reminded me of the scene in "Dr. Strangelove" when the Soviet ambassador refuses a non-Cuban cigar and says he won't take the products of "imperialist stooges." A general then responds "Oh... only commie stooges, eh?"

From the WSJ:

"New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a slew of tax-cutting proposals that had been championed by Democrats as job-creation legislation and were passed with bipartisan support in the state Legislature.

The Republican governor said he agreed with some of the legislation but didn't want to authorize "piecemeal" programs and promises outside of the annual state budget, which he is scheduled to propose on Tuesday.

"We cannot continue to do this type of irresponsibility in terms of budgeting," Mr. Christie said Friday."

It would seem that the only tax cuts Gov. Christie supports are those from Republican stooges.

Another Amazing Chris Christie Moment

Jan 14th, 2011

Does Gov. Chis Christie (R-NJ) have any clue how necessary municipal bonds are going to be for his state's survival over the next several years? Perhaps I should rephrase the question; 

Does Gov. Christie have any idea what municipal bonds are or how investors in this particular market respond to politicians when they say stupid things?

From Business Insider:

"Yesterday we noted how a New Jersey muni bond offering was pulled just a few minutes after Chris Christie said at a town hall that healthcare costs were threatening to "bankrupt" New Jersey.

Now it's a little unclear if the connection was real. For one thing, yesterday was an ugly day in the muni market. For another thing, everybody knows that healthcare costs are a huge issue everywhere. And beyond that, people also know that words like "bankruptcy" may be a bit hyperbolic.

Still, all the talk of muni bankruptcies aren't making muni bond salesmen happy.

Bloomberg quotes head of bond trading at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York, Gary Pollack, as saying "He is scaring some people when he says the state is going bankrupt... it wasn't timed well."

You have to feel for muni bond dealers right now: The media drumbeat is relentless about how ugly the muni situation is, and of course they're accustomed to selling munis as tax-free safe-havens, so obviously they're going to freak out when a borrower is using that kind of language, even if the causality is nonsense."

It would appear that Gov. Christie just doesn't get the interconnectedness of the issues facing New Jersey.