Setting up our youth for failure in NJ

Happy Labor Day, everyone. Did you know that Labor Day has its roots in Camden County? If you're enjoying a long three-day weekend, then you have the labor mevement to thank for it. Likewise, if you're only enjoying a two-day break, well, you can thank the labor movement for that too.

From kindergarten to college , this is back-to-school week across the state. Our nation's budget priorities being what they are, it's painful to accept that funding for education -- at all levels -- is being compromised. Whether it's laying off teachers and increasing class size, slashing funds for sports and art programs, eliminating field trips, or deferring infrastructure improvements, NJ public schools statewide are tightening their belts to get by. Keep in mind, your property taxes aren't getting any lower.

While we are on the topic of giving kids the short end of the stick, it's worth noting that it's not just primary schoolkids and their teachers who are feeling the pinch. Rutgers University just announced (yet) another round of layoffs. This time 185 unlucky educations are getting the pink slip. Naturally, this will lead to fewer class options for the students, which is particularly tricky for those rising seniors looking to.....graduate. The furlows at Rutgers come shortly after the University cut its tennis and swimming programs. Don't know aboout you guys, but if I were a highschooler looking at colleges, I'm thinking to myself "anywhere by Rutgers!"

After the startling revealation that a childcare center in Gloucester was build atop a thermometer factory, the Governor is calling for tighter safety standards at day care centers.

"Nothing is more important than our children's health and well-being," Corzine said. "We have a responsibility to make sure that the places we trust to care for our kids are held to the highest standards for safety."

Note to the five-and-under set: if you don't die of mercury poisoning in preschool, you can look forward to going to an underfunded, raggedy school with no extra-curricular activities followed by four years at a college or university far, far from home.