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A newly released report by the University of Pittsburgh Institute on Politics finds that incarceration in Allegheny County has increased significantly despite falling crime rates. The criminal justice task force, co-chaired by Pitt law professor Mark Nordenburgh and former U.S. Attorney Frederick Thieman, found that in addition to the social costs of high incarceration rates, increases in the Allegheny County Jail population in the past 20 years have added $12 million per year to county taxpayer costs. Allegheny County spends 42 percent of its general fund on criminal justice, and a total of $80 million per year operating the county jail. One culprit behind the inmate surge is the high percentage of non-convicted individuals being held in the jail — 81 percent of inmates have not been convicted of a crime. Most are awaiting trial, a probation hearing or transportation to another facility. The national average is 62 percent. The... Read more →

By Heather Kays | Watchdog.org To the casual observer, a law requiring layoffs of competent teachers while ineffective teachers stay employed might not seem like it is in the best interest of students. Enter the state of New Jersey, where the law requires exactly that. So six parents from Newark filed a lawsuit this month challenging the constitutionality of the state’s 2012 legislative overhaul of the tenure system, which made tenure more difficult to achieve while preserving the principle of last-in-first-out (LIFO) for teacher layoffs. Fareeah Harris, a parent plaintiff and mother of four with two children currently in the Newark public school system, told Watchdog.org she was “very confident” in the strength of the lawsuit. “The purpose of a teacher is to educate our kids,” said Harris. “It’s not an easy job, but for your job to be saved alone on your date of hire and it affects another... Read more →

By Kevin Glass | Watchdog.org The threat of too many food options could overrun hungry lunchtime diners in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Unless the nanny-state bureaucrats have something to say about it. The Williamsport city planning commission is considering rules that would harshly regulate food trucks in the downtown drag in Williamsport, as local brick-and-mortar restaurants complained enough to get their considerations on the agenda. The claimed rationale is for increased safety for consumers, but it’s clear the city is just kneeling to the whim of the more powerful restaurant businesses. Courtesy of Flickr user Ted Eytan. BUSINESS DESTRUCTION: Williamsport central planners are trying to destroy an innovative industry in the name of health and safety. Currently, the food trucks pay $80 per year for health and safety permits and $10 per day for parking. The new proposals being considered would increase permits to $150 per month and harsher restrictions on where... Read more →

By Kevin Glass | Watchdog.org Fall brings temperate weather, changing colors, falling leaves and — if the nannies in New Jersey have anything to say about it — backbreaking labor. Neighborhood advocacy groups across the state have been working to prohibit the use of leaf blowers, which they say are too noisy and disrupt the peace and quiet of their neighborhoods. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Dale HOT AIR: Leaf-blowers are a hot topic of conversation, and prohibition, in affluent New Jersey suburbs. Earlier this year, Maplewood, New Jersey, banned leaf blowers used by commercial businesses for the summer, largely because residents objected to the loud noises. Now, activists in Princeton are working to ban leaf blowers for the same reason. Quiet Princeton, an organization of local Princeton residents opposed to anything breaking the peace of the New Jersey town, has pushed for a reduction in leaf-blower noise. There are... Read more →

By Emily Leayman | Pennsylvania Watchdog In Pennsylvania, tax credit scholarships do more than help 50,000 children attend private schools. The savings yielded by students leaving public schools while leaving their per-pupil funding behind has significantly reduced the burden on taxpayers, says a new study by a school choice advocacy group. In a new audit, EdChoice analyzed 10 tax credit scholarships in seven states. Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit reaped the biggest overall savings. EITC, one of two tax credit scholarship programs in Pennsylvania, has saved taxpayers between $722 million and $1.7 billion since 2002, the report said. That equates to $3,000 to $5,800 per student. The report did not analyze the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit Program. Nationally, tax-credit scholarship programs have resulted in an estimated $1.7 billion to $3.4 billion in total net taxpayer savings from the 1998 launch of the first programs through the 2013-2014 school year.... Read more →

By Emily Leayman / October 17, 2016 | WATCHDOG As a state audit of a western Pennsylvania charter school put the sector in the hot seat, parents insist critics visit the school before they judge. After all, hundreds of families have a reason for sending their children to a school often hours away. “When they are spending three hours, four hours in a bus with the consent of the parents, one thing it says they are getting something here that they aren’t getting in their home district,” Dan LeRoy, a literary arts teacher and parent of two at Lincoln Park, told Watchdog.org. Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, which combines core academic classes with numerous arts programs to 724 students, passed the state audit on all but two points. But the auditor grouped Lincoln Park’s results with a more troubled PA Cyber Charter School and the deficit spending-plagued Midland Borough... Read more →

