All About New Jersey

It always comes back to that - no matter how far away I get - Portland or even Sooke, BC, Canada. New Jersey always pops up.

This past week some mob bosses were nailed by the FBI. And they didn't have to entice a 19-year-old kid with his whole life in front of him this time. Entice him with bad choices put in front of him once he gave them his trust.. Is that a betrayal of federal responsibility to its citizens or what?

So, mob bosses in these areas around NJ, NY, and Rhode Island: waterfront projects (like that old movie..), construction firms, and cement and concrete workers unions. Why does this last sound like a cliche? I don't know anyone in the mob and yet 'concrete' and 'mob' are linked somehow in my mind. And I haven't even watched many Sopranos episodes. Note to self (another New Year's resolution?): watch more Sopranos episodes.

And what are these mob bosses guilty of -- corruption. Kickbacks required by waterfront dock workers to the crime families. Extortion for the sake of "protection" for strip clubs and other shops. Corruption in construction unions. Quote from FBI Director Robert Mueller: "The costs legitimate businesses are forced to pay are ultimately borne by American consumers nationwide".

Is that why housing in New Jersey is so expensive? Even when I lived there which was 30 years ago, the little town I grew up in was getting more than its fair share of Beamers and Mercedes. In my neighborhood no less. Kind of like Silicon Valley where grocery store managers live next to rocket scientists (literally, Hanmyo, in lovely Mountain View).

Makes one think about unions. When I was in one it was vital. I desperately wanted security. But with unmatched power they are like any other corrupt entity.

Will housing in NJ get any cheaper now? Can corruption really be rooted out or do new faces just show up cause the mafia is still a viable business opportunity?

At this moment Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO President, is speaking on cspan. Nice that he gets his fair share of cspan cycles. Who is he protecting? The standard of living for working Americans. And yet, at the cost of our brethren in Bangladesh? Is the whole idea of Americans and of nations obsolete in the world today?

Match his words.. the privileged few vs. the toiling masses. He is referring to the investment class vs. US auto workers. But what if you mapped this to the privileged few Americans, consuming 25% of the world's resources vs. the toiling masses in less developed countries digging minerals and making Air Jordan Nike running shoes for $1/day.

People inside the system will always want to maintain their status quo. Once the $dollar/day folk get organized however...