Peter Chen

A reminder, because it is almost that time of year: More children are killed by cars on Halloween than any other day of the year, by far. www.vox.com/future-perfe... If you're a parent, I hope you'll do what you can to keep kids safe. If you're driving on Saturday, PLEASE exercise extra caution.

“Billionaires who popularized stock-based lending include Larry Ellison and Elon Musk. Both borrow to avoid having to sell shares—which could trigger a taxes and dilute their voting rights—in companies they founded.” www.wsj.com/finance/the-...

Nearly half of all people in prison have a minor child. 7 percent (1 in 14 children) in the US experience parental incarceration.

Bluesky I know you do not care about golf. But I am telling you that in this specific case, you SHOULD care about golf. I explain in @slate.com what the Trump administration is doing to East Potomac Golf Course in D.C. slate.com/culture/2026...

Colorado’s most effective tool for reducing child poverty is a state-level family tax credit that’s in jeopardy for the current tax year, according to a new report from a Colorado nonprofit that aims to improve the wellbeing of children.

National School Lunch Week: nearly 457,000 NJ students get free school meals automatically because their families get SNAP or Medicaid. H.R. 1 puts that at risk. When families lose SNAP, kids can lose meals they still qualify for. Find out why in our latest blog post. www.njpp.org/publications...

Colorado’s most effective tool for reducing child poverty is a state-level family tax credit that’s in jeopardy for the current tax year, according to a new report from a Colorado nonprofit that aims to improve the wellbeing of children.

York, PA., has become the most dangerous place for immigrants in Eastern U.S. due to cops cooperating with ICE. Once a key stop on Underground Railroad in freeing people from slavery, now between would-be captors and would-be helpers again. By @willbunch.bsky.social www.inquirer.com/opinion/york...

After years of championing "free speech," Texas lawmakers have enabled a dramatic rise of censorship in Texas universities, banning concepts, canceling courses and closing departments seen as "woke," and even using AI bots as censors. All in the name of freedom. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

n August, we exposed 62 unpermitted gas generators at a Microsoft-linked data center in Vineland, NJ. Weeks later, the state fined its operator a record $1M. Now we reveal how much pollution they released over nearly a year.

We’re Going To Have To Let You Go blogs.fangraphs.com/were-going-t...

We've got a new President, now we need a new Policy Analyst! We're looking for a talented Policy Analyst to lead research and analysis on New Jersey’s tax system and state budget. Think you're a good fit, or know someone who is? Learn more: www.njpp.org/about/career...

Corporate profits and tax revenues grew together until the Trump tax cuts. Now corporate profits are at an all-time high while tax receipts are at their lowest since 2021.

NJMAP.BMF

no one has yet presented to me a use case of crypto that doesn't boil down to "so you can do crimes/scams"

Sen. Susan Collins helped steer millions in federal defense contracts to Navatek, whose CEO illegally funneled thousands of dollars to her campaign. The FBI sought to launch a probe and was eyeing Collins and other lawmakers. Then Trump gutted the unit in charge. THREAD 🧵

Wow! What a great turnout for our Bloustein NYC Alumni mixer on Sept. 17! Thanks to the staff at Tailor Public House for their hospitality, and thank you to all alums who were able to make it! #rutgersalumni Next up -- Bloustein New Brunswick Alumni mixer, end of October. Watch for details!

New Jersey can make application processes simpler, reduce paperwork, and provide temporary coverage for people who lose Medicaid. “New Jersey still has time to build a system that catches people before they fall through the cracks," said report author Jen Spiegel. www.njpp.org/publications...

The report finds that nearly 540,000 residents will have to prove every six months that they are working, in school, volunteering, or otherwise meeting a new federal requirement. The problem: most of them already qualify. The barrier is not employment, it’s paperwork. www.njpp.org/publications...

🚨 New Report 🚨 An estimated 300,000 New Jerseyans may lose health coverage starting in 2027 — all because of complicated paperwork processes. New Medicaid work requirements mean nearly 540,000 residents will need to navigate onerous documentation and renewal processes. www.njpp.org/publications...

Wide racial and ethnic disparities in child poverty persisted in 2025. But 2021 showed that policies like an expanded Child Tax Credit and stronger food assistance can substantially reduce both poverty and these gaps. @danilotrisi.bsky.social explains: www.cbpp.org/blog/analyzi...

In the bad old days (this is FY2019's end-of-year summary), more than 1/5 of the NJT operating budget was capital transfers! And unsurprisingly, if you raid capital for a decade, the next decade has reliability issues. Who knew?????