By Evan Grossman Their products — not their businesses — are supposed to go up in smoke. Shutterstock image KICKED BY THE HABIT: Hundreds of Pennsylvania small business owners are hot about crippling new e-cigarette taxes that may put them out of business. But hundreds of Pennsylvania vape shops may be snuffed out like a cigarette butt because of new taxes imposed on their products. Lawmakers passed a crippling 40 percent tax on e-cigarette and vaping liquid inventories, retroactive to Oct. 1, which has small business operators fuming and on the verge of losing their livelihoods. “Yeah, absolutely,” Ken Cala, a co-owner of The Local Vapor in Doylestown, told Watchdog when asked if the new tax puts his business in peril. “We opened a second location (in nearby Ambler) only about eight months ago and it’s still barely on its feet,” he said. “We incurred some debt to get that... Read more →

RELATED: Gloucester City's Fleet of 141 Vehicles/Equipment is Valued at $5.4 Million RELATED: YOUR MONEY By Steve Wilson /Watchdog.org CAR HAPPY? The state of Mississippi owns more than 7,000 vehicles, less than some neighboring states, but still too many in the eyes of some critics. The state of Mississippi owns more than 7,000 vehicles, ranging from state trooper cars to dump trucks. Some agencies have nearly as many vehicles as employees. Overall, the Magnolia State compares favorably to two of its neighbors, but small-government advocates argue that the state still owns too many cars — particularly agencies where the ratio is almost one-to-one. For example: The Department of Marine Resources has 104 full-time employees and 107 vehicles, nearly one vehicle for each employee The Bureau of Wildlife and Fisheries has 398 vehicles for its 439 employees. The Mississippi Department of Transportation has the state’s largest fleet of vehicles, 2,223, and... Read more →

By M.D. Kittle | PENNSYLVANIA WATCHDOG PHILADELPHIA – Big Labor may be a diminishing presence in the American workforce, but it remains a powerful force in the Democratic Party. That union political muscle was on full display Monday at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Names like Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Richard Trumka, head of the AFL-CIO. And Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. These union chieftans are on hand at this week’s convention to make sure they are getting what they are paying for. “Get on your feet. Let’s change the rules. Let’s take back Congress. Let’s get a pro-worker Supreme Court and let’s elect Hillary Clinton the next president of the United States,” Trumka told a boisterous convention hall. Trumka and his Big Labor friends have spent a combined $93 million thus far in the 2016... Read more →

By James Wigderson A new report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance shows that per pupil educational spending in the state is 1.6 percent above the national average, or $11,186 per pupil, according to the latest census figures available from 2014. Despite the passage of Act 10 in 2011, employee benefits are still keeping Wisconsin’s per pupil spending up, Dale Knapp, research director for the WTA, said in an interview with Watchdog. “They’re not as high as they were, but they’re still 11 percent above the U.S. average.” Chart provided by Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance MORE THAN THE MEAN: Wisconsin is spending $11,186 per pupil, or 1.6 percent above the national average. Act 10 is the state law that ended collective bargaining over benefits for public employees, including teachers. In 2011, benefits costs were 51.9 percent higher than the national average. That dropped to 23.1 percent above the national average in 2012... Read more →

Release Date: July 21, 2016 U. S. Customs and Border Protection Catches Heroin in a False Bottom NEWARK, N.J. — U. S. Customs and Border Protection officers discovered a false bottom in a piece of luggage carried by a passenger arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport. CBP at NLIA Seizes Heroin in Suitcase On July 17, CBP officers intercepted passenger Mr. Alfred Battle, a United States citizen, arriving from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. During his examination, CBP officers noticed that the bag was heavier than normal and found that it had a false bottom. Mr. Battle was escorted to a private search room where CBP officers probed his suitcase producing a light brown powder that tested positive for heroin. In total, CBP discovered approximately 18 lbs. of heroin with an estimated street value of $512,000. “This latest seizure demonstrates the vigilance of our CBP officers, and their excellence in detecting those... Read more →

A view of the beach in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware at Delaware Avenue (Photo credit: Wikipedia) By Eric Boehm / July 18, 2016 / Vacationers to the picturesque resort town of Rehoboth, Delaware, very nearly got a rude surprise from the town government this year, as officials considered banning pools, of all things. For a town that literally survives by making vacationing tourists happy – Rehoboth has about 130,000 year-round residents but the population more than doubles during the summer months as people escaping Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., pour into rental homes in the Atlantic seaboard town – that decision raised some eyebrows. Shutterstock image NO SWIMMING: Vacationers to the picturesque resort town of Rehoboth, Delaware, very nearly got a rude surprise from the town government this year, as officials considered banning pools, of all things. Imagine having your pool party, on private property that you paid to rent for... Read more →

