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From December 2 to 8
Race For Governor
The race for the Governor’s Office in New Jersey is not heating up as much as its filling up. Fourteen candidates have declared, eight Republicans and six Democrats. Others have formed exploratory committees or given hints that they may be declaring soon. There are even two Independent candidates and one affiliated with the Green party.
NJ PBS has already held a talk with some of the candidates from the League of Municipalities conference in Atlantic City on November 21. That discussion of issues is available on YouTube and saw four Democratic and two Republican candidates participate.
GOP candidates are smelling blood in the water given the unexpectedly close race for President in the Garden State, a race were Vice President Harris carried the state by only 6 percentage points. That is the closest the Republicans have come to taking New jersey in a Presidential election in three decades. They also note that Phil Murphy won his second term by just a little over 3 points in 2021.
New Jersey has been considered true blue in national elections. The last time Republicans were in the majority for a Presidential election was 1988 with Bush Sr. and the last time a Republican Senator was elected was in the 1970’s. But Republicans would be quick to point out that the Governor’s mansion has flipped several times. Think William Cahill in the 1970s, Thomas Kean in the 1980s, Christine Whitman in the 1990’s and Chris Christie who immediately preceded Phil Murphy.
The candidates for Governor in New Jersey share one thing in common, no one appears to know who they are says a Rutgers-Eagelton poll in November. The results make clear that, “On either side of the aisle, no candidate is viewed favorably by more than one in five voters, and at least half of voters do not take sides on any of the candidates we asked.”
Among Democrats, 51% don’t know who Newark Mayor Ras Baraka is. Other candidates are equally unknown with Steve Sweeney 44%, Steve Fulop 60%, Sean Spiller 65%, Mikie Sherril 53% and Josh Gottheimer 56%.
It is no better for Republicans where 41% don’t know the party’s 2021 candidate Jack Ciattarelli. Bill Spadea is a mystery for 60% of those polled, and Jon Bramnick is unknown to 68%.
Shrinking the Federal Presence
The voters spoke and the election of Donald Trump to a second term comes with a promise to cut the size of the federal government footprint. Even those in New Jersey who favor the election result need to keep in mind that a transformation of the federal government role will not occur without serious and hopefully temporary dislocations.
What everyone is now trying to figure out is what specific policy changes will follow and what impact will they have on the state and its residents.
“Draining the swamp” is often interpreted in terms of reducing the federal workforce in Washington. But that is not where the federal workforce lives. The District of Columbia has less than 8% of the federal civilian workforce, with 92% residing in the 50 states. Yes, Maryland and Virginia account for over 3% each but that still leaves the vast majority of the federal workforce across all agencies in the remaining states. The US Office of Personnel Management says that almost 25,000 federal workers work and reside in New Jersey which also has another 52,000 retirees.
Figures also show that the federal government accounts for around 14% of total K-12 spending. While that may not sound like a large number, in today’s funds-starved school systems it would be very hard to replace.
In Cape May County the data shows that a higher percentage of county residents depend on Medicaid than is true in most of the state. The 2022 analysis of maturity care at Cape Regional Medical Center showed 68% of the mothers used Medicaid as their insurance.
No one knows what direction curtailing the federal presence will take, but it has been over 100 years since Franklin Roosevelt stepped in and remade our idea of the federal government. Any policies of reduction of the federal presence, whether or not we view them as good or bad, will have to carry with them a degree of disruption.
Health Care Costs
A report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projects that National Health Expenditures (NHE) will consume 20% of the nation’s GDP by 2032. It is a huge number and one that has many policy developers seeking ways to reverse the trend.
While the average citizen knows little about the NHE and its relationship to the GDP, he or she does know that health care costs continue to rise, that health insurance has become more expensive and harder to get, and some have even used the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson as an opportunity to vent their frustrations with the healthcare system.
As we go into 2025, the most recent statistics show 43% of those with health insurance have private insurance plans, 33% depend on Medicare and 24% rely on Medicaid. Of course these numbers do not count the roughly 8% to 10% who are uninsured.
The Kaiser Family Foundation points out that, “the U.S. federal and state governments have generally done less to directly regulate or negotiate prices paid for medical services or prescription drugs than have governments of similarly large and wealthy nations. The U.S. often pays higher prices for the same brand-name prescription drugs, hospital procedures, and physician care than similarly large and wealthy countries.”
KFF also singles out the aging population as a source of rising costs for healthcare. That is anecdotally evident in Cape May County where a trip to the county’s only hospital on any given morning finds out-patient treatment rooms where the only people below retirement age are the employees of the hospital. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation reports on how significantly healthcare spending advances with age.
Happenings
* The Herald reviewed the practices of every Cape May County municipality and the county government to find out how transparent each governing body is with respect to its regular public meetings.
* A Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor transport plane touched down briefly at Cape May Airport on Friday, Nov. 29, after being sighted over Rio Grande.
* The City Council has approved an agreement that settles the city’s differences with the state Department of Environmental Protection over beach protection measures.
* The Marine Mammal Stranding Center responded to a report of a small whale that appeared to be dead at Sunset Beach, Lower Township, near Cape May Point, on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 3, and ended up euthanizing the animal.
* Twenty Coast Guard recruits enjoyed Thanksgiving at Wildwood American Legion Post 184. They were treated to breakfast, hors d’oeuvres, charcuterie, dinner and dessert provided by Legion Auxiliary Unit 184.
* The driver of a vehicle in which five family members were traveling when it was struck from behind Oct. 30 apparently lost all brain function and was waiting for his organs to be harvested, a family member said on Monday, Dec. 2.
* The engineering firm that conducted a traffic safety study for the South Jersey Transportation Safety Organization has identified six areas in Cape May County that are priority locations at which to try to reduce crashes with fatalities and serious injuries.
* The lack of transparency in Cape May County governance, as spotlighted in the recent Herald article, “County Commissioners Reject Call for More Transparency,” has prompted an outcry among residents and civic groups.
* The Middle Township Police Department announced the arrest of Michael Bogue, 33, of a Lehigh Avenue address in Del Haven, and charged him with the assault of a Lafayette Avenue resident on Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 5:46 a.m.
Spout Off of the Week
Thank you to all the kind people who take their time to decorate the wonderful Christmas trees along Douglass Park Road. They all look amazing, especially at night. Please remember the Township wants us to remove the ornaments, etc. after the New Year. This is our 13th year, and we want to keep the tradition going for another 13. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
– North Cape May
