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DEAN'S LIST - 3/2/2008
(by Dean Naddeo - OpEd Columnist - March 02, 2008)
The first cuts are the deepest
The Governor is under fire yet again, this time for an ambitious budget proposal that eradicates thousands of government jobs, slashes property tax rebates for hundreds of thousands of homeowners, and drastically reduces state aid to municipalities and hospitals.
Corzine has barely had time to recuperate from the thrashing he has taken over his proposal to increase tolls a whopping 50 percent every four years from 2010 through 2022. The projected increase would affect the Atlantic City Expressway, Garden State Parkway, and the New Jersey Turnpike, and is intended to reduce the $32 billion in state debt, as well as fund future transportation projects.
Not only would the Corzine toll increases serve to immediately confiscate cash from the commuter's wallet, the higher transportation costs absorbed by the trucking and transportation industry will likely be passed on to consumers. As Assemblyman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) recently pointed out, "The hidden impact of the toll increases will even hurt motorists who don't use the toll roads".
With Republicans and other critics calling for massive budget cuts in lieu of the toll increases, Corzine dropped a bombshell this week when he unveiled his proposed budget, an aggressive plan that cuts the current State budget by as much as $2.7 billion dollars. This figure does not include the anticipated $38 billion to be raised from the toll increases, which remains a separate issue from the budget.
Many have questioned the Governor's motivation behind the proposed cuts: One theory is that he is simply trying to garner support for his proposed toll increases by threatening such wide ranging reductions. Others have suggested that Corzine has been so greatly offended by the public response to his proposed toll plan that he has responded with a vengeful retort: You want budget cuts? I'll show you budget cuts!
Nearly everyone will concede that the State of New Jersey has desperately needed to reduce government spending for decades. If Corzine is successful in passing his budget by the July 1 deadline, it will be only the fourth time since 1951 that New Jersey has seen a budget that is smaller than the previous year. The Catch-22 here is that the spending cuts must be made in areas where they will not adversely affect the state of the state in the long run.
If the time has come to cut back on non-essential services and to slash funding for the arts, the Governor should go ahead and make those cuts. If we need to retire unnecessary departments, eliminate wasteful spending, and end costly pensions for part-time workers, he has our support. And if it takes closing our parks and museums a little earlier, we can certainly make the adjustment to our schedules.
But we shouldn't allow aid to municipalities to be dramatically cut, as many towns will be forced to raise property taxes or layoff police and fire personnel - a risky move that threatens the overall safety and quality of life in these communities. For jurisdictions like Ringwood, which received $800,000 in extraordinary aid over the past two years, elimination of state assistance would be catastrophic.
Similarly, property tax relief needs to remain stable across the board, as New Jersey residents are already paying the highest property taxes in the nation - twice the national average. Corzine's budget proposal eliminates property tax rebates for households earning over $150,000, and reduces the rebate amount for those earning between $100,000 and $150,000. There's a fundamental lack of fairness to this logic, and it inherently discourages workers from earning more money- money that can be poured back into the state economy.
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