Legislation that would overhaul Pennsylvania charter school law has become the front line in the state’s ongoing school choice debate. Charter school advocates have supported House Bill 530 since it was introduced a year ago, while opponents argue the bill would cripple the state’s public education system. masterycharter.org CHOICE REFORMS: House Bill 530 would overhaul Pennsylvania’s 20-year-old charter school law and analyze how charters are funded. School choice opponents have campaigned hard against the bill and many claims made in a series of op-ed pieces and campaign rhetoric are misleading or false. “The old saying is if you keep saying a false statement over and over, people are going to start believing it,” said Tim Eller, executive director of the Keystone Alliance for Public Charter Schools. “Unfortunately, in this regard, opponents of HB 530 are completely mischaracterizing what HB 530 really is.” HB 530 is not a complicated document and... Read more →

By Evan Grossman / When third-grader Julian Barnes was selected for his scholarship to Gwynedd Mercy Academy, his mother Seyna screamed “Yes!” “I was elated,” she said. “I felt happy, lucky and relieved all at once.” csfphiladelphia.org WINNING THE LOTTERY: Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia has awarded 10,000 scholarships over the past five years, giving low-income families access to private schools they would not otherwise be able to afford. Barnes received one of 2,000 scholarships awarded each year by Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, a privately funded program designed to give city kids access to educational opportunities their families would not otherwise be able to afford. CSFP grants need-based scholarships to children from low-income Philadelphia families, all of which are awarded by random lottery. Since 2011, CSFP has raised $50 million that’s been used to send kids like Julian to high-performing private schools. At the recent Student Awards Ceremony at the Kimmel... Read more →

Americans have many things to be thankful for this year as we enjoy Fourth of July festivities, but there's one freedom in particular I'd like to draw your attention to this Independence Day. July 4th, 2016 is especially near and dear to those of us at Watchdog because it marks the 50th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act. Any time you see a major story of investigative journalism, there's a good chance FOIA or its state-level offspring was involved. FOIA was pioneered by a backbench Congressman named John Moss, a Democrat who drew the ire of his party and nearly sacrificed his political career in his dogged pursuit of the right to access government records. The act was begrudgingly signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 4th, 1966. The signing drew little fanfare at the time, but in the fifty years since, FOIA has become an important... Read more →

By Eric Boehm Lawmakers in Massachusetts are on the verge of legalizing ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, but not without giving into their Nanny State urges. With the state legislative session winding down, the state legislature is working on a series of new regulations, including a provision that would prohibit Uber and Lyft from picking up passengers at Logan International Airport and a large portion of Boston’s downtown area – effectively setting up exclusive zones where taxis and public transportation will be the only option. Screenshot by Eric Boehm NO MORE UBER: It’s easy enough to find an Uber in the Seaport district of Boston right now, but legislation passed by the state House would make that part of the city off-limits for ridesharing. As if that’s not enough, the legislature reportedly is also considering the creation of a new layer of bureaucracy to regulate those services. “It’s a... Read more →

By Eric Boehm Philadelphia became the first major city in the country to pass a tax on soda, and New York is trying to make it illegal to even talk about renting your apartment on Airbnb. Those two East Coast locales are the focal points for this week’s edition of the Watchdog Podcast. First, host Eric Boehm and Watchdog’s top First Amendment reporter, Matt Kittle, sit down to discuss the new rules for room-sharing in New York. A bill approved by the state Senate this week would make it illegal to list your home or apartment on websites like Airbnb, but that seems like a pretty clear violation of homeowners’ right to free speech. Then, Evan Grossman of Pennsylvania Watchdog sits down with Boehm to talk about the soda tax in Philadelphia. The new 1.5 cents-per-ounce tax is supposed to help pay for a massive expansion of pre-K programs in... Read more →

By Heather Kays / June 17, 2016 / Recent changes to New Jersey graduation requirements led to more than 10,000 students using an appeal process in which a portfolio of a student’s work determines if they are able to graduate. That’s at least a five-fold increase over last year’s graduating class, and includes only school districts that complied with a settlementrequiring the Education Law Center to be given data on the exit exam rules that changed starting 2016. More than 150 districts — about half the number of New Jersey districts with high schools — have so far not reported data, according to the New Jersey Department of Education. Appealing by using a portfolio — including test scores with graded classwork, school transcripts and other evidence of academic achievement — can allow seniors to graduate without passing an exit exam. The first report provided by the NJDOE indicates: New options... Read more →

By M.D. Kittle / June 22, 2016 MADISON, Wis. – As embattled whistleblowers await justice from a scandal-plagued Social Security Administration, one SSA official charged with retaliation is being held to account. Charlie Paul Andrus, a former administrative law judge at theHuntington, West Virginia, Office of Disability Adjudication and Review (ODAR), last week pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to retaliate against an informant. In his plea agreement, Andrus admitted that he helped devise a plan to discredit an ODAR staff member who blew the whistle on an alleged scheme to bilk taxpayers out of $600 million in fraudulently approved disability benefits. AP file photo CORRUPTION CASE: Attorney Eric C. Conn (left) and Administrative Law Judge Charlie Paul Andrus are accused of scheming together in an attempt to discredit a Social Security Administration whistleblower. The two men are seen here testifying before a congressional committee. Andrus,... Read more →

