April 15, 2011

Dear NJGCA Member:

Here's what you'll find in this edition of the NJGCA Road Warrior, and thank you for reading:

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS!
•Dividend Checks, Phone Scams, Pump Prices, and Tenure Reform

NEWS AROUND THE STATE
•Without reforms, Sweeney cautions pension retirees will see payout cuts
•NJ adds jobs, but unemployment rate increases
•Governor unveils tenure reform plans, seeks new evaluation system
•Christie: Tax increases driven by additional aid to state’s poorest school districts

A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM BELLOMO FUELS
•Serving New Jersey since 1910 -- Over 100 years of supplying gasoline retailers like YOU!

TRAINING CLASS SCHEDULE
•New Class Added: NJ EMISSION INSPECTOR TRAINING CLASS

POLITICAL PARTICIPATON: THE NJGCA PAC
•Participate in the NJGCA PAC today and help us keep our Agenda rolling in Trenton!

THE MEMBER TOOL BOX
•On the NJGCA Homepage
•Know your Territory Manager!

 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE: GREETINGS & SAL-UTATIONS! 

DIVIDEND CHECKS, PHONE SCAMS, PUMP PRICES, AND TENURE REFORM
Happy Passover!

I used to have a mind like a steel trap.  You could tell me something, and I could recite it back to you verbatim 5 years later.  Sadly, it now seems that the older I get, the more I forget.  Am I the only one who is experiencing this phenomenon?  It’s a running joke with me among Team NJGCA staffers that my mind is like a sieve.  Well, I better start taking ginkgo biloba or just walk around with a tape recorder to record my thoughts because I forgot to mention something significant in last week’s message.

What did I forget to mention?  Well, that you should have recently gotten (or will soon receive) some money!!

WAIT A SEC…scratch that…I forgot again.  What I should have said was that SOME OF YOU recently got some money!!

That’s because Association Master Trust (AMT) sent out your dividend checks.  Those members who participated in the AMT Health Coverage plan anytime from January 1st to December 31st 2010 (and ended the year in good standing) all received checks for $100-$500 in the mail.  The exact amount is determined by how much premium each member paid, but everyone who participated got a check (again, as long as you’re in good standing).

What’s more, you are going to get AN ADDITIONAL CHECK in the next few weeks from NJGCA with your Worker’s Compensation Insurance dividend. 

Oh wait…I’m forgetting AGAIN.  Let me revise that – If you participated in the NJGCA/Meadowbrook Workman’s Comp Program, you should be getting a letter from me and a check which amounts to roughly 7% of you 2010 premiums.

So what do you do if you’re not getting a check?  You sign up for either or both programs!

Some of you have left the AMT Health Coverage plan to get insurance through another provider, usually because it was ‘cheaper’ than what AMT was offering it to you.  Unfortunately, many of you I spoke with said you were in fact getting cheaper insurance, but you were also getting less coverage!  I just recently had a conversation with someone who was shocked to find out that his new insurance didn’t cover certain types of prescriptions, and I saw a member last month who didn’t know his new, ‘affordable’ provider didn’t cover a specific type of medical imaging exam.

If you happen to fall into this category, and used to be an AMT policy holder in the past, it’s about time that you gave them a call for a new quote.  The programs AMT has are more competitive than ever and you should see a tangible savings when comparing them to your current provider.  Now I said SHOULD because some members are not comparing apples to apples, but are instead comparing one policy price to another policy price.  Is it cheaper?  Yes, but are you getting all the coverage and services you had under an AMT plan?  Chances are you’re not – which means you are technically overpaying for your current, ‘cheaper’ plan. 

Anyone interested should call Membership Director Phil Apruzzi at 973-376-0066 so that he can get you a quote, and next year, we’ll be sending YOU a check!

On Thursday, we sent out a special Wildfire Alert to warn you about a money-robbing scam!  It seems a group of swindlers out there are trying to rip you off by calling you and asking your help in assisting deaf and disabled people.  The call tries to play on your sympathies, and then asks you to pay cash to help that individual.  While each deception varies a bit and they all have a degree of similarity, some are even asking for credit card information to try and lure you into making additional ‘donations’ to the disabled or deaf person they are calling on behalf of.

DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM.  Like you and many of our members, I too have a soft spot to help those of us who are less fortunate.  These creeps are anticipating that good, decent small business owners feel the very same way as they try to cheat you out of your money for some dishonest purpose.  Want proof that this is not a coincidence?  In only a few hours after we sent out our Wildfire Alert, we received 10 phone calls from members reporting such incidents!!

Click HERE to read the full Wildfire Alert we sent out yesterday and please give Debbie Hill a call if you’ve had similar phone calls.  We want all the details so we can take appropriate steps!
 
The crazy marketplace rollercoaster continues with no end in sight.  While the price of crude did dip by $6 a barrel several days ago, the price wasn’t reflect at the rack – nor will it.  Instead, gasoline prices seem are continuing to climb a penny or two a day, making it harder and harder for you to eek out any kind of profit.

I continue to believe that the price of crude is climbing relentlessly due to long-term fears that oil production will be interrupted by political instability in the Middle East, scaring speculators who are driving prices higher.  For months, the demand for gasoline has remained flat.  What’s more, recent indications are that demand is actually beginning to decline as consumers drive less and purchase less gasoline.  We are very near the breaking point, but we aren’t quite there yet.  When we reach it, however, there will be a bubble burst and an incredible drop in both crude and gasoline prices much like there was in 2008.

Yes, I know that many other experts are giving their varied two cents on this, but I continue to believe my prediction will become a realization.  So until anyone convinces me otherwise (and they haven’t yet), I’m sticking to my guns – there will be a breaking, the public will eventually reject these prices, and the market will have no choice but to let the price of crude fall or they will have no one to sell it to…..UNLESS there is an actual supply interruption….then all bets are off.
 
