Republican Governor Chris Christie sharply cut funding to municipalities after vetoing legislation to raise taxes on the state's millionaires.

Well at least he's got his priorities straight. Fark off, peasants.

The Camden County Democratic Party machine funneled much of the $175 million in bonds, loans and appropriations to big-ticket downtown and waterfront projects managed by allies in organized labor.


/facepalm

forgot part of the 2nd quote above. They spent the money on big projects downtown.
The program did little to deal with the city's abandoned buildings or repair the decrepit sewer system, two glaring needs.

Not too long now before Camden jumps over the river and kills Philadelphia.

They should just wall that farker off and hope the president's plane never crashes there.

This is scary. My city -- Harrisburg -- is facing massive budget deficits, just like many other cities across the country. To make a very long story very short, one of our debt payments is actually several million higher than our entire combined annual budget. Couple that with general ineptitude among the politicians (our mayor "misplaced" $4+ million, then took several months to realize it was missing) and Harrisburg is on the fast track to tough times.

There's been serious talk of cutting the fire department.

There's been serious talk of cutting the police department.

A percentage of the local population has serious concerns over these proposals. Another percentage is dismissive of these concerns, either because "it will never happen" or wondering "what's the worst that could happen".

My answer to both is now officially "Camden."

Thanks for making my Detroit look good.

Camden, New Jersey: just one more success story brought to you by... the democrat party

Ain't it great?

Alternatively, visit historic Camden NW1, London...Half the genuine character the market used to have, twice the number of polished chainstores and pretentious pseudo hippy bollocks for the moneyed middle-classes.

Still, the locals add some genuine flavour...



/sorry, Camden threadjack

Bek: Not too long now before Camden jumps over the river and kills Philadelphia.

BRING IT!!! North Philly won't break a sweat putting Camden in it's place.

Awesome. We'll look like farkin' Candyland now.

/from Philly

I used to live in NJ, in the shore area. We just used to call Camden "East Philly". Had to drive through there a few times and hated it 15-18 years ago.

At this point, screw it. Either wall it off from the rest of the state and use it as a state prison, or just hire OCP to clean it up.

Welcome to GD2-- Great Depression 2. The government, big business and the banking industries has had 75 years since the last one to get it right.

geo9270: Bek: Not too long now before Camden jumps over the river and kills Philadelphia.

BRING IT!!! North Philly won't break a sweat putting Camden in it's place.

Dynamite the bridges. Those tolls are not going to keep out the crime lol

Perhaps if they only laid off the cops that were robbing dealers and selling the drugs, they'd come out ahead?

coco ebert: patrick767: Republican Governor Chris Christie sharply cut funding to municipalities after vetoing legislation to raise taxes on the state's millionaires.

Well at least he's got his priorities straight. Fark off, peasants.

You know, I watched him on 60 Minutes and you should see how emphatically he was saying, "There's just. No. Money. It's just not there!" and yada yada yada. But absolutely no questioning on the topic of raising taxes on the wealthy. New Jersey has four of the richest counties in the country. How can this level of poverty exist alongside such wealth? I have lived in a developing country, and New Jersey is essentially like Istanbul. The have and the have-nots.

The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

FarkedOver: geo9270: Bek: Not too long now before Camden jumps over the river and kills Philadelphia.

BRING IT!!! North Philly won't break a sweat putting Camden in it's place.

Dynamite the bridges. Those tolls are not going to keep out the crime lol

There's joke about a certain racial groups swimming abilities (or lack thereof) there but I'm not gonna make it for fear of offending someone. Oh what the hell, you know they ain't gonna swim over.

They have more political waste in that city and could have absorbed the cuts without so much as touching a cop or firefighter. However that wouldn't have put this argument about the evil Christie not forcing more "millionaires" to move to PA to the forefront.

Federally $250K for a couple is a millionaire and also rich. In NJ this is slightly well off but not obscenely so. A cop married to a teacher makes more then this in most of NJ. Would NJ really force millionaires to pay more (or shelter more money, or move to PA in reality) or would they hit "millionaires" like the feds do. Back under Florio a generation ago, he went after the rich too. $28K back then in the early '90's made you rich.

geo9270: FarkedOver: geo9270: Bek: Not too long now before Camden jumps over the river and kills Philadelphia.

