Word: florio
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...voiced his contempt for public assistance with apocryphal stories of "welfare queens" driving Cadillacs. What is surprising is how many Democrats and liberals are sounding the same themes. Presumptive nominee Bill Clinton insists that "those on welfare move into the workplace" within two years. New Jersey Governor Jim Florio denounces the current welfare system as "morally bankrupt." Many state governments, meanwhile, are slashing benefits and throwing thousands off the rolls. "America has moved from a war on poverty to a war on the poor," says Yale University professor Theodore Marmor, co-author of America's Misunderstood Welfare State...
...silver lining in the clouds that rose over the burning blocks of Los Angeles. "What you are starting to see more and more -- and Los Angeles brought it home dramatically -- is that you can't isolate yourself in your little island of self-interest," says New Jersey Governor Jim Florio. "In a place like New Jersey, you can go from Short Hills, a very affluent community, to Newark in the space of 10 minutes...
...Florio learned the hard way, if you bump up too hard against suburban interests, you can quickly go from popular Governor to political chump. Two years ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court directed the state to reduce disparities in school funding between affluent suburban communities and inner cities. In an attempt to comply with the court order, Florio pushed the Democratic-controlled legislature to agree to $2.8 billion in new taxes, including an increase in sales tax from 6% to 7%, along with deep cuts in state jobs and spending programs. He also redirected a portion of state education...
...response from suburban taxpayers was ferocious, ranging from death threats to calls for Florio's impeachment. Last November voters elected veto- proof Republican majorities in both houses of the legislature. They are now trying to reverse most of Florio's program -- while also fumbling for a way to satisfy the same court order that led the Governor to formulate his plan...
...often draw the line at paying to solve them. "It does not make sense to take the money away from good suburban schools so that you risk mediocrity everywhere," says Susan Bass Levin, mayor of the wealthy suburb of Cherry Hill, which is outside Camden. As a result of Florio's plan, she claims, her town lost $5 million in education funds in 1989. The following year Cherry Hill adopted the first in a series of annual school-tax hikes to offset the loss...