By Eric Boehm From spring through late summer in Mobile, Alabama, it’s crawfish season. At least it was, until the nannies came along. Shutterstock image CRAWFISH SEASON: Crawfish boils are common along the Gulf Coast, where they are social events and frequently double as charity fundraisers. Those free meals are now in jeopardy after bureaucrats started cracking down on the free outdoor crawfish feasts. As local news website AL.com described it, the four seasons in Alabama are “beach, football, Mardi Gras and crawfish,” but only during crawfish season can you get a free meal. Crawfish boils are common along the Gulf Coast, where they are social events andfrequently double as charity fundraisers. Those free meals are now in jeopardy after bureaucrats started cracking down on the free outdoor crawfish feasts. Earlier this month, regulators shut down a crawfish boil at the popular Hayley’s Bar in downtown Mobile. The bar got... Read more →

By Kenric Ward / June 8, 2016 Houston’s Metro rail is catching up to Dallas’ DART trains in ridership, but both systems are more dependent than ever on taxpayer subsidies. Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s light-rail trains recorded 29.9 million passenger trips in fiscal 2015. The newer Houston Metro rail is on track for 23.6 million fares this year if its bullish numbers from March continue. The competition for ridership comes at a price. DART’s rail system receives $619,960,000 in annual operating subsidies, with local sales tax and the Federal Transit Administration providing the most funding. Houston’s Metro says it averages $4.75 in subsidies for every rail ride. Multiplied by projected ridership, that comes to $112,100,000 in taxpayer support this year. Watchdog.org test-rode the light-rail networks, finding them clean, safe, reliable and seldom full – with some defining differences in operations. SERVICE AREA: Dallas has 90 miles of track, stretching into... Read more →

By Jon Cassidy / June 6, 2016 / Which state or city is most likely to follow Puerto Rico’s example, and beg Congress for a legal mechanism to get out of its crushing bond and pension debts? A detailed new study from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University gets us part of the way to an answer. Puerto Rico’s finances are uniquely terrible, according to this study of state finances, ranking dead last in five major measurements of long- and short-term solvency. But the worst-run states are much closer to Puerto Rico’s condition than they are to states with balanced budgets and reasonable debt. With short-term budget troubles and colossal long-term debt, Kentucky, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, in particular, are much closer to the basket case economic condition of the Caribbean territory on the Mercatus fiscal health index than they are to states such as Texas, the... Read more →

By Evan Grossman / April 26, 2016 - Watchdog.org Gov. Tom Wolf allowed House Bill 1589, which amends the fiscal code portion of the state budget, to become law without his signature. The fiscal code guides state funding streams to schools and includes landmark education funding reforms. “I look forward to working with the legislature in the coming weeks to address our challenges and meet the needs of distressed school districts so that they will remain solvent,” Wolf said in a statement. Within the fiscal code are elements of a weighted funding formula designed to overhaul public school funding and distribute money according to factors that include enrollment, charter school population, local poverty levels, and the number of students learning English or enrolled in special education programs. The formula was devised last year by a bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission. By enacting the new system, which will distribute $200 million... Read more →

By Andrew Collins Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s poll numbers may not be skyrocketing, but the cost of expanding Medicaid in his state certainly is. For Watchdog readers, neither of these things will come as a surprise. When Kasich announced his bid for the presidency last year, Watchdog’s coverage of his major policy decisions as governor of Ohio had already been nearly a year in the making. Since then, Kasich’s presidential campaign has brought his controversial decision to take advantage of President Obama’s unpopular 2010 healthcare law into the spotlight as Republican primary voters decide whether the Ohio governor’s policies align with their values. Kasich’s Obamacare expansion Watchdog reporter Jason Hart first took up the story in September 2014. Ohio’s Medicaid enrollment under the expansion had just topped 367,000, passing Kasich’s initial projection for enrollment levels at July 2015. In the year and a half since, the governor’s projections for his... Read more →

By Andrew Collins It began with Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant’s state of the state speech at the Capitol in January. The governor wanted a middle-class tax cut, but there was a catch: a gas tax increase to offset the revenue loss. “There is no reason we cannot balance an increase in fuel tax with an equal and sufficient tax reduction,” Bryant said. But it turns out he was wrong. Mississippi lawmakers would find plenty of reasons to avoid raising the gas tax. Mississippi has a relatively low gas tax at 18.8 cents per gallon, which ranks 44th among states, but when combined with federal taxes it still adds up to a hefty sum – a tax of 36.4 cents on every gallon of gasoline. It should come as little surprise, then, that public opposition to raising the tax remains high. A poll of 500 voters commissioned shortly after Bryant announced... Read more →

