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At his desk in Parsippany, Kenneth Kaplan reviews talking points for his Libertarian Party campaign for governor.
Photo by Robert Wiener
Libertarian candidate’s fusion of Right and Left
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NJJN Staff WriterMay 21, 2009
Ask Kenneth Kaplan why he is the Libertarian Party’s candidate for governor of New Jersey and he’ll tell you he’s a “child of the ’60s” who “believes in individual liberties.”
In the category-defying case of the Libertarian Party, those range from doing away with most taxes and opposing gun control to approving same-sex marriage and legalizing the medical use of marijuana.
“Most Republicans and Democrats would say they believe in individual liberties, too, but they really don’t,” Kaplan said as he sat in his real estate office in Parsippany.
“They believe in bigger government that controls more and more of what we do, and I don’t believe in that. I believe in voluntary relationships between individuals rather than relationships imposed by the government.”
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Inspired by a posting at A Boring Blog, Trenton officials have officially changed the sign on the Lower Trenton Bridge.
NJ and California seem to be on parallel paths.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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There is this mindset among liberals, "moderates," some conservatives and a majority in the mainstream press that believe that the welfare state is a national blessing and that it works and helps citizens meet their needs. They also believe that it is noble and that it can be sustained. With a report that was recently released by the government pertaining toward Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid showing that it will face financial difficulties sooner than expected, and with the nation's deficit projected to become $10 trillion soon, it is very clear that this belief is an illusion. However, these individuals are not deterred. They will continue to peddle this fantasy to the detriment of the nation and to the detriment of its citizens. Though I am an optimist, one must wonder when these individuals will hit bottom and face reality. The moment of truth may be coming soon.
Excerpted from The Tax Foundation:
The trustees of Social Security and Medicare put out their annual report this week on the financial status of the two government programs. Medicare will be in the red this year, paying out more in benefits than it receives in tax revenue. (All Americans pay a 2.9% Medicare tax on their wages, half remitted by the employer and the other half withheld from the employee’s paycheck.) Social Security is still in the black but is expected to enter the red in 2016. (Americans pay a 12.4% Social Security tax on their wages up to an inflation-adjusted cap each year, again half remitted by employer and half withheld from paychecks.)
During Reason Weekend, the annual event held by the nonprofit that publishes [reason.org], The Wall Street Journal's Jason Riley, author of the recent book Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders, gave a spellbinding presentation about the myths surrounding immigration.
Riley walks through the history of German, Irish, and Mexican migrants in rich and compelling detail, deflating nativist hype while also complicating easy narratives about the United States as a mythic destination for all the wretched of the world.
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In 1920–21, the United States faced a grave economic crisis, worse than the first year of the Great Depression. Double-digit unemployment and a 21 percent decline in production over the previous twelve months greeted the new president.
That president, the now-despised Warren G. Harding, told Americans that the bust following the artificial, credit-induced boom of the war years had to be faced up to, and that no government, however wise, could make it disappear:
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Not surprisingly, immigration warriors are using the swine flu outbreak to buttress their case for closing the borders to the outside world. In the process, they miss a big problem, however, one that I have raised for many years. If we’re going to have the government close the borders to people coming into the country to protect us from infectious diseases, then we’re going to have to also close the borders in the other direction, which means prohibiting Americans from traveling to other countries, where they can catch diseases and bring them back. And that necessarily will mean a lot of control and tyranny, as citizen of North Korea will attest.
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The hardest part of petitioning is overcoming the self-consciousness about doing it. Once you decide to get started, the rest is easy.
What You'll Need
- A properly filled out petition. Get the name(s) of the candidates right. On the "party or party principle" line, put "Libertarian Party."
- A ball-point pen. The ideal one that will write easily on non-horizontal surfaces, such as a Papermate Power Point. But a trusty Bic is okay.
- A clipboard.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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Political Scientist, David Easton, developed a formula concerning politics and government. It was called the "Input/Output Model." The "input" came when people demanded something from the governmental system and the "output" came when people got what they wanted. If the people of a state or country demanded so-called "Universal Health Care," for example, they usually got it. The same with other legislation designed to spend funds. The problem with this is that it evades very important questions It is here that that questions are never asked. People usually think it is "free" when the reality is that it is not. Someone pays for it.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NJ Libertarian Party Nominates Kenny Kaplan for Governor
New Brunswick, NJ - On Sunday, the NJ Libertarian Party State Committee unanimously selected Kenneth Kaplan to be the party’s candidate for Governor. Born in Newark, the 61 year old Kaplan grew up in West Orange but currently resides in Parsippany. He is a graduate from Brandeis University and NYU Law School. For twenty-two years, he was associated with the Archie Schwartz Company but currently serves as President of KenKap Realty Corp., a company he founded after a six year term at Edgerton Realty.
