{"id":1221,"date":"2016-02-18T14:13:52","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T19:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/?p=1221"},"modified":"2016-02-18T14:13:52","modified_gmt":"2016-02-18T19:13:52","slug":"state-of-the-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musingsbymichael.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/18\/state-of-the-state\/","title":{"rendered":"State of the State"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christie<\/a><\/p>\n

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This week the Governor Christie did his annual State of the State speech and said a lot plus put down a number of others. It seems that Christie has transitioned easily back into the Governor of New Jersey only mode quite quickly and taken to task the Democrats for some of the stupid (per Christie) things they have done recently.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Christie said<\/a>, \u201cYou have begun the pursuit of a constitutional amendment to guarantee pension payments over all other types of state spending.\u00a0 Ahead of funding for our hospitals.\u00a0 Ahead of support for our colleges and universities.\u00a0 Ahead of taking care of people with disabilities.\u00a0 Ahead of paying for Medicaid.\u00a0 Ahead of rebuilding our roads and bridges.\u00a0 Ahead of jailing criminals.\u00a0 Ahead of replenishing our beaches.\u00a0 Ahead of feeding the most needy.\u00a0 Ahead of protecting our children from abuse.\u00a0\u00a0 Ahead of helping children with autism and funding cancer research.\u00a0 Ahead of paying for homeland security for New Jersey\u2019s mass transit system.\u00a0 How can I say that?<\/em>\u201d Yes, I have to agree with the Governor that this is not a very smart move. In fact this is one of those things that needs to be fixed. While pension payment are in arrears, it is not totally Christie\u2019s fault as previous governors have greatly contributed to the problem by not making pension payments. But to make a constitutional guarantee that these payments must come before everything else is just dumb and shortsighted! Again the Democrats are maneuvering to make themselves look good for the next election without considering the real life consequences. Come on people; stop with the constitutional amendment garbage and think harder about a realistic fix.<\/span><\/p>\n

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He continued further on by saying \u201cToday I\u2019m announcing an expansion of one of our most promising anti-addiction efforts, the Recovery Coach Program.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This month, the Department of Human Services is launching a treatment intervention pilot program in hard-hit counties for people recovering from drug overdoses. The specialists leading these interventions are often in recovery themselves, and they\u2019re deployed to emergency rooms so they can provide guidance, support and referrals for treatment. With the benefit of their own experiences on the path to recovery, these recovery coaches can step in at the moment when victims of drug use are often at their most vulnerable and when support is most needed<\/em>.\u201d Drug overdosing is becoming an epidemic and it is time for more help to be made available for those who need it most and I think that this is a good move, but I must say that we as citizens and responsible guardians of our youth must not allow our children to be drawn into the miserable existence that hard drugs like Heroin and Cocaine cause. We must not be passive nor overbearing, just somewhere in-between where we will not be easily dismissed by those who need to hear the truth about these drugs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another topic the Governor talked about in his speech, \u201cWe need to make New Jersey a better place to do business. We need to get the burden of taxes and red tape off people\u2019s backs. We need to help more of our citizens to achieve the prosperity and security they deserve.<\/em>\u201d He is right and if something isn\u2019t done soon New Jersey will lose more jobs to surrounding states and our fellow Jerseyans will continue to move out of this state. Remember that it is not big business that is the backbone of our economy, but the small businessperson is! So support your local small businesses and help our state economy to grow.<\/span><\/p>\n

I see that the blog is getting a little long and I will have to address more items in the State of the State next week.<\/span><\/p>\n

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike<\/span><\/p>\n

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