Maybe it’s just what some advocates hope will happen.
But if, as The Record reports, the governor's immigration advisory panel is considering recommending that the state allow undocumented immigrants to drive with a special "driver privilege card" and to attend college at in-state tuition rates, we have a recommendation of our own.
Don’t.
At a time when New Jersey is facing a $2.1 billion budget deficit this year – and as much as $5 billion next year – why in the world would we be creating new policies that will ultimately only increase spending by the state?
If we turn New Jersey into a magnet that draws more illegal immigrants to New Jersey, how are we going to afford the increases in charity care at hospitals? How will the hospitals, which are already foundering, afford it?
Why should New Jerseyans have to go through hoops to come up with all different forms of ID to qualify for drivers licenses, if illegal immigrants can obtain driving privilege cards?
Have we decided that terrorism is no longer an issue in New Jersey?
Ten other states offer in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, and lawsuits are pending by out-of-state students who claim they are being discriminated against. If the students win, the state (i.e., the taxpayers) will have to make up the difference.
Do we really need to stretch our taxpayers’ budgets further?
Daily Muse: UPDATED: CORZINE TO CUT CURRENT BUDGET BY $2.1B
Jan. 2, 2009
The budget news keeps getting worse.
Gov. Corzine just told reporters that the deficit in this year's budget is much larger than $1.2 billion, and, as a result, he will be cutting this year's current state budget of $32.9 billion by a staggering $2.1 billion, according to the Star Ledger.
$2.1 billion!
Corzine provide limited information on specific budget cuts this afternoon, two days after Republicans sued to force Corzine to release how he planned to meet what was then a $1.2 billion deficit.
One thing is certain: a budget deficit this large will not be solved by quick fixes. New Jersey needs real change.
It also needs transparency.
We're not sure why Gov. Corzine has to wait until Monday to release his proposed complete lists of cuts. We're also not sure why the governor didn't think it was necessary to brief the GOP.
But broadly, here is what we know of how he plans to cut the budget, according to the Ledger:
$812 million in spending cuts $500 million from his $650 million plan to pay down the state's long-term debt $300 million from Washington once President-elect Barack Obama takes office $275 million from the state's surplus $208 million in savings at individual state agencies.
The spending cuts will include $15 million cut in municipal aid; $75 million reduction in public school aid, and $152 million from a proposed salary freeze.
We still haven't heard the governor institute a statewide hiring freeze, ban out-of-state travel, or reduce the number of state cars and cell phones.
We haven't heard him postpone new programs, like mandatory preschool.
But we do applaud him for coming out against new tax hikes. New Jerseyans are already paying more in tolls, and in a payroll tax to fund family leave.
What's unsettling is the man who's been telling us that his administration had identified cuts apparently hadn't done so completely, and what's worse, is relying on one-shots, as in a bailout from Barack Obama, to get by.
So far, we haven't seen how this fixes New Jersey going forward.
But we'll wait and see what else the governor tells us Monday.
So now the governor says he wants to delay the budget speech until March 10, so he can take advantage of whatever belated Christmas gifts Barack Obama plans to give him.
But here’s what’s more interesting: State Treasurer David Rousseau told the Star-Ledger in the same article that “the move is also needed because treasury officials are running four to six weeks behind schedule trying to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the current budget.”
Here’s our question: Hasn’t Gov. Corzine been assuring us all along that he has this under control? That his Cabinet identified $400 million in savings in the fall, and another $400 million since? And wasn’t there some $600 million surplus as well?
But if the governor hasn’t figured out how to plug the $1.2 billion deficit that he already has, then what business does he have spending more money from the state budget, even if it’s for a stimulus package?
How can we spend money we don’t have? Aren’t we already in the red?
Isn’t this what got us in trouble in the first place?
Given this, the administration’s refusal to release any budget information to the Republicans starts to make more sense.
But is this what we’ve come to in New Jersey – dealing with another spectacle of the GOP going to court, to find out information that should be public record to begin with?
Why doesn't the administration release what they've done on the budget so far? Tell us about that $800 million that they've identified in savings, at least.
Unless, there was nothing really done.
And if the administration is having this much trouble with $1.2 billion, how in the world will they handle the $5 billion deficit that's expected in next year's budget?