By Evan Grossman A new Pennsylvania school funding formula is just a signature away, but that signature might not come. Thinkstock SCHOOL FUNDING REFORM: Elements of the Basic Education Funding Formula, which would change how Pennsylvania public schools are funded, is on the verge of becoming law. Legislation that would codify recommendations made by the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission and overhaul the state’s school funding system have cleared the Pennsylvania House and Senate and is now awaiting Gov. Tom Wolf’s approval. Since the plan would replace Wolf’s plan for school funding, a veto is a distinct possibility. Lawmakers, including some Democrats, have said they would try to override a veto. House Bill 1589 would amend the fiscal code portion of the state budget Wolf recently vetoed. Within the fiscal code are elements of a weighted funding formula designed to reform public school funding and distribute money according to factors... Read more →

Photo credit: Twitter DEMANDS: AFSCME spends member dues to push for costly government worker contracts and other political priorities. By Jason Hart Left-wing politicians, lobbyists and activist groups raked in more than $28 million in government workers’ union dues last year. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees reported $27.2 million in “Political Activities and Lobbying” expenditures in its 2015 filing with the U.S. Department of Labor. An additional $1 million in AFSCME “Contributions, Gifts and Grants” went to political nonprofits. AFSCME did not respond to Watchdog.org questions about how political spending decisions are made and communicated to members, but the union’s annual report showed a predictable partisan and ideological bent. The union gave $600,000 to the Democratic Governors Association, $325,000 to the California Democratic Party, $300,000 to Washington State Democrats, $250,000 to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, and $100,000 each to Democratic Party accounts in Nevada and... Read more →

By Evan Grossman/WATCHDOG.ORG Philadelphia teachers don’t show up to work enough, according to a blistering study recently conducted by the Philadelphia School Partnership. The paper, titled “Philadelphia’s Teacher Attendance Problem,” found the School District of Philadelphia suffers from “concentrated teacher absenteeism,” which costs the district millions of dollars and negatively impacts student learning in the classroom. The study reports 118 Philly schools carry teacher attendance rates below 95 percent, 17 schools are below 90 percent and four have teacher attendance below 85 percent. Nationally, big-city teacher attendance is typically around 94 percent, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality. As of Feb. 19, 2016, PSP found, through the district’s vacancy list and additional reporting by Newsworks.org, 100 schools were below that mark. At 80.38 percent, Gen. Harry Labrum Middle School has the worst attendance rate in the city, according to the analysis. Since the start of the school year,... Read more →

By Eric Boehm / A New Jersey lawmaker has an idea that hits a grand slam of nannyism. It’s the rare occasion when we can celebrate an idea that is overly paternalistic, completely unnecessary, entirely unenforceable and laughably ridiculous, all at the same time. Shutterstock image DON’T TEXT AND WALK: Be aware of your surroundings, because texting while walking could land you in jail if one New Jersey lawmaker gets her way. State Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, D-Camden, has proposed a bill to ban texting while walking. Yes, while walking. After being mocked by several news outlets in New Jersey, Lampitt apparently pulled the bill from consideration and the state has erased all traces of it from the state legislature’s website. A one-line description of the bill still appears online, however. It says Lampitt’s legislation would have established a motor vehicle offense of “unlawful use of hand-held wireless telephone by pedestrians.”... Read more →

The nation’s third-largest school system shut down Friday as teachers went on strike to protest budget cuts. Rather than taking to the classrooms, teachers picketed and demonstrated outside of public schools around the city in what they are calling a “day of action.” Karen Lewis, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, said teachers hope the walkout pressures Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to reach a budget deal with the Democratic legislature. “The fact is that we need to do something major,” Lewis told the Washington Post on Thursday. “When people are inconvenienced, they have to have some place to focus, and they need to focus on him.” Chicago teachers go on strike, shutting down nation’s third-largest school system – https://t.co/wXzRoedQrp pic.twitter.com/sMKfNMoExZ — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 1, 2016 The unions are asking, as their signs say, to “tax the rich.” Rauner has said that plan would result in crippling property taxes, suggesting... Read more →

By Evan Grossman / March 16, 2016 / Pennsylvania Watchdog The Allentown Board of School Directors approved a new teachers contract last week that preserves the practice of allowing teachers to collect government paychecks while doing work for the local teachers union. Since 1990, the cash-strapped school district has spent more than $1 million in taxpayers’ money on salaries and benefits for the president of the Allentown Education Association. The AEA is not obligated to repay any of the money. Twitter.com PARANORMAL PAYROLL: The Allentown Board of School Directors approved a controversial ghost teachers contract. The practice, known as “release time,” is permitted under Article 28 of the Allentown teachers’ contract. It allows for AEA President Debbie Tretter to receive an $81,000 taxpayer-funded salary and benefits as if she were still teaching in the classroom. The agreement is being challenged in a lawsuit filed in Commonwealth Court. In February, the... Read more →