One woman I met outside Delaney Hall told me men inside the jail -- including her husband -- are denied medical care and have resorted to drinking their own urine to try to address infections. truthout.org/articles/thi...

More state lawmakers are losing their appetite for data center tax breaks as revenue losses balloon out of control. It's clear that these enormous tax breaks were a race to the bottom without a full understanding of the costs. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Weird how no-strings-attached cash doesn't create questions of dependency and isn't called "welfare" when certain people propose it

SCOOP @telliotter.bsky.social and I identified the authors of the bogus noncitizen voting Census report and how they used bad data to make faulty conclusions They include a former DOGE guy (of course) and two people from AFPI, a Trump-aligned think tank www.wired.com/story/a-us-c...

Great reporting on the reality of mass deportation efforts facing immigrants in NJ. Looking forward to reading the rest of the series

giant businesses and billionaires promising that another tax cut will trickle down to the masses

Who could’ve predicted this would happen (me, exactly one year ago today)

You can’t talk about debt without talking about how we got into a bad predicament, and there’s only one correct answer: tax cuts enacted this century

NJ officials warn new Medicaid rules could cause eligible residents to lose coverage

Good to meet New Jersey Civic Information Consortium grantees and fellow board members today at the summer social at Duke Farms! Don’t miss the cool things happening in NJ news and info spaces (3rd photo from @jamditis.com)

To the extent there is polling on this, lgbtq+ identity is a very small chunk of the overall reasons why people cut off parents, with abuse, manipulative behavior, and other interpersonal conflict making the bulk of the reasons

To put these enormous tax breaks in context, the largest single-year tax break we've documented for any corporation before 2025 was J.P. Morgan’s $5.2 billion haul in 2024. itep.org/six-companie...

$83 billion in federal tax breaks went to just 6 companies in 2025. Microsoft has the record high for a publicly held company in a single year at nearly $19 billion. That's out of $204 billion disclosed by publicly traded U.S companies so far for 2025.

The City Council will not call on state legislators to pass an e-bike licensing bill akin to the one now in effect in New Jersey, where the messy rollout is causing issues for cyclists. buff.ly/TF1NuPG

“This is not a matter of a few people engaging in aberrant behavior,” @evacide.bsky.social told @19thnews.org of police abusing Flock ALPRs to stalk people. “These are just the people who have gotten caught, and who have gotten caught so blatantly that they have experienced consequences.”

Thank you to the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers and the @njnonprofits.org for convening the Summer Joint Policy Forum, which brought together leaders from across New Jersey’s philanthropic and nonprofit communities for important conversations about the issues shaping our state’s future.

NEW FROM ME: The Great Delegalization. There are now (almost certainly far more than) 1M immigrants who were protected from deportation on Jan 20, 2025, and no longer are. It’s the result of a problem that’s been building for 30 years—& now only Congress can fix. www.newyorker.com/news/the-led...

The frenzy over NYC’s pied-à-terre tax ignores who actually pays it. Most New Yorkers are renters, and most homeowners don’t own properties valuable enough to qualify. The tax targets a tiny share of the city’s wealthiest property owners. itep.org/new-york-cit...

New from me: New Jersey lawmakers steered state money to employers, relatives and clients www.politico.com/news/2026/06...

In a win for Elizabeth tenants—and democracy!—a judge rejected a lawsuit from landlords seeking to block a ballot measure to restore the city’s longstanding $20 cap on annual rent increases for rent-controlled apts. Thx @maketheroadnj.bsky.social & @law.rutgers.edu: law.rutgers.edu/news/clinic-...

“NJPP’s impact comes from a talented team, strong partnerships, and a shared commitment to policy that improves people’s lives in New Jersey. I look forward to building on that foundation,” said @ptrchn1.bsky.social. Read the full announcement: www.njpp.org/media/press-...

Exciting news! Senior Policy Analyst @ptrchn1.bsky.social will become the NJPP's next President, succeeding @nicolenjpp.bsky.social, who is stepping down after four years as President. We're thrilled to welcome Peter into this new role and wish Nicole the best on the next part of her journey!

I'm sick of it too. If only there were something to do about it!

People potentially subject to the nyc pied-à-terre tax are being treated with 1% of the administrative hostility of SNAP and Medicaid applicants, and they’re throwing 100x the fit

The Trump regime made the largest healthcare cuts in history, slashing more than $1 trillion from Medicaid, Medicare, and the ACA. At the same time they gave away $1 trillion in tax cuts for the richest one percent.