As you know, the Garden State is broke.  And if you don’t know that, you either don’t keep up with the news or are in complete denial.  While we have been going down this path for the better part of 20 years, our economic situation has gotten so bad recently that the mass exodus out of New Jersey is taking a toll on the residents remaining in state.  The recent census numbers (and the loss of a Congressional seat) only underline this point as many leave for greener pastures. 

To pin down ONE reason why people are fleeing is difficult to do.  However, everyone would agree that high property taxes are a MAJOR contributing factor to why New Jersey has lost its luster and many are making the heart wrenching decision to leave. 

Have you ever looked at your tax bill?  Do you know where you money is going when you cut a check? 

If you have, you’d know that the majority of your property tax dollars go to pay for education.  While the percentages vary from district to district, anywhere between 60%-75% (and in some cases, MORE) go to pay for schools.  That’s an incredible amount of money to continue a system that many feel has been less than ideal.

While Governor Christie can be called many things, shy isn’t one of them.  In looking at budgets at all levels of government, Christie has very loudly stated that we need to get a grip on how much we spend on education, or before long, no one will be left to foot the bill. 

In order to adequately do that, the Governor wants to reform the state’s tenure system.  Why?  Because the Governor knows that the current system holds back good teachers and doesn’t pay them what they deserve.  He also knows that the status quo shields bad teachers and protects them from being removed from the classroom altogether.   This unbelievable imbalance has created so much waste and fraud, that only major reform can save the public education system.

Now, I know you’re reading this and wondering what does it have to do with running your small business and the short answer is: EVERYTHING. 

Do you know how much it costs to educate a child in New Jersey?  We spend an average $15,000 a year per student to have a child educated in our public schools.  That’s an average, but by no means the entire story.  That’s because thanks to a long-string of Abbott v. Burke decisions, our Supreme Court has imposed a funding formula on our citizens to not only fund education in our local districts through property taxes, but for the 31 ‘Abbott’ districts as well.  That means residents throughout the state are paying for education in special districts like Asbury Park (where they spend $31,000 a year to educate a child) or Newark (where youngsters are instructed to the tune of $26,000 a year). 

Now what if I told you that the national average to teach a child is less than $10,000 a year?  I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m being robbed!

Unfortunately, the poor quality of education has incrementally seeped into every facet of your business, and chances are that you don’t even know it. As a small business owner, you want a vibrant and robust economy which keeps your patrons working and frequenting your establishment.  When we churn out poorly educated people, it hurts the economy and society in incalculable ways. 

But you don’t even have to go that far.  Just looking at it from the most basic perspective, a poor education system and runaway budgets are costing YOU money via your property tax bill.  Even if you just rent your location from someone, the amount of property taxes is somehow reflected in your monthly rental obligation.  That’s money that is being sapped away from your bottom line!

Looking at it from a different approach, when schools aren’t properly educating children, you have a greater risk of hiring an unqualified individual to work at your shop.  I know during my years I business, I often had pump attendants who couldn’t add or subtract reliably, weren’t capable of opening or closing my location, had problems counting inventory, and couldn’t keep the simplest tasks straight. 

That’s an incredibly sad statement about how we rob our children of quality instruction while picking the pocket of taxpayers who think that reforms aren’t possible.  For these reasons (and many more) NJGCA not only supports tenure reform (and education reform overall) but you should too.  See articles below to read more on Governor Christie’s reform proposal and what’s at stake!

Finally, I’d like to wish my Jewish friends a Happy Passover this Sunday!!  Chag Sameach to you all and hope you have a blessed Seder with friends and loved ones!!

Thanks for listening - See you next week!

Regards,
Sal Risalvato
Executive Director

NEWS AROUND THE STATE

4/14/2011:
Without reforms, Sweeney cautions pension retirees will see payout cuts
NJ State Senate President Stephen Sweeney warned state retirees that they may see a cut in their pension checks if the Legislature and the Governor don’t come to an agreement on how to the nearly $54 billion shortfall in the state pension system.  Governor Christie has introduced a plan that is being opposed by a competing plan by Senate President Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver.  Sweeney estimates that the system could be broke by 2020 without immediate action. 

4/14/2011:
NJ adds jobs, but unemployment rate increases
The New Jersey Department of Labor (NJDOL) released figures on Thursday reporting that New Jersey added 4,600 new jobs, marking the second month in a row for job growth.  However, conflictingly, the unemployment rate increased by .10 percent to 9.3%. The contradictory statistics are attributed to the fact that, while more jobs are being created, the number of people looking for work has also increased.  The NJDOL claims this because many people who gave up on hunting for a job are trying again.

4/13/2011:
Governor unveils tenure reform plans, seeks new evaluation system
On Wednesday, Governor Christie released seven new bills aimed at reforming the tenure and teacher evaluation system.  The plan calls for linking tenure and merit pay to a statewide review system.  Teachers will be ranked among four categories, and those who score in the top two tiers for three consecutive years will be eligible for tenure. In addition, the Governor wants to end the seniority system that controls who will be let go when lay offs are necessary.  Click on the link above for more details.

4/12/2011:
Christie: Tax increases driven by additional aid to state’s poorest school districts
At an event in Cape May earlier this week, Governor Christie said that local property tax hikes were being driven in part by the enormous amount of state aid being directed to ‘Abbott’ districts. Due to a series of court rulings, the state’s 31 poorest school districts receive 59% of state education aid while the other 550 school districts split the remaining 41%.  Click on the link above to read more about how this is indirectly hiking your local property taxes.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ARTICLES IN OUR “NEWS AROUND THE STATE” ARCHIVE