TRENTON MUST REIGN IN SPENDING
For most New Jersey residents, June 30 is a date associated with the beach and summer fun. For the state politicians, particularly the Democrats this year, that date is a deadline that is coming to soon. By the end of this month, the state must have a budget finalized and right now, the Trenton gang is quite a distance apart on what this year’s budget will look like.
Once again, we have a Governor that is at odds with members of his own party. Jon Corzine has thrown several revenue raising ideas out there (read new taxes) which has turned off both Republicans and Democrats alike. The idea of raising the sales tax is practically dead in the Assembly, where its passage has been termed as “unachievable” Unlike the Assembly where members run every two years, the Senate has enough votes to pass the tax.
Not only was the sales tax unpopular with legislators, but the hospital bed tax was another proposal that hurt the Administration. The plan was universally panned by the health care industry and Assembly Democrats took notice of the strong opposition to that particular tax. So, Trenton Democrats are stuck with trying to raise revenue without curbing their spending habits. Amid this inter-party tax fight, the Republicans are busy firing from the sidelines with their suggestions on how to best curb spending, even though, they don’t have a seat at the budget table.
It is possible that the state government could shut down after June 30. Memos are being sent and plans being made for a partial shutdown with government functioning with only essential services. This would be a disaster for Corzine in his first year, but he could lay off the blame on his Assembly mates as unwilling to make tough choices. It is unlikely that the Democrats will eat their own on the tax issue, so figure on some type of deal to be made and the state to be functioning in early July. The problem remains that the state is in a fiscal mess, and like it or not, Trenton needs to reign in its spending appetite.
