The Bill's Been Due

New Jersey has a deficit of at least $38 billion dollars. Does anyone think that Gov. Corzine will be able to restructure that debt to cut it by half if he's continuing to propose new programs? What kind of financial wizardry would it take to cut the debt by half? Wishing it away will not make it happen.

A new report shows New Jersey's record debt is now above the $38 billion mark, a figure Governor Corzine has vowed to slash in half with a yet-to-be disclosed "financial restructuring" plan that includes toll hikes.

The new total debt number comes just as Corzine is ramping up his effort to convince residents that toll increases are the best way to fix the state's financial problems. He is expected to roll out details of the plan in early January.

The governor and others have warned that New Jersey's mountain of debt will hamper its ability to build roads and schools, or adapt to other public needs, like health care for low-income children. This year, the state paid $3.1 billion for its annual debt, or nearly 10 percent of the state's budget.

In all, New Jersey residents face both the fourth-highest total debt and per-capita debt burdens in the nation, according to the report compiled by the New Jersey Commission on Capital Budgeting and Planning.

The debt translates into $3,700 for every man, woman and child living in New Jersey, the governor said. It also means the first $600 of every state tax bill goes to paying down the debt, he said.

State debt has ballooned in the past decade, and no one in Trenton has bothered to utter the phrase "fiscal responsibility."

It's so much easier for Trenton to spend taxpayer money than it is to do the fiscally prudent thing of cutting spending.

And therein lies the rub.

Much of what Corzine is likely to propose is hikes in fares, tolls, and other revenue generating means - taxes. Cutting spending or restructuring how the state spends its money isn't likely to generate much traction or support. Abbott districts don't want to see their gravy train end, despite the fact that the billions spent on redistributing all that money has not improved education in the state.

The elimination of one-shots may have stopped that tiresome and fiscally irresponsible stop-gap maneuver that included obtaining a lump-sum payment from the tobacco lawsuit settlement to cover a budget gap a few years back. All those one-shots meant that politicians got to avoid making tough decisions on what programs to cut or taxes to raise for another year.

The bill has been due for some time, but it has gotten to the point where even the Democrats are realizing that something has to be done. I fear that Corzine will respond as many other Democrats have done in the past - raising taxes and fees rather than cutting unnecessary and wasteful programs.