And shouldn't they have already been working with the Legislature on possible budget cuts?
Why are we starting to feel that the only contingency plan our governor has to solve the state’s budget woes is the “hope” that the Obama administration will send some “change” their way?
And if there is no windfall from Washington, what happens then?
Here's hoping there's a Plan B -- one that doesn't just stand for Barack.
And they wonder why people are fleeing this state.
With timing that only a politician could love, the Tax Foundation released its analysis of property taxes just before Christmas.
But New Jerseyans didn’t have to wait to see what the taxman left under the Christmas. We already knew it would be coal, and plenty of it.
We just didn’t know how much,
Somehow, seeing in print that seven out of the top 10, and 13 out of the top 20, highest property taxes rates by county in the country are paid by New Jersey homeowners, makes it worse.
Thank goodness we only have 21 counties to be judged by.
Here’s the bad news from the Tax Foundation:
Top 20 Counties in Median Real Estate Taxes Paid 2005-2007 Average (Population of 20,000 or More)
County
State
Median Real Estate Tax Paid
Rank
Westchester County
New York
$7,908
1
Nassau County
New York
7,726
2
Hunterdon County
New Jersey
7,708
3
Bergen County
New Jersey
7,370
4
Somerset County
New Jersey
7,201
5
Essex County
New Jersey
7,149
6
Rockland County
New York
7,066
7
Morris County
New Jersey
6,977
8
Union County
New Jersey
6,727
9
Passaic County
New Jersey
6,673
10
Putnam County
New York
6,553
11
Suffolk County
New York
6,502
12
Monmouth County
New Jersey
6,360
13
Hudson County
New Jersey
5,865
14
Lake County
Illinois
5,790
15
Fairfield County
Connecticut
5,694
16
Sussex County
New Jersey
5,677
17
Middlesex County
New Jersey
5,575
18
Mercer County
New Jersey
5,457
19
Warren County
New Jersey
5,228
20
You ever asked yourself why we pay so much? We do.
Gerald Prante, a Tax Foundation economist, said New York and New Jersey have higher property taxes because they are high-income states that provide more services than most others.
In assessing whether the total tax burden is fair, residents should evaluate if they're getting an appropriate bang for their buck, he said.
"Is the service they get from the government equal to the price they are paying in the form of taxes? It should exceed and or equal the money they pay," Prante said.
Isn’t that an excellent question? Here’s a thought for our lawmakers. The next time you look at property taxes, why don’t we look at the services that are being provided in New Jersey versus other states, and compare them?
Maybe then we’ll get a clearer idea of why we pay so much in property taxes , and how we can reduce them.
If New Jersey state government was a sitcom, we think it would be of the 1950s variety, where all the characters shake their heads and cluck over the scallywag antics of the main character.
We’d call it, “That’s Our Jon!”
What else can explain some of our governor’s more head-scratching moves of late, than he is behaving as outrageously as any good television character would? Only in a sitcom, the damage lasts 30 minutes.
Here in New Jersey, it could last more than a lifetime.
The latest episode involves the machinations involving the state budget. Now, we all know that our governor has a penchant for secrecy. That he hasn’t figured out that what he could keep quiet on Wall Street is considered public record on State Street.
And that when he tries to keep it quiet, it often becomes front-page news.
Take the GOP request for budget documents, for example.
Seriously, what reason does the Corzine administration have for not giving the Republicans the list if cuts he plans to make to fill this year’ $1.2 billion budget gap?
It’s not as if the governor doesn’t already know how he’s solving the bulk of it.
He’s told reporters that the departments already found $400 million after renegotiating contracts with vendors and consultants and delaying the purchase of equipment. He later said that $400 million has been nearly matched by additional cuts.
To our math, that’s $800 million he’s already found. Why do Republicans have to sue to find out what those cuts are?
Corzine says he’ll tell us all about his budget in early January.
"I'd like to actually see first what the federal government is going to do, so we're not shooting in the dark about whether there will be additional resources," Corzine told Gannett.
In other words, he wants to see how big a check he’s getting from Barack Oclaus before he tells us.
