Corzine Threatens Taxpayers

Governor Jon Corzine repeats over and over again that “we need to have an honest matching of revenues and expenses" as if the obvious justified his intransigence on increasing state taxes. There are two ways to bring about a balanced budget – cut spending or increase taxes. The people of New Jersey would prefer state spending be cut and Corzine prefers, no demands taxes be raised.

As the July 1 deadline approaches, Corzine is threatening that if he doesn’t get his tax hikes we will “use his line item veto to cut municipal aid or higher education, which could lead to tuition hikes or property tax hikes”. Those are curious expenses to single out for reduction considering the Governor’s budget plan increases spending by 9.2%.

Under Corzine’s budget municipal aid is “flat-funded” (Budget in Brief – P.3) and higher education is the only category slated to receive less money than last year (Budget in Brief – P.28). So why did Corzine threaten to cut two budget areas that don’t add one dime to his proposed $2.6 billion spending increase? Because he wants to inflict pain on the people that pay the bills in this state and those are the cuts he thinks will hurt taxpayers the most. “Threaten to jack up property taxes and college tuition and the fools will be begging for a sales tax increase.”

In other words, Jon Corzine is a bully. He wants tax increases and he doesn’t care what he has to do to get them. Joanne Corzine warned New Jersey before the election that Corzine was very Machiavellian and that “he'll probably let New Jersey down, too”. It should be clear by now Mrs. Corzine knew what she was talking about. Now it’s up the New Jersey Assembly to send the bully home with a bloody nose. Let Corzine sit outside the statehouse sulking in his limo while he signs a budget the people prefer.