"Knowledge will forever govern ignorance

 and a people who mean to be their own governors

 must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

Friday, April 14, 2006

There Are No Cuts In Governor Corzine's Budget

Governor Jon Corzine and his supporters claim his proposed $30.9 state budget for 2007 is a fair and reasonable plan while acknowledging spending will climb 9.2% over last year’s budget of $28.3 billion. No matter how you try to spin it, Corzine’s budget will increase state spending by $2.6 billion.

Corzine has explained $1.63 billion of the increase with his proposed $1.1 billion payment to the state worker pension fund and his request for a $530 million increase in property tax rebates. So where is the remaining billion dollars in additional spending going? It’s being spent on the Governor’s priorities.

For example, the Governor has eliminated $1.9 million in funding for a program called Governor’s school. He could have saved the program by paying for it with the $2.525 million set aside in last year’s budget for public financing of the gubernatorial general election which obviously need not be funded this year. Instead, Corzine has chosen to use the combined savings of $4.8 million for other purposes.

Contrary to what some may like us to believe, Governor Corzine's budget plan does not propose a $53 million reduction in spending on state jobs. His budget proposes a $541.795 million increase in spending on state jobs. (Budget in Brief - Page 78) The Governor claims this spending increase is contractual, but that’s not the case. Pay scales and benefits for state workers may be contractual, but the number of people the state employs is not bound by contract or law. Between January 2006 and February 2006, New Jersey added 5,400 state workers to the payroll for a total state workforce of 154,700.

The Governor claims state municipal aid is ‘flat funded’ (Budget in Brief - Page 63). and special municipal aid has been reduced by $40 million. (Budget in Brief - Page 68). However, Corzine’s budget calls for $411.87 million increase in “other grants-in-aid” (Budget in Brief - Page 89).and a $21 million increase in “other state aid “(Budget in Brief - Page 89). This shows a shift in funding priorities and not a cut in spending.

So it goes throughout Corzine's budget – a small cut here and a large increase somewhere else in his budget plan In the end, Governor Corzine has funded his priorities and his priorities are costing the state’s taxpayers an additional $2.6 billion.



4 Comments:

At 7:35 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

As usual, I agree.

One issue, however, is that this piece would seem to suggest that if the budget were heldat last year's totals, that would be acceptable. Lest anyone thinks that, it would not. New Jersey's budget is too high. A $28 billion is not acceptable either. We need to encourage government to scale back massively.

 
At 9:04 PM, Blogger Ken Adams said...

I'd be perfectly OK with leaving the budget at last year's level, so long as we did that for 4 years or so. That would let us grow into the budget, and let us lower the overall tax burden. Even limiting the growth to growth in GSP would be a step in the right direction.

 
At 8:27 PM, Blogger Ken Adams said...

Agreed. A flat budget doesn't mean that each department keeps spending the same amount, it means a flat top line for the state as a whole. That way, the governor and legislature have to make actual decisions about priorities, rather than just pretending to do so.

 
At 9:42 PM, Blogger IceNeedle said...

Amazing how most of the media has forgotten to mention how many are employed in the state of New Jersey.

1000 employees would be laid off. Now one thing you don't hear as well for support, no cost of living increase for State Senators or Assembly personell. Even those working for them can deal with a cost of living freeze. Afterall, there is a budget crisis.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home


 Contact Us

  • Email Us
  • Blog Roll Us!

    Search

    Syndication

  • Atom Feed
  • Bloglines
  • Feedburner
  • Feedster
  • Add to Google
  • Add to My MSN
  • Add to My Yahoo
  • News Is Free

    Recent Posts

  • Democrats Call Corzine’s Budget Irresponsible
  • Congressman Jack Kingston Conference Call
  • Carnival of the New Jersey Bloggers # 47
  • State Treasure Abelow Says New Jersey’s Budget Def...
  • Leading The Charge To Lower The Cost Of Local Gove...
  • Kean Vs. Menendez
  • New Jersey’s Public Schools Spend 57 Percent More ...
  • Show Us the Money Governor Corzine
  • Carnival of the New Jersey Bloggers # 46
  • Bilking New Jersey’s Taxpayers

    Archives

  • November 2004
  • December 2004
  • January 2005
  • February 2005
  • March 2005
  • April 2005
  • May 2005
  • June 2005
  • July 2005
  • August 2005
  • September 2005
  • October 2005
  • November 2005
  • December 2005
  • January 2006
  • February 2006
  • March 2006
  • April 2006
  • May 2006
  • June 2006
  • July 2006
  • August 2006
  • September 2006
  • October 2006
  • November 2006
  • December 2006
  • January 2007
  • February 2007
  • March 2007
  • April 2007
  • May 2007
  • June 2007
  • August 2007
  • September 2007
  • October 2007
  • November 2007
  • December 2007
  • January 2008
  • February 2008
  • April 2008
  • November 2008
  • January 2009
  • August 2009
  • September 2009
  • February 2012