Any one who doubts our governor’s intention just had to read his opinion piece that first ran in the Washington Post. He wants the feds to bail out the states, by increasing spending on roads and other infrastructure, housing and mortgage relief, education and federal-state programs like Medicaid. He also wants a "sizable" middle-class tax cut.
“Roosevelt warned against being of ‘faint heart, fearful of change, sitting tightly on the rooftops in the flood,' " wrote Corzine. "His words are still prescient today. We must be bold -- $1 trillion bold."
One trillion dollars? On top of the $700 billion that we’ve already sent Wall Street?
What Corzine doesn’t mention is that $1 trillion he wants is eventually going to have to be paid back by the taxpayer. Funny, isn’t it, that the borrowing Corzine wants the feds to do is the same sort of borrowing that New Jersey did – borrowing with little thought of the consequences for the future.
At some point it’s going to have to be paid back. But at what cost?
Corzine wants a $1 trillion bailout because he doesn’t want to cut the budget. He doesn’t want to stop spending. He’s got programs he wants taxpayers to pay for, like universal health care and preschool and affordable housing. He doesn’t want to cut union benefits. He’s against pension deferments, and further borrowing, except apparently, when he’s running for re-election.
He wants the status quo, and then some, even if the taxpayer can’t afford it.
Which makes us wonder, does he rally want to fix New Jersey’s budget, or does he want to fix it just enough so that he can spend more?
On second thought, maybe New Jersey’s not like a sitcom after all. Because usually, at the end of an episode, the main character would have learned a valuable lesson or two.
You know Santa is going to be busy today (NORAD says he left the North Pole about 6 a.m. EST to start his rounds in Asia), but he took the time to give us a sneak peek at what he's carrying in his sleigh tonight:
For Gov. Corzine: A chief of staff who will last to the end of his term; a check (or will it be coal) from Uncle Barack, a photograph of taxpayers, so he remembers that he works for them too, and a satellite office at CNBC;
Tom Wilson: An e-mail decoder ring;
Eric Shuffler: A portrait of a flying pig;
Jim McGreevey: A vow of silence;
Carla Katz: A vow of celibacy;
New Jersey Republicans: A Chris Christie candidacy;
Chris Christie: A monitoring contract signed with disappearing ink;
Senate President Dick Codey: A lifetime of pork roll and cheese sandwiches on the menu at 60 Park Grill;
Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts: An American Express Gold Card to run the 2009 Assembly elections;
Assembly Republicans: A magic elixir to keep Assembly Democrats tied to Corzine;
Assemblyman Alex DeCroce: A lie detector test;
Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr.: A skate board with training wheels;
Assemblywoman Karrow: Another pair of boxing gloves
New Jersey newspapers: Less red ink, more advertisers;
Rutgers President Richard McCormick: The book, "Trenton for Dummies," for the next time he wants to take out a member of the Old Boys Network;
Sen. Loretta Weinberg: She got her gift early this year.
And one thing’s clear: Gov. Corzine is really hoping that Santa Barack is going to leave a billion or two under his Christmas tree.
And if not?
Well, he’ll cross that bridge when he gets there.
But there’s no doubt the economy remains Job One for our governor.
He raised the specter of everything from layoffs to wage freezes to cuts in property tax rebates and municipal school aid as possibilities as he grapples with closing a $1.2 billion budget this year and up to $5 billion next year.
He says his administration has identified cuts, but won’t say what until next year.
In the meantime, he also likes to pat himself in the back for cutting this year’s budget by $600 million, saying the state is in much better shape as a result.
But here’s our question: How much better shape would we have been in had he cut the budget in his first two years, instead of raising spending by $5 billion?
What if he hadn’t given back that concession the unions made, which would have had retirees pay 1.5% of their salaries toward their health insurance premiums?
What if he hadn’t stopped the Legislature from enacting tougher pension and benefit reforms?
What if he had actually used that sales tax hike to pay down the debt?
How much better shape would we be in today?
And one more question: now that gas prices are down, how long before he seeks a hike in the gas tax, instead of seeking further pension and benefit reforms?
Guest Column: CONGRESS IS SENDING THE WRONG MESSAGE
Dec. 23, 2008
By MICHAEL M. SHAPIRO
If you blinked this past week, you missed it. Members of Congress got a $4,700 pay increase. The 2.8% increase is automatic and the Members receive it each year. However, they have the ability to freeze their salaries; that has yet to happen. In fact, legislation to do just that was introduced this year and never made it out of Committee.