As Governor, Kaplan’s priorities are to phase out the state income tax and reduce the size and cost of government. Addressing affordable housing is one way he plans to solve this problem. Kaplan offers a creative solution to the decade’s long quest to create affordable housing in New Jersey. He wants the state to enact legislation to supersede local zoning ordinances, removing zoning barriers.
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Following is the text of a letter I sent to the Government Records Council today following up on my earlier requests for a rule change allowing records requestors to submit requests on either the agency's specific request form or the GRC's model request form. The letter, with attachments, is on-line HERE.
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When I was in college, I was taught that journalists were like Joe Friday from the television show “Dragnet.” All they cared about was “just the facts, madam” and nothing more. That may have been true once. It is no longer the case. Today many journalists put ideology ahead of the news and the profession has been the poorer for it. If one were to take a look at organs like the New York Times, The Star Ledger, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and other outlets, you can tell that there is very much of a liberal bias in how the news is reported. They will deny it and say that “bias is in the eye of the beholder,” as the late Peter Jennings did, but in surveys, in the journalists’ own words, in the choice of content, in the prominence of play, there is no denying this truth. It is because of this bias that people are going elsewhere to get their information whether on the internet, talk radio, other cable channels or elsewhere.
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It was Niccolo Machiavelli that wrote in "The Prince," that in order to do good you had to do evil. In the United States, and in the rest of the world, there have been politicians, dictators, judges, special interest group leaders and more, that have followed this teaching. They have justified wrong conduct in order to do, at least in their minds, "good works." For example, there have been many liberal and "moderate" politicians that have defended the growth and spending of government in order to "help the people." What they do not say, is that they are ignoring the Constitution and other laws with regards to limits on power. In order to justify this all, they say that the limits on power is "antiquated," "does not apply to today's society" or "belongs in the horse and buggy days." Franklin D. Roosevelt should be smiling on these folks.
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- Written by: Don Boudreaux
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Here's a letter that I sent last night to U.S. News & World Report:
You report that President Obama today "challenged" his cabinet to "cut the budget by $100 million" ("Obama to Cabinet: Cut $100 Million from Budget," April 20). What courage. A President who proclaims the importance of making "hard choices" calls upon his government to trim away a whopping one thirty-six-thousandth of its projected expenditures for the year - or, alternatively reckoned, one twelve-thousandth of its projected budget deficit.
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Open Government Advocacy Project
The Open Government Advocacy Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to ensure transparency and accountability at all levels of government. Articles posted here are a subset of the work of the committee. For more information visit the Open Government Advocacy Project blog.
If you would like to demand accountability and ensure that your local governing body or school board adheres to the Open Public Records Act we can help you request information from them. Contact John Paff, the project chair here.
Insight New Jersey
NJ government is huge and complex. Private industry is shrinking while the size and cost of government bureacracy continues to grow. The articles posted here provide a guide of the NJ State Government and can be used by citizens and candidates for office to evaluate what departments can be reduced drastically in size.
We'll start with just some of the departments and provide a breakdown on what they do (or purport to do), how many employees they have and how big their budget is.
Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project
The New Jersey Libertarian Party's Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project (“the Project”) seeks to get New Jersey municipalities to repeal loitering ordinances that should have been -- but were not -- repealed when the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice was enacted in 1979. The Project has successfully had loitering ordinances repealed in over 30 towns. For a summary listing of all the towns see Preempted Ordinance Repeal Project page.
Police Accountability Project
The Police Accountability Project is a committee of the NJ Libertarian Party. Its goal is to search out cases of police misconduct, file former Internal Affairs (IA) complaints when appropriate, and to publicize violations of rules and laws by the police. There may be other stories posted on the NJLP Police Internal Affairs Complaint Blog page.
If you would like to help or know of a case we should be looking at, contact the committee at
Legislative Affairs Committee
The Legislative Affairs Committee was created to allow a select core of Volunteers to take action on legislation and policies which directly affects the people of New Jersey.
[INTRO VIDEO - HOSTED ON NJLP STATE YOUTUBE AND EMBEDED HERE]
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Legislative Director and Committee Chair
Volunteers: