This is really not very surprising.
When it comes to increasing state revenue, Governor Corzine appears to have put nearly all his eggs in the asset monetization basket. Media reports say that he is preparing to mount a high-profile public information campaign to win over the state. Results from the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll indicate that he has a lot of work ahead of him.
In general, most New Jerseyans think the idea of “state asset monetization” – or more specifically, leasing toll roads or the lottery, allowing developers to build on train stations, and selling naming rights to state owned property like parks – is a bad one. Fully 55% say this concept is a bad idea compared to 33% who say it is a good one. The remainder have mixed feelings or no opinion. About 6-in-10 Republicans (58%) and independents (61%) give asset monetization a thumbs down, and even the governor’s fellow Democrats are more negative (46%) than positive (37%) on the idea.
The governor has not released specific plans on how he proposes to leverage state assets for revenue, but much of the public discussion focuses on operation of the state’s toll roads. The poll found that 59% of state residents specifically oppose leasing operation of the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway even if the money were used for a specific purpose. Just 30% support the idea.
However, the public are just as opposed to other revenue-raising efforts that involve state assets. They oppose allowing developers to build over train stations 58% to 33%. They also oppose leasing operation of the state lottery 53% to 34%. And they even oppose selling the naming rights to state parks 54% to 37%. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike oppose all these monetization ideas.
Also not surprising is this:
when faced with a forced choice between leasing state assets and raising taxes, New Jerseyans would give away the state assets by a 62% to 21% margin. Opinion is more divided if the choice is between leasing state assets (43%) and making significant cuts in education and other government services (44%).
Monmouth Polling Director Patrick Murray says this raises some questions.
“As a general concept, asset monetization, to use the governor’s parlance, just doesn’t sit well with New Jerseyans. While most residents would choose leasing state assets over raising taxes, it is really not clear that the public believes that the state has only these two options available.”
The question will probably come down to the specific choices placed on the table — meaning the specific cuts, the specific taxes and the impact all of this will have on the longterm fiscal health of the state and the state’s ability to reform its overall tax and government structures.
South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
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Hank Kalet 