No one likes taxes. No one.
But, the reality is that if we want government to do things for us, we have to pay government something. The question, ultimately, is what is the fairest and most efficient way to do this.
As the Legislature moves toward tax reform discussions later this summer, we need to keep in mind that we cannot reform state government and taxation in New Jersey without all of us sharing in some of the pain.
- We can’t lower property taxes without either paying more in some other kind of tax (income would seem the best bet) or giving up some service that we have come to rely upon.
- We are going to have to give up some local control. Consolidation of towns and school districts must happen — without it, we cannot eradicate duplication of services and the associated costs. (This will not be popular in Cranbury.)
- Some government workers will have to lose their jobs.
- Pension reform will probably mean some form of 401k — a defined-contribution plan — and an end to defined benefit plans. I don’t like this, but it is difficult right now to justify not moving in this direction when most taxpayers already work under this kind of pension system.
- Real campaign finance reform must be enacted and patronage must be ended.
None of this will be greeted with fanfare and applause, but anyone who thinks we can fix things without this kind of stuff is sadly mistaken. It is about to get realy ugly in Trenton.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
Hank Kalet 
I think I am starting to move you. How about recognizing that government is the only entity that can \”provide a service\” that an individual doesn\’t want and then force everyone to pay for it? The logical extension is that if you have to FORCE people to pay for something then that probably is NOT a good idea. The next realization is that people should be allowed to CHOOSE peacefully and without coercion those services that they want and those that they don\’t. They can then pay for those used. If MickyD\’s said \”everyone has to buy soda\”, then my wife who doesn\’t like their soda, wouldn\’t shop there and they\’d suffer. But, if it was the government, she had to pay for that soda even when she wouldn\’t drink it. It\’s all about FORCE. The government will kill you if you don\’t go along with it. Try not paying your taxes or not showing up for a speeding ticket.We DO NOT have to pay taxes. We can pay for the services we use and NOT pay for the one\’s we don\’t want.We DON\’T have to give up local control. I can choose Burger King, McDonalds, or Theo\’s to get a hamburger. Is there duplication? Yes. But, I am not FORCED to subsidize the joint that I don\’t like.If this was a private enterprise supplying a valuable service, the emplyees could take the service \”private\”. It happens on Wall Street, Information Technology, Drugs, and the Internet all the time. They may lose a job and find a career!Pensions. Guess the judges and politicans will not be able to rip off the future taxpayers by working \”multiple full time jobs\”, \”many part time jobs\”, or packing the pensions with sick time and OT. We\’ve been getting ripped off for a long time. It\’s time that it stopped!Campaign finance reform! Please, let\’s stop kidding ourselves. It\’s about free speech. If there wasn\’t Big Government, then there\’d be NO NEED for campaign finance reform. IMHO, you\’re shifting all so slowly to the realization that the taxes are not needed. The market place can be used to peacefully supply all our needs. The voluntary free exchange is the way to freedom.
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