Friday, May 25, 2012

New Jersey Bipartisan Budget Idiocy Abounds

NJ politics and you - screwed up together. The OLS issues a budget notice finding that the state will end with a deficit of more than $600 million, and yet Gov. Christie (a Republican) and State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (Democrat) are pushing ahead with a compromise tax cut plan that the two hashed out that will cost even more money and requires one-shot borrowing from the state's nearly empty transportation trust fund to balance the budget).

The compromise plan, along with the plans that both Gov. Christie and legislative Democrats were originally touting, are the height of fiscal irresponsibility.

Everyone in Trenton appears more than willing to disregard the budget deficit and go with the tax cuts because it will mean votes in November. They've thrown fiscal responsibility out the window for a few votes.

That's what this is all about.

Sweeney's trying to convince his caucus to go along with this (even as some members had been pushing for a different kind of property tax relief - still costly, but touted as more focused tax breaks for the middle class than the governor's income tax cuts, which would help the high income earners more).

Where did all the supposed fiscal conservatives in Trenton go? They've disappeared, if they ever existed at all. It was all just so many talking points, rather than a dedicated effort to get the state's fiscal house in order.

In other words, it's just the same old tired routine as it has ever been.

New Jersey taxpayers will be stuck with this mess, even as the state's infrastructure continues falling apart.

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