It is not the $4,700 that is bothersome, nor is it their salaries. With the increase, a Member now makes approximately $170,000 a year. The leadership makes slightly more. It is certainly not chump change, but it also is not exorbitant.
What is disturbing about the $4,700 increase is that while over two million Americans lost their jobs this past year and there is nothing but doom and gloom on the economic front, our elected representatives did not seriously consider forgoing their pay raise.
{To read more of Michael Shapiro's take om the pay raise, read his guest column here.)
A federal jury today convicted five Muslim immigrants from South Jersey were convicted today of conspiracy to kill American soldiers at Fort Dix. The five were acquitted of attempted murder.
But as important as the victory is to law enforcement, it is arguably as important to the world of New Jersey politics.
That’s because it was one of the last cases developed under the watch of former U.S. Attorney – and possible Republican gubernatorial candidate – Chris Christie.
It means Christie’s impressive win streak continues unbroken, and gives the Republican credibility not only in fighting corruption, but also in terrorism now as well.
Of course, Christie will have to show how he can translate that experience into tackling New Jersey’s budget and property tax woes.
But, in the meanwhile, it puts him back in the spotlight, and reinforces his image as someone who can get things done, at the same time Gov. Corzine is getting ready to tell New Jerseyans how he plans to solve a multi-billion budget deficit, without causing a huge spike in property taxes.
Whose hand would you rather have?
Prediction: Christie announces he’s in the race in the first half of January.
Guest Column: THE YEAR'S TOP PUBLIC POLICY DEVELOPMENTS
Dec. 22, 2008
By RICH LEE
It is that time again when lists of the year’s top stories begin to emerge in newspapers and magazines, on radio and TV stations, and online in websites, blogs and emails. My list is a little different. Instead of news stories, I decided to take a crack at identifying the top public policy developments that took place in New Jersey during 2008.
This poses somewhat of a different challenge. Rather than selecting the top stories from a group of existing news reports, it requires speculating about the long-term impact of decisions made this year. And that is made even more difficult by the unusual and unexpected twists that can alter our future.
Consider for a moment the case of Charles Ingram Courtenay Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax. When Neville Chamberlain resigned as British Prime Minister in 1940, Halifax was considered a likely successor, but Winston Churchill was selected for the post instead. As Alan Bennett relates in The History Boys, on the afternoon the decision was taken, Halifax chose to go the dentist instead. “If Halifax had had better teeth, we might have lost the war,” the Dakin character in Bennett’s film remarks.
So barring the likes of an unforeseen trip to the dentist, here are what I consider the most significant public policy developments that took place in New Jersey this year.
(To view Rich Lee's Top 2008 Public Policy Developments, read his guest column here.)
"There'll be a real firestorm of anger among the citizens of New Jersey if the governor tries to get driver cards or in-state tuition passed by the Legislature. In this economy, they'd be asking citizens who are trying to figure out how to put their children through college to also support people who are not supposed to be here in the first place," said Gayle Kesselman of Carlstadt, the co-chairwoman of New Jersey Citizens for Immigration Control, about reported state recommendations on immigration. (1/05/09)
Hot Off The Press!
A FAREWELL TO 2008: It seemed just like yesterday, didn't it? For a humorous quick look back at the year that almost was, check out this retrospective by JibJab on YouTube.com. (12/30/08)
UPDATED: WHO IS WALLY EDGE, AND WHO IS UNPOLITICKER? Is one of the great political mysteries about to be revealed? UNpoliticker.com, which bills itself as "The antidote to Democrat meddling in the Republican Party," now says it will begin unmasking Wally Edge on Jan. 1 Dec. 25, Jan. 1 through a series of polls, rather than reveal the identity on that date. (12/22/08)
REMEMBERING OUR SOLDIERS: Record columnist Mike Kelly is in Camp Bucca, Iraq, writing on the lives of N.J. National Guard troops stationed in Iraq. The Star Ledger, meanwhile. has video messages from N.J. soldiers. Take a minute this holiday to thank our troops. (12/22/08