By Eric Boehm The cost of living is always going up, but it’s the cost of dying that no one seems to talk about. Ask Joshua Slocum, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, a Vermont-based organization that favors a more open market for funeral providers and their recently deceased customers. DYING ISN’T FOR THE POOR: The high cost of dying is largely the result of a three-headed system – of state lawmakers, licensing boards and the professional funeral home industry – working as one to limit competition and maintain high prices for the dead and their grieving loved ones. Slocum can tell you that the high cost of dying is largely the result of a three-headed system – of state lawmakers, licensing boards and the professional funeral home industry – working as one to limit competition and maintain high prices for the dead and their grieving loved ones. “It... Read more →

MADISON, Wis. – Sell a cookie, go to jail. As preposterous as it may sound, in Wisconsin you can go to jail and face hefty fines for selling homemade baked goods. Wisconsin is one of only two states to ban entrepreneurs from selling cookies, muffins and breads simply because they are made in a home kitchen. “That means that even if you sell one cookie at a farmers market, to your neighbor, somewhere in your community, you can go to jail for up to six months or even be fined up to $1,000. That’s not only unfair, it’s unconstitutional,” attorney Erica Smith told Wisconsin Watchdog Wednesday on the Vicki McKenna Show, on NewsTalk 1310 WIBA. Smith is with the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that “fights against unreasonable government restrictions on individuals’ economic liberty,” according to the Virginia organizations website. The attorney represents three Wisconsin farmers who on... Read more →

Just days ahead of an expected blizzard on the East Coast, New Jersey has officially repealed a nonsensical rule banning the shoveling of snow without a license. SNOW JOB: Police in Bound Brook, N.J., told two boys, Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, they were not allowed to shovel their neighbors’ driveways without a permit. A new state law puts the boys on the right side of the law, and common sense. Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday signed a bill making it legal for New Jersey residents to offer snow shoveling services without first registering with their town. Last year, two entrepreneurial teens going door-to-door and offering to shovel snow for a small fee were stopped by local police in Bound Brook. The cops told the two boys, Matt Molinari and Eric Schnepf, they were not allowed to solicit businesses without a permit. In Bound Brook, that license costs $450 and... Read more →

WATCHDOG.com One resident, Valerie Whitner, has been fined for having chipped paint on the outside of her home and for not attaching a screen door to her back door. She’s been told by city officials she must replace her rain gutters, her siding and put up storm windows. They also told her to mend her fence, cut her lawn and seal up cracks in her home’s foundation. Whitner’s plight — she owes the city more than $2,400 in violations — made it into the New York Times in November and now she’s one of a handful of city residents who are part of a lawsuit that challenges the nannies in Pagedale. “Every morning I wake up worried that I’ll get another ticket,” Whitner said in a statement provided by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm helping with the lawsuit. Another plaintiff in the class action suit is Mildred... Read more →

MADISON, Wis. — What began as a pleasant afternoon of holiday shopping ended with the longest four minutes of one mother’s life. The middle-aged woman, who identified herself as Shawn from Sun Prairie, was with her 14-year-old son at Madison’s East Towne Mall Saturday picking up a Christmas gift when she heard a “pop-pop” sound. Gunshots rang out of the crowded mall, not 50 feet from where Shawn and her son were standing. It was a violent ending to a fight between two groups of teens. “I quickly darted to my left. I thought my son had followed me. I turned around and he wasn’t there,” Shawn told Wisconsin Watchdog Monday on the Vicki McKenna Show on NewsTalk 1310 WIBA. “It was absolutely the most terrifying thing you could go through … We were separated for four minutes, but I think it probably took four years off my life.” AP... Read more →

With billions of dollars in “hidden debt,” three Texas cities have among the heaviest taxpayer burdens in the United States. Dallas, Houston and San Antonio owe a combined $23 billion, according to Truth in Accounting, a think tank that rated government finances in the country’s biggest cities. The debt far surpasses the cities’ official figures, which TIA called outdated and incomplete. The Chicago-based group said municipalities move large chunks of debt off their books to meet balanced-budget requirements. “This hidden debt is a result of outdated accounting methods used by city government officials, allowing a vast amount of pension and retirees’ health care benefits to be excluded from the cities’ financial reporting,” TIA found. Dallas was the chief offender, shielding $6 billion of debt from its 2014 balance sheet. That works out to a per-capita taxpayer burden $17,900. Only three other big cities had higher taxpayer burdens: New York, $59,000;... Read more →

By Andrew Staub Police officers are public employees paid with public money, but when they pull the trigger in the line of duty, Pennsylvania lawmakers say their privacy should be paramount, at least until an investigation is completed. The state House on Tuesday passed a controversial bill that would shield — at least temporarily, but maybe indefinitely — the identities of officers who discharge their guns or use force during the course of their official duty. House Bill 1538 would prevent local officials from identifying those officers unless a subsequent investigation led to criminal charges. If no charges were filed, then local officials could release an officer’s identity only if it would not create a risk of harm to the officers, their family or their property. State Rep. Martina White, R-Philadelphia, sponsored the bill and said she wants to protect police who “have a target on their back.” Courtesy of... Read more →

