The number of people detained by ICE rose by an astonishing 58% (25,200) between 2025 and 2026; expanded immigration detention accounts for virtually all of the growth in mass incarceration since our last report. www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2...
👀 ICE deported two U.S. citizen children with their mother to Guatemala, even though she had apparently elected to leave them with their grandmother in Florida.
The govt is now arranging their return under court order: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
If you want a feed of local issues in #NJ, I created one.
(I like to keep my socials focused on local issues happening in #NewJersey)
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Re this section of Gov Sherrill's budget address, I couldn't agree more about the promise of government to create opportunity.
But note!
The New Deal was paid for with taxes on the wealthy
WW2 needed bigger income tax
Social Security and Medicare needed payroll tax
Big ideas need big revenue!
The math is clear: the scale of the NJ's budget problems demands a broader approach. At a time when Trump-era tax cuts delivered massive windfalls to the wealthiest households and large corporations, New Jersey cannot take progressive revenue options off the table.
www.insidernj.com/press-releas...
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I forget about this website but I came here just to check out @alexfromnj.bsky.social @ptrchn1.bsky.social and @marleinau.bsky.social 's thoughts about the budget!
Gov. Mikie Sherrill is proposing a record $60.7 billion state budget that calls for increased spending on public education and mass transit, and continued major investment in direct property tax relief and worker pensions.
More: www.njspotlightnews.org/2026/03/sher...
One separate note: commentators and lawmakers frequently cite the growth in the NJ budget since 2010.
But they don't adjust for inflation!!!
FY10 ended w $28.9B in expenditures IN 2010 DOLLARS
FY10 ended w $43.9B in expenditures IN 2026 DOLLARS
That's a 35% increase, not a 100% increase
The Governor's first budget proposal confronts the difficult fiscal reality NJ finds itself in.
It prioritizes families and key programs like schools and pensions.
BUT the goal of expanding opportunity will mean giving families more supports, building stronger govt programs, and taxing the rich.
So beyond disappointing to hear Governor @mikiesherrill.bsky.social talk about affordability and opportunity but make no mention of our most vulnerable populations - immigrants, incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people, and their children. And poverty? Did not hear that word once.
We don’t need to cut to add new programs or expand existing ones.
We can close more corporate loopholes to make sure the wealthiest companies in the world are paying their fair share.
Ok. Like upgrading IT! It might not be a sexy issue, but government efficiency is also about making sure the tools they use are up to date!
Want to flag some caution on "Walmart tax" -- this line of reasoning has existed for a while. But there may be unintended consequences.
Employers may be discouraged from hiring people on Medicaid
Workers may be discouraged from using Medicaid
It's true that NJ and states need more tools to claw back the wealth that has been extracted from our state by big tech CEOs.
But the most powerful tool at our disposal is taxation, ensuring that companies cannot escape their responsibilities by hiding behind shell companies and paper losses
Government CAN keep us safe from the harms of AI, especially from the economic and environment harm of data centers.
We need to start charging these companies more for their energy use, require them to report on their energy and water use, AND require them to build more clean energy.
As a mother of a teen - keeping up with the tech my child uses is a full time job. It is stressful. I also think it is a complicated issue. Looking forward to learning more about @mikiesherrill.bsky.social's plans
and a reminder that if a certain previous administration didn’t try to cancel the repairs for the Hudson tunnels, which have been needed since SUPERSTORM SANDY, we’d be much further along.
Dealing with the Portal North Bridge stuff has been a HUGE pain in the ass — for me personally as well as statewide.
But it’s like eating our vegetables. Once it’s over, we’ll be one step closer to an actual modern transit system that offers RELIABLE service!
So beyond disappointing to hear Governor @mikiesherrill.bsky.social talk about affordability and opportunity but make no mention of our most vulnerable populations - immigrants, incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people, and their children. And poverty? Did not hear that word once.
I’m proud to be an advisory board member of NJTOD, which recently wrote this piece on how California is moving towards transit-oriented development!
www.njtod.org/sb79-in-cali...
Really excited to see Gov Sherrill’s plans to make it easier to build more housing of all types, including for low-income families.
NJ especially needs transit-oriented development. People want to live in walkable communities with easy and safe access to transit!
A note on the corporate tax loopholes:
- it was clear at the time that big corporations would exploit the "net operating losses" (NOL) claims to reduce their future tax liabilities, and they ended up avoiding billions in taxes
I agree with @mikiesherrill.bsky.social. Surveillance is a HUGE problem. I cannot wait to get to work on limiting access to our data - but hope we will also focus on protecting the privacy of vulnerable populations
PJM is seriously holding back our ability to build new, affordable energy to drive down costs for everyone.
Check out NJPP’s report on PJM to learn more! www.njpp.org/publications...
Yes yes yes to affordable housing @mikiesherrill.bsky.social . We need to ensure the affordable housing trust fund is funded and used as intended.
Reducing the income cap and benefit amount of Stay NJ saves money and ensures that wealthy homeowners are not disproportionately benefiting.
This was our proposal from last year. Looks pretty similar, with some differences (Sherrill proposal has higher income cap $250k and lower benefit cap $4k)
Every New Jerseyan benefits from projects like the Gateway tunnel that will provide more reliable transit.
When more people take transit, we have less traffic, cleaner air, and safer roads.
Grateful that Gov Sherrill fought for that funding to be released!
Gov Sherrill rightly points out the skyrocketing expansion of corporate tax breaks ($2.5B) in the lame duck legislature.
As I pointed out at the time, these expansions will hurt future budget years.
Glad to hear the Gov voice the need for a better budget process
www.njpp.org/publications...
Someone was listening to @ptrchn1.bsky.social when he gave endless testimony on StayNJ!
