New Jersey's Budget Woes: Reaching A Greener Forest Through the Trees

These recessionary times have forced me to examine my household budget in order to keep making ends meet. After reviewing my ledger, I arrived at the following conclusion:

One full time job

Three part time jobs

843 FICA Credit Score

A spouse who works full time

No MAC card in the last 18 years.

Pays child support on time without the court garnishing my wages.

No credit card debt

Enrolled in a deferred compensation plan.

Paying down a 15-year mortgage.

Pays bills exceedingly on time. No late fees or cycle service charges.

Proactively uses debit cards.

Clips store coupons and buys generic brand names

Avoids buying retail whenever possible

Owns company stocks

Saves for children’s college

Invests in US savings bonds

Reconciles checkbook.

In order to help fix New Jersey’s irreconcilable budget, the Governor of the thirteenth state of the Union with the highest cost of living in the nation has mandated me to take unpaid leaves of absences from my job… so he can ergo balance his own budget.

Money does not grow on trees but I do not believe it should be deforested from my pocket either. Where does fiscal responsibility begin and end? If a New Jersey budget falls for years in the woods without trimming why wasn't anyone listening?

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet, More Powerful Than A Locomotive, Look Up In The Sky...

New Jersey is the most densely populated state in this country. It is an industrialized state with an euphuism for a nickname, The Garden State. It almost seems as though you go to bed at night and pod workers pour concrete foundation on farmland. Roads are littered with bad drivers motoring with and without the highest insurance premiums in the nation. Road rage is a growing problem. It is a habitat for inhumanity.

Stop and Go traffic makes commuting to and from almost anywhere a nightmare. The roads between my home and office have been under major construction for the last six months. Detours and single lanes have created more congestion and turned a simple drive into an awful commute. Get behind a monster Hummer and you won’t see the road ahead for miles.

I live only four miles from my office but this a stone’s throw in distance has turned into a 30 minute ride at rush hour. That is a ridiculous time and distance ratio. That is over seven minutes per mile. It equates to a couple of compact car lengths per minute. Bicyclists and joggers pass me by. A mother pushing her kid in a red wagon once beat me to a red light. I am reminded that the left lane is reserved for passing. When and where? An open stretch of countryside in rural Iowa?

I didn’t break any land speed records this week either. I actually got stuck in traffic on an overpass. My car idled on the bridge burning $2.05 cent a gallon gasoline nearly as precious a resource as it were in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Rain drizzling down added to the mix. I was stuck with cars in front of me, behind me, and below me on a busy corridor. As far as my eyes could see, hundreds of immobilized cars snarled traffic. I couldn’t imagine how things could get any worse…until I looked up in the sky. Attached to the branches of a budding tree rested an inhabited hornet’s nest. Already twenty minutes into my drive, it was time to buckle up for safety. The line couldn’t move fast enough. Spring is here to stay. As many of you know, this is my danger season. Bee safe is my motto.