By Eric Boehm / November 18, 2015 The showdown between Uber and Pennsylvania has escalated, and it’s getting expensive. A pair of Pennsylvania judges on Tuesday recommended a massive $50 million fine against ride-sharing company Uber for operating in the state without a license and for resisting the state Public Utility Commission’s efforts to obtain information about how many rides Uber has provided in the state. Screenshot of Uber app RESPECT OUR AUTHORITY: Uber began operating in the Pittsburgh area in February 2014, without first getting permission from the state’s regulators. Uber began operating in the Pittsburgh area in February 2014, without first getting permission from the state’s regulators. Though both Uber and Lyft, a competing ride-sharing service, later received a two-year operational permit from the state PUC, the commission’s Board of Investigation and Enforcement is seeking to collect a penalty for the period of time when Uber was operating... Read more →

A good Halloween costume should shock, scare or at least generate a few laughs. Most of all, it should be fun. But what happens when anything shocking is considered offensive, when anything that scares could exclude those who don’t like to be frightened and anything that generates laughs is considered mockery? Shutterstock image A MEMBER OF THE MENTAL HEALTH COMMUNITY: “Mad scientists” aren’t mad anymore. Ditto for hatters. Halloween isn’t fun either. Well, then there’s no fun to be had. This week, we take a break from tracking the normal Nanny State abuses to survey the growing power of “political correctness” and how it’s wrecking havoc with one of the most fun days of the year: Halloween. Let’s begin at Pamona College, where students were invited to a “mad scientist party” hosted by nearby Harvey Mudd College. The party was intended to mock Mudd’s reputation for being a science school... Read more →

By Mark Lagerkvist / November 5, 2015 Poor poll numbers will keep Chris Christie off the main stage for next Tuesday’s Republican presidential debate on Fox Business Network. The New Jersey governor missed the cut by one quarter of a percentage point. In the four polls used to determine the debate threshold, Christie averaged 2.25 percent support. The exclusion could trigger a death spiral for Christie’s candidacy. Despite promises not to quit the race, the exclusion will make it tougher for his campaign to raise money and woo supporters. The eight candidates who qualified for the prime time debate are Donald Trump (25.3 percent), Ben Carson (24.5 percent), Marco Rubio (11.8 percent), Ted Cruz (10.0 percent), Jeb Bush (5.5 percent), Carly Fiorina (3.0 percent), John Kasich (2.8 percent) and Rand Paul (2.5 percent). Instead of the prime-time, Christie will be invited to a 7 p.m. “happy hour” session, along with... Read more →

By Mark Lagerkvist / November 2, 2015 New Jersey’s statewide election on Tuesday is unlikely to break the governmental gridlock that threatens the state’s fiscal future. On ballots, voters won’t find contests for any of the 40 seats in the Senate, where Democrats enjoy a 24-16 majority. Also not up for grabs is the governorship, as Chris Christie hangs onto that office while pursuing the Republican presidential nomination. Instead this odd-year election features races for the 80 spots in the Assembly, where there is a 47-31 Democratic advantage, with two seats vacant. In each chamber, the Democrats have enough of an edge to control all legislation, but they lack the two-thirds supermajority needed to override Christie’s vetoes without Republican help. “I’ve vetoed 400 bills from a crazy liberal Democratic legislature,” Christie boasted during the September GOP debate on CNN. “That’s a crazy statement,” countered Senate President Steve Sweeney, D-West Deptford.... Read more →

Camden voters must choose between double-dippers for sheriff By Mark Lagerkvist / The next Camden County sheriff will be a double-dipper – and possibly a triple-dipper. Voters have no other choice in next week’s election. If Democratic Assemblyman Gilbert “Whip” Wilson wins, he’ll be eligible for three sets of public paychecks totaling roughly $204,000 a year – $144,753 in sheriff’s salary, $50,383 in pension as a retired Camden city cop and a second pension worth at least $8,800 as a newly retired state lawmaker. If Republican Lewis “Lou” Hannon is elected, his annual take would be nearly $215,000 – the sheriff’s salary plus his $70,985 pension, also as a Camden city police retiree. Each hopes to succeed the incumbent double-dipper, outgoing Sheriff Charles Billingham. For nine years, Billingham raked in county paychecks plus his $74,479 a year pension as a retired Washington Township policeman. “It’s a loophole – it shouldn’t... Read more →

By Mark Lagerkvist / October 26, 2015 | NJ Watchdog It’s time for a reality check as Chris Christie prepares for the third GOP presidential debate on Wednesday. The New Jersey governor’s dream of winning the White House looks more like a delusion. He is low on campaign cash, far behind in the polls and struggling for a way to flip his fortunes. Once upon a time – two years ago next month, to be precise – Christie was riding on top of the Republican world. He was re-elected governor with 60 percent of the vote in a heavily Democratic state. In a CNN poll, he was the leading choice for president with 24 percent of GOP voters, nine points ahead of his nearest rival. Now, Christie is scraping the bottom. He has dropped to 9th place in the polls with an average of 2.4 percent – one-tenth of the... Read more →