BRING IT!!! North Philly won't break a sweat putting Camden in it's place.

Dynamite the bridges. Those tolls are not going to keep out the crime lol

There's joke about a certain racial groups swimming abilities (or lack thereof) there but I'm not gonna make it for fear of offending someone. Oh what the hell, you know they ain't gonna swim over.

*snert*

Why don't they just let Libertarians do a great experiment in Anarcho Capitalism. I'd like to visit a place in America where I could smoke pot or whatever else I wanted. Maybe visit a restaurant in someone's living room that specializes in the world's greatest lasagna. Visit a hooker or watch a sex show if I was into that. What are they going to do? Ruin Camden? Or Detroit?

Bonkthat_Again: Camden *shudder*.
I live in NJ and i won't even go there.

Same here. Only been there once, to visit the state aquarium. As long as you go mid-day, pay to park in the aquarium's parking lot, and leave well before dark, you're good to go. The aquarium is definitely worth the trip.

Apathetimine: I used to live in NJ, in the shore area. We just used to call Camden "East Philly". Had to drive through there a few times and hated it 15-18 years ago.

At this point, screw it. Either wall it off from the rest of the state and use it as a state prison, or just hire OCP to clean it up.

haha. They had a fairly new prison Riverfront State. The Dems decided they wanted that waterfront real estate to develop. Closed it down, then knocked it down. Then the recession hit and no development! Now the inmates were shipped out to already overcrowded prisons throughout the state. Some are being housed in temprary "trailers" at more than double the capacity. If you've never been to Camden, think of the old brick rowhome neighborhoods of many northeast cities--then imagine that you went through and threw granades at half the buildings and burned many of the rest.

GacysBasement: The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

Not that I have a hard time coming up with other things about New Jersey I don't like as it is, but Jersey residents already have an immense tax burden.

Like, the highest in the country.

This is the standard response by government. Propose cutting the services that people would miss the most and rouse them up to the point to where they agree to increased taxes to "save" the positions.

They know that if they cut the non-essential services the people wouldn't gripe and they would then need to follow through on that.

This scenario will soon play out at a municipality near you. Popcorn anyone?

Killer Cars: GacysBasement: The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

Not that I have a hard time coming up with other things about New Jersey I don't like as it is, but Jersey residents already have an immense tax burden.

Like, the highest in the country.

Yeah but you guys have the cheapest gas. So its all fair. On top of that you don't even have to pump it yourself!

FarkedOver: Killer Cars: GacysBasement: The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

Not that I have a hard time coming up with other things about New Jersey I don't like as it is, but Jersey residents already have an immense tax burden.

Like, the highest in the country.

Yeah but you guys have the cheapest gas. So its all fair. On top of that you don't even have to pump it yourself!

And we get to go in WaWa too while they fill it and clean our windshields.

Burn down what's left of it, and call it New Detroit.

Well, it's not like the police could accept paycuts to save thier brothers in blue.

That union jobs for you. Layoffs are by seniority.

coco ebert: patrick767: Republican Governor Chris Christie sharply cut funding to municipalities after vetoing legislation to raise taxes on the state's millionaires.

Well at least he's got his priorities straight. Fark off, peasants.

You know, I watched him on 60 Minutes and you should see how emphatically he was saying, "There's just. No. Money. It's just not there!" and yada yada yada. But absolutely no questioning on the topic of raising taxes on the wealthy. New Jersey has four of the richest counties in the country. How can this level of poverty exist alongside such wealth? I have lived in a developing country, and New Jersey is essentially like Istanbul. The have and the have-nots.

Um, no jobs? Miss the part about no more idustry?

Apathetimine: I used to live in NJ, in the shore area. We just used to call Camden "East Philly". Had to drive through there a few times and hated it 15-18 years ago.

At this point, screw it. Either wall it off from the rest of the state and use it as a state prison, or just hire OCP to clean it up.

Thug: It's!
Malcontent: Johnny!
Bully: Rehab!

Small nerdy child: yay!

Bek: Not too long now before Camden jumps over the river and kills Philadelphia.

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone, but we're planning on crossing the river, taking control of the Battleship New Jersey, and turning her guns on Camden. We've got our own troubles, we don't need their shiat too.

On a happier note, they caught the Kensington Strangler! So, we have that going for us.

