(Column in the LA Times) When President Obama was deciding in 2009 whether to approve a merger between the world's largest concert promoter, Live Nation, and the biggest ticket provider, Ticketmaster, a group of bipartisan lawmakers pleaded with his administration to block the deal. This coalition, which included me, understood that the joint company would strangle competition in live entertainmen... Read more »
Originally published in the Star Ledger. -- The opioid epidemic has cast a pall over our entire nation. Each day, 115 Americans lose their lives from an opioid overdose. The scale of this catastrophe makes it so there are few of us who haven't been touched in some way by addiction and its effects. Since 2002, more Americans have perished each year from overdoses than the year before. The Centers f... Read more »
Link to article: https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/contributors/2018/04/30/opinion-use-tariffs-potential-tool-not-weapon/565805002/ Bill Pascrell, Jr. | Guest Columnist I support taking strong action to halt China’s flouting the rules of the international economy. For too long, our workers and businesses have suffered because of a flood of subsidized, cheap imports from China. The tariffs ... Read more »
The brilliant New Jersey entrepreneur Charles Lazarus died March 22 at age 94. His passing came one week after the company he founded, Toys R Us, announced its liquidation after 70 years in business. Obituaries for both have implied that Toys R Us was a retail relic. Yet the closing of one of the world’s most recognizable brands did not come solely from e-commerce, but also from pillaging by pirat... Read more »
To the Editor: Re “Roster of Stars Lets Live Nation Flex Ticket Muscles, Rivals Say” (front page, April 2): The Obama administration was warned repeatedly that allowing the nation’s largest concert promoter to merge with its largest ticket provider would midwife an octopus that would strangle competition and squeeze consumers. Bipartisan coalitions of which I was a part practically begged regulato... Read more »
Since the passage of their monstrous tax overhaul in Congress, Republicans nationally and in New Jersey have gone into overdrive claiming that the Trump tax law will be a boon for middle-class Americans. It is vital to set the record straight. The Trump tax law will devastate our communities by depriving millions of New Jerseyans of the state and local deductions that they have long enjoyed. In my... Read more »
As Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee, I traveled to Montreal last month to take part in the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation. I met with Canadian, Mexican, and American business leaders and workers, all of whom expressed anxiety about the direction of talks. The consequences for redrawing NAFTA poorly would be devastating for our economy... Read more »
The state and local tax deduction is something which we as New Jerseyans rely on more than other states. And the elimination of this federal tax deduction would cause New Jerseyans great harm - harm that would then put the squeeze on municipal governments across the state. This deduction, the so-called SALT deduction, allows tax filers to write off their state and local property taxes and their s... Read more »
November 20, 2015 -- This week we are reminded that almost four centuries ago, a group of men, women, and children fled their homes and set sail across the ocean in search of a better life. They embarked upon this pilgrimage, seeking a land free of religious persecution. When the pilgrims finally made landfall, a kind and generous people opened their homes and shared their food. Today, I am remind... Read more »
With Memorial Day weekend upon us, the start of the summer tourism season is beginning, and Gov. Chris Christie has spent the past week going up and down the Shore to make certain everyone knows it. His tour is to culminate this morning in Seaside Heights, with an appearance on the "Today" show and a symbolic ribbon-cutting that will signal the Shore is officially open for business. Despite the f... Read more »