By Mark Lagerkvist / October 13, 2015 / For nine months, Chris Christie fought hard at state expense to keep a public record secret – even though it contained no real secrets, confidential information or anything likely to endanger anyone. It’s a “valuable asset,” the New Jersey governor’s lawyers claimed in court – one that would “cause irreparable harm to the state” if released. Judge for yourself. Click here to view and download Christie’s prized directory of media contacts, obtained by New Jersey Watchdog under a court order. A key cog in a publicity machine that transformed Christie into a national figure and set the stage for his White House run, the multi-tiered list of emails was gathered by the governor’s communications staff of 16 full-time state employees, paid $1.36 million in salaries last year. It helped him score countless national television appearances, plus 8,761,511 views on YouTube, 176,955 likes... Read more →

By Mark Lagerkvist | New Jersey Watchdog Chris Christie has never been one to mince words. The New Jersey governor says what he thinks, but it’s not clear if he thought about what he said. Last week, Christie interrupted his run for the White House long enough to criticize legislators for not paying enough attention to state business. Last month, he warned Hillary Clinton that he plans to grill her about emails in a debate, overlooking his own legal issues. Finally, the portly governor ordered the leader of the New Jersey National Guard to lose weight. Let’s take it from the top. Christie last week blasted the New Jersey Assembly for not focusing on legislative matters. “The fact is they don’t want to interrupt their precious campaign time for a minute,” he told a breakfast meeting of business leaders in Hanover. Later that morning, the governor boarded a plane to... Read more →

By Mark Lagerkvist / September 30, 2015 Chris Christie and the case of a public record that mysteriously shrunk in half are returning to Superior Court. Last month, the court ordered the governor’s office to release its “secret” directory of media contacts and VIPs, assembled at taxpayers’ expense. But what Christie’s staff gave New Jersey Watchdog last week contained only half of the information described in court papers. Instead of 2,500 names, the list has only 1,229 entries. Judge Mary C. Jacobson will hear arguments next week on whether or not the record was altered before its release, a possible violation of the court’s order. It is another chapter in the governor’s contentious battle to keep confidential a key cog in a publicity machine that turned Christie into a national figure and set the stage for his White House run. The list was created by the Christie’s communications staff of... Read more →

By Kristie Eshelman | Watchdog Opinion There’s a lot of media attention given to the Social Security and Medicare promises made to Baby Boomers. Will these aging Americans actually get all the benefits that Uncle Sam has promised them? It’s difficult to say, and it’s looking more dubious by the day. But C. Eugene Steuerle, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, wanted to understand what Social Security is going to look like for Millennials when they reach retirement. It’s no secret, after all, that members of our generation are paying a lot of money into the system with no guarantee that they’ll get it back. And one out of every four young Americans believes that our generation won’t actually get retirement benefits from it. What Steuerle found, though, seems like good news for us, at least at first. He calculated that an average income, one-earner married couple, turning 65... Read more →

Shutterstock Image CHUMP CHANGE: State lawmakers continue to under-fund pensions, exacerbating a growing unfunded liability problem. By Andrew Staub / September 23, 2015 Pennsylvania fails to list $53 billion in debt on its balance sheet, giving it the third-most hidden debt among 10 Northeast states. Maybe it’s no surprise then that state lawmakers have all but ignored Pennsylvania’s monstrous unfunded pension liability. Pension reform remains one of the biggest political hot potatoes for policymakers, and Chicago-based Truth in Accounting’s annual Financial State of the States report debts again highlights problem facing lawmakers . The think tank found, despite any rhetoric that lawmakers passed a balanced budget, Pennsylvania actually has a $66 billion shortfall. Each taxpayer’s share of the state debt amounts to $15,600, giving Pennsylvania the 11th-highest taxpayer burden in the country. Much of that debt can be traced to retirement benefits, which represent more than 50 percent of state... Read more →

By Eric Boehm A regulatory panel in Washington, D.C., could vote this week on a series of new licensing requirements for personal trainers, supposedly in an effort to promote public health and safety through government nannyism. But a closer look at the panel charged with making the new rules exposes the real reason why regulatory boards flex their muscles with regulatory schemes like this one. Shutterstock image FLEXING THE REGULATORY MUSCLE: The Washington, D.C., Board of Physical Therapists, which is writing the new rules, just happens to be composed of five members – four of which are required by statute to be licensed physical therapists. And that board has now been given the power to regulate – potentially even to shut down – businesses that are in direct competition with the board’s own members. As Watchdog reported last week, Council of the District of Columbia recently empowered an obscure regulatory... Read more →