The mayor was asking the cops and firefighters to pay more for their health care, freeze or reduce their salaries and take furlough days.

The unions responded with concession offers of their own, but the two sides could not come to terms.

GO UNIONS!!!! DESTROYING AMERICA TO KEEP THEIR RIDICULOUS UNFAIR BENEFITS!!!!

schubie: Why don't they just let Libertarians do a great experiment in Anarcho Capitalism. I'd like to visit a place in America where I could smoke pot or whatever else I wanted. Maybe visit a restaurant in someone's living room that specializes in the world's greatest lasagna. Visit a hooker or watch a sex show if I was into that. What are they going to do? Ruin Camden? Or Detroit?

The government can't ever admit that it was wrong.

farm machine: This is the standard response by government. Propose cutting the services that people would miss the most and rouse them up to the point to where they agree to increased taxes to "save" the positions.

They know that if they cut the non-essential services the people wouldn't gripe and they would then need to follow through on that.

This scenario will soon play out at a municipality near you. Popcorn anyone?

- - -

It's already happening here, too (won't mention city). The city is finally going after the only two unions they have left untouched, The Communications Union and The Fraternal Order of Police. I will leave my personal opinions out of this. The popcorn is a little too salty for my taste.

GacysBasement: FarkedOver: Killer Cars: GacysBasement: The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

Not that I have a hard time coming up with other things about New Jersey I don't like as it is, but Jersey residents already have an immense tax burden.

Like, the highest in the country.

Yeah but you guys have the cheapest gas. So its all fair. On top of that you don't even have to pump it yourself!

And we get to go in WaWa too while they fill it and clean our windshields.

GODDAMN YOU NJ FATCATS!

I don't have much of a problem with cutting back by 1/3 of the force. Population drops by 1/3, essential services have to drop by at least that much.

So we're really talking about a difference of 1/6 (which is the difference between 1/3 and the cutbacks they're talking about of 1/2).

FarkedOver: GacysBasement: FarkedOver: Killer Cars: GacysBasement: The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

Not that I have a hard time coming up with other things about New Jersey I don't like as it is, but Jersey residents already have an immense tax burden.

Like, the highest in the country.

Yeah but you guys have the cheapest gas. So its all fair. On top of that you don't even have to pump it yourself!

And we get to go in WaWa too while they fill it and clean our windshields.

GODDAMN YOU NJ FATCATS!

And WAWA coffee is only a buck--all sizes this month...Coffeetopia!

ZAZ: I went to the aquarium back in the 1980s. I lived.


Really? you had a time machine?
/Aquarium opened in '92
//I've worked in this city for 11 years.
///not as bad as some say, as long as you don't get lost

FarkedOver: GODDAMN YOU NJ FATCATS!

Actually, I'm from PA; a state which makes New Jersey look fiscally lean and efficient by comparison.

Still enjoyed WaWa's though. I miss WaWa.

GacysBasement: coco ebert: patrick767: Republican Governor Chris Christie sharply cut funding to municipalities after vetoing legislation to raise taxes on the state's millionaires.

Well at least he's got his priorities straight. Fark off, peasants.

You know, I watched him on 60 Minutes and you should see how emphatically he was saying, "There's just. No. Money. It's just not there!" and yada yada yada. But absolutely no questioning on the topic of raising taxes on the wealthy. New Jersey has four of the richest counties in the country. How can this level of poverty exist alongside such wealth? I have lived in a developing country, and New Jersey is essentially like Istanbul. The have and the have-nots.

The taxes on the rich are why New jersey has lost more wealthy residents to other states than any other state. What's your point?

You can blame Christie all you wnat but it is obvious the blame belongs to the residents of Camdem

Three mayors have been jailed for corruption

Link (new window)

The schools are funded at well above the national average at $17,000 per student but only two thirds of students graduate.

Of course that does not mean the money goes toward actual education as the unions have things so screwed up in that state that a tollboth worker can earn over $300K a year. So who knows what a school custodian or office secretary might be pulling down.

Link (new window)

It seems that throwing more money at Camden is not the answer.

I would recommend knocking it down and starting over.



NEW CAMDEN, a master planned, right to work community.

jscart: Really? you had a time machine?

It's entirely possible, depending on his age at the time, he saw fish floating belly-up in the Delaware and got confused.

I'll just leave this here...



/hot lead