    Online Journals

  • National Review

  • Opinion Journal

  • Real Clear Politics

  • Weekly Standard


  • Blog Roll

  • A Blog For All
  • Althouse
  • Ankle Biting Pundits
  • Barista of Bloomfield Avenue
  • Betsy's Page
  • Blue Crab Boulevard
  • Blogs For Condi
  • Bob the Corgi
  • Brainster's Blog
  • BuzzMachine
  • Captain's Quarter's
  • Cinnaman
  • Coalition of the Swilling
  • CWA-NJ
  • Dino's Forum
  • Daily Mail
  • Don Surber
  • DynamoBuzz
  • eCache
  • Exit 4
  • Fausta's Blog
  • GOP Bloggers
  • Instapundit
  • Joe's Journal
  • Kate Spot
  • Kausfiles.com
  • Little Green Footballs
  • Michelle Malkin
  • More Mnmouth Musings
  • Parkway Rest Stop
  • Patrick Ruffini
  • Polipundit
  • Power Line
  • Right Wing News
  • Roger L. Simon
  • The Blue State Conservatives
  • Riehl World View
  • Red Jersey
  • Right, Wing-Nut!
  • Sid in the City
  • Tiger Hawk
  • The Truth Laid Bear
  • Tim Blair
  • Wizbang


  • Sid in the City



    Majority Accountability Project

    MAP

    New Jersey Blogs

    Enlighten-Carnival-small

  • 11th and Washington


  • A Blog For All
  • A Planet Where Apes Evolved From Man?!?
  • Armies of Liberation
  • Atlantic Highland Muse
  • Attack of the 15.24 Mete


  • Barista of Bloomfield Avenue
  • BeLow Me
  • Big Windbag
  • Blanton's and Ashton's
  • Blue State Conservatives
  • Burning Feathers
  • BuzzMachine


  • Clifton Blogs
  • Coalition of the Swilling
  • Cobweb Studios
  • CoffeeGrounds
  • Constitutional Conservative
  • Confessions of a Jersey Goddess
  • Corzine Watch
  • Crazy Jackie
  • Cresting Acrocorinthus
  • Cripes, Suzette!


  • Daniella's Misadventures
  • Did I Say That Out Loud
  • Dojo Mojo
  • Dossy's Blog
  • Down the Shore
  • DynamoBuzz


  • eCache
  • Enlighten-NewJersey
  • Eye On Hoboken
  • Exit 4
  • Exit Zero
  • Extreme-Psychosis


  • Fausta's Blog
  • Fausti's Book Quest
  • Fractals of Change
  • Frenchtown NJ Blog


  • GiggleChick
  • Gregg Gethard's Amazing Personal Journey
  • goethe re scape


  • Hoboken Rock City


  • IamBillPower
  • If this is paradise, I wish I had a lawn-mower
  • Imaginary Therapy
  • Inadmissible Evidence
  • INCITE


  • Jersey Beat
  • Jersey Perspective
  • Jersey Side
  • Jersey Style
  • Jersey Writers
  • Joe's Journal


  • Karl's Corner
  • Kate Spot


  • Laughing At The Pieces
  • Likelihood of Confusion
  • Liss Is More


  • Mamacita
  • Mary's Lame Attempt at Fame
  • Media in Trouble
  • Michael Carroll
  • Mister Snitch!
  • MucknMire
  • My Life as a Rabid Blog
  • My New Jersey


  • New Jersey Eminent Domain Law
  • NJ Conservative
  • NJ Fiscal Folly
  • New Jersey For Change
  • New Jersey Weblogs
  • NJ Spoken Word
  • Northeast Corridor


  • Parkway Rest Stop
  • Philly2Hoboken.com
  • Poetic Leanings
  • Poor Impulse Control
  • Professor Kim's News Notes
  • Property Tax NJ


  • Rain Angel
  • Riehl World View


  • Shamrocketship
  • Shipwrecks
  • SloppyDawg
  • Sluggo Needs a Nap
  • SmadaNeK
  • Static Silence


  • Tami,The One True
  • Tammany on the Hudson
  • Tequila Shots For The Soul
  • The Art of Getting By
  • The Center of New Jersey Life
  • The Daily Fry
  • The Duc Pond
  • The Jersey Shore Real Estate Bubble
  • The Joy of Soup
  • The Mark(ings) of Zorro
  • The New Wisdom
  • The Nightfly
  • The Opinion Mill
  • The Pink Panther
  • The Political Dogs
  • The Rix Mix
  • This Full House
  • Tiger Hawk
  • Tomato Nation
  • Toxiclabrat
  • Twisty


  • Unbillable Hours
  • Usdin.Net


  • Where Is The Remote
  • Wine Goddess


  • Xpatriated Texan


  • Links

  • NJ Governor
  • NJ Legislature
  • GOP GOTV
  • Bob Menendez Information


  • Blog Rings

  • Blog Explosion
  • Blog Directory
  • Blogsnow
  • Blogwise
  • Blogstreet
  • Blogshares
  • Blogarama
  • Blog Digger
  • Daypop
  • Globe of Blogs
  • Blog Search Engine


  • Ecosystem Status


  • Who Links Here






  •