I am not the only New Jersey columnist who believes the state needs to rethink how its local governments are organized. Alfred Doblin, editorial page editor for The Record, takes on the sacred cow of home rule in his column today:
What is more important: Quality education or a local school district? Is the firefighter less competent because he or she answers to a regional supervisor instead of a local chief? Does it matter if the municipality, county or an independent contractor removes snow as long as the snow is removed?
He likens the state’s fiscal crisis to the Chicago fire that destroyed that city in the late 19th Century, saying New Jersey has “burned down” and adding that “We should not build it like it was.” As he says of the sacred cow of “Home rule” — a “very big cow”: “it’s time it either produced a beverage or became an entrée.”
The fiscal reality is bleak. But there are ways of providing many of the services we expect while still spending less. We don’t have too many teachers. We don’t have too many parks. We don’t have too many roads. We have too many districts. We have too many municipalities. We have too many departments that essentially duplicate other departments.
It is in the new governor’s hands. Gov. Chris Christie, Doblin says, “has the personality to withstand the blowback from reactionaries afraid of change.” But does he have the vision? Is he willing to take on the web of problems that have created our fiscal mess, or does he plan to just slash indiscriminately, balancing the books but breaking our backs?
The jury is still out, though his budget freeze — which essentially will create problems for many school districts next year and exacerbates pension problems — raises some concerns.
Ultimately, though, as Doblin points out,
Change is happening. The issue is whether it is change for the better or for the worse. It is time to put the home-rule sacred cow on the altar of fiscal sanity.
In desperate times, every cow is accountable. Either produce milk or end up as hamburger.
That may not be popular, but it has to happen.
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\”We don’t have too many …\”How can any one possibly say that?One of the problems that Austrian Economics points out is that socialism has no way of making these economic calculations.In a free economy, the price mechanism determines how many of anything we have. (Evil) (business) people risk their own capital to \”test\” if something is needed. Then the economy efficiently allocates capital to the things that people want. And they \”vote\” for the things they want by spending their scarce dollars. Profit is the message that the invisible hand of the economy uses to attract more capital to a needed area. That's if we had a \”free\” economy.Now we have a semi-free economy. The gooferment at many levels intrude and distort the market signals. For example, the FED by distorting the core interest rate for capital encourages \”malinvestment\”. The Austrians fault malinvestments for the boom and bust we see in the economy. That one distortion alone has catastrophic implication on what risks people take. Bubbles would not be as big or as hurtful without the \”money\” distortion. Commodity money, or at least the repeal of \”legal tender\” laws, would allow the free market to adjust the interest rate. And, limit the ability of the gooferment to spend.Now, when we have NO profit or price mechanism, the gooferment can't do anything. Because EVERY decision becomes a \”political\” decision. Only at the very grossest level can we opine on government spending. Suppose that a park was a for profit operation, like Disney World, and it had to carry its costs. This is the specific argument that I have with the South Brunswick \”Public Library\”. They take money from property taxes and \”fund raising\” that they do. People in and around South Brunswick didn't support a movie theater; it went out of business. How can the \”Public Library\” go out of business? It can't. The State Gooferment \”legislates\” that there be one for every Municipal Gooferment. It's politics; not economics.You have to laugh at the Census advertisement saying that everyone should fill it out so that \”the Gooferment can figure out how many schools we need\”. That is the economic calculation problem. We never hear anything about how many McDonalds we need. Because some uncompensated person has risked their capital to fulfill what they perceive as a need. See if we left education to parents, as we do food, clothing, and a myriad of other things, then we would know EXACTLY how many \”schools are needed\”. Of course, the Gooferment with its \”zoning regulations\” still interferes. That's why we have a McDonalds on Sand Hill and Route 1 where a jug handle should be. In closing, I know that I'll get the usual carping about \”libertarian looniness\”. But it is a real political and economic problem. It's wasteful to have politicians and bureaucrats making what should be economic decisions.
I wish we had that Austrian universal health care and that Austrian free education, K through university level.In 1978, a referendum voted approximately 50.5% against nuclear power, 49.5% for, and parliament subsequently unanimously passed a law forbidding the use of nuclear power to generate electricity.I wish we would do that in the US.Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity by hydropower. Together with other renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass powerplants, the electricity supply from renewable energy amounts to 62.89% of total use in Austria, with the rest being produced by gas and oil powerplants.Austria also has a very strong and large union movement. And yet it has one of the highest standards of living in the world, no masses of poverty stricken people as we have in the US.
I wish we had that Austrian universal health care and that Austrian free education, K through university level.In 1978, a referendum voted approximately 50.5% against nuclear power, 49.5% for, and parliament subsequently unanimously passed a law forbidding the use of nuclear power to generate electricity.I wish we would do that in the US.Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity by hydropower. Together with other renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass powerplants, the electricity supply from renewable energy amounts to 62.89% of total use in Austria, with the rest being produced by gas and oil powerplants.Austria also has a very strong and large union movement. And yet it has one of the highest standards of living in the world, no masses of poverty stricken people as we have in the US.
Sorry for the double posting of my last comment. For some reason, it did no show that my comment was posted so I posted again.I am a big fan of public schools and public libraries, they really are basic building blocks of our democracy, republic, democratic republic, representative democracy.I just cannot imagine a mind set that wants to do away with public schools and public libraries. It's alien to my way of thinking and to most Americans concept of what America should be.
*** begin quote ***public schools and public libraries, they really are basic building blocks of our democracy, republic, democratic republic, representative democracy.*** end quote ***Sorry, but I think you are confusing two very distinct things. And attributing to them results that are NOT deserved. First, with libraries, remember that the first American libraries were not created, nor funded, by the government. Second, \”public schools\” with their \”mandatory attendance\” are basically an importation of the Prussian concept. Remember the Progressives wanted good soldiers (cannon fodder) for the Army and workers for the factories. Public schools were not for the elites who were to lead the dumb sheep. (That's why the politicians and bureaucrats don't send their kids to public schools. Obama's children go where? As bad as Carter was, Amy went to public school.)Do you think that if libraries are valuable, people will not figure out a way to have them without using the guns of gooferment to extract the \”tribute\” necessary to have them? Donations, subscriptions, and fees will allow those who want it will sustain it. Without ripping off those who don't want it or don't care.DO you think if we don't have \”public education with mandatory attendance\” that children will not be educated? Do you think that if parents are poor, that there won't be free schools for their children to attend? (When I went to Catholic school in the Bronx, I know that there was reduced tuition for some of my classmates. No one really knew who they were.) Do you think that EVERY thing has to be done by the government using force on us?I can't imagine anyone who wants to use force — the guns of gooferment — to make us support what some decides is \”good for us; despite what we want\”. Dona Nobis Pacemfjohn
Hello boys!I think this well what l Alfred Doblin, editorial page editor is making possible on the subject and I find very interesting because if people do not think the same.