BODY POLITIC

COULD THE CORZINE BUDGET LEAD TO A TAXPAYER REVOLT?

Forgive us if we have seen this play before. A new Governor inherits a fiscal mess, floats some trial balloons about possible taxes, delivers a budget that increases spending by $2 billion and asks the public to pay for years of mismanagement. If it weren’t 2006, we would be flashing back to 2005 with Acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey, or 2002 with newly elected James McGreevey at the helm of the state.

Granted, the state spending binge goes back to Republican Governor Christie Whitman and beyond. However, many New Jerseyans figured that our new Governor would make some tough spending choices and hold down the size of our state budget. What was delivered to Jersey residents on Tuesday was a smorgasbord of new tax initiatives, many of which did not fly last year under the Codey regime.

No one is arguing that Governor Jon Corzine does not have a tough task in getting the budget under control. In fact, his budget address didn’t win accolades, from either side of the aisle. For Republicans, the use of new taxes to raise revenue is a non-starter while Trenton Democrats can’t be thrilled about Corzine’s proposal to eliminate 1,000 state jobs.

What rankles most taxpayers is the fact that nothing seems to be getting accomplished in Trenton. Last year, Acting Governor Codey delivered a similar speech with tax initiatives yet our state finds itself in the same mess. We hear that the Transportation Trust fund is depleted, the Schools Construction Company is riddled with corruption, and that state grants were doled out to municipalities along party lines.

It could add up to taxpayer revolt. Some residents and seniors will flee our state seeking a more affordable place to live. Corzine’s challenge is to convince residents that this budget is medicine to cure our state’s long term ills. Otherwise, if his administration continues down the road of Florio and McGreevey, the new Governor may be a one timer as well.