Author: hankkalet

The governor apparently isn’t just posturing. He has ordered a special session of both houses of the Legislature for July 4, a day when most of us will be chowing down on chicken wings and hanging in the pool. He said at a news conference earlier today that he had hoped to have a budget to sign, but

“there is no budget to veto, no budget to amend, and there is no budget to sign. We should end this failure to act in an expeditious and disciplined manner.”

The Associated Press is reporting that the governor will push a compromise plan offered several weeks ago by Senate President Richard Codey:

Codey’s compromise involves using half the $1.1 billion that would be raised by the sales tax increase to ease the state’s highest-in-the-nation property taxes. The Senate president predicted the plan would pass the Legislature if considered, but Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts, D-Camden, has rejected it. Roberts has been leading opposition to the sales tax increase.

The compromise is not perfect — as several papers have pointed out, using the sales tax to reduce property taxes without undertaking a systemic review and reform plan is like taking money from your front pocket and putting in your back one — but it does avoid most of the one-shot gimmicks and other nonsense that state lawmakers have been so fond of over the years.

The problem here is that the Assembly majority has focused only on the budget’s political impact, while the governor has been — rightly — unwilling to let politics rule the day. It has been more than 100 days since the governor unveiled his budget with a challenge to all involved to come up with a better plan. In response, the Assembly Demcorats aligned with Majority Leader Joe Roberts have offered only more of what created this mess in the first place.

As Steve Adubato writes on NJPolitics.com, Gov. Corzine:

proposed this budget over 100 days ago. He told legislators that if they disagreed, they should come up with alternatives to bring in much needed revenue. Assembly Democrats did nothing until just a few days ago when they put forth a flimsy budget proposal that relies on one-shot revenues and gimmicks.

These are the kinds of fiscal actions that have caused such insanity in Trenton for too long. Corzine said “enough is enough.” No more gimmicks. No more one-shots. He said revenues must match expenditures. What a radical idea in a state house filled with politicians who have gotten away with murder for too long by borrowing against the future, playing dangerous games to artificially balance the budget. In my book, Jon Corzine is far from perfect. But he is the most responsible and decent elected governor New Jersey has had in a long time.

And now, at this point, the best any of us can hope for is that a budget gets approved and the state to get back to work without pushing off the day of reckoning again.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

The Washington Post calls it right in this editorial, lambasting senators for their politicking around the flag. The debate surrounding an amendment to ban desecration of the flag, the paper said, “managed to bring out some of the worst in politicians of both parties.” There was “the smarmy statement” issued by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who essentially accused the handful of princpled senators who voted against the amendment, of disresepcting the country and the people fighting overseas.

“Old Glory lost today,” Mr. Frist said, starting on a low note and heading lower. “At a time when our armed services are defending America’s freedom in the war on terror, it’s unfortunate that a minority of my colleagues blocked this amendment.” We don’t know which is more repugnant: Mr. Frist’s cynical invocation of troops “defending America’s freedom” as an excuse for limiting freedom of speech or his insinuation that it was dirty filibuster-like tactics that killed the amendment when, in fact, the Constitution requires a two-thirds vote.

The majority leader went on to inveigh against the “activist Supreme Court decision” that invalidated flag-burning laws. Perhaps Mr. Frist should read the ruling — or at least take a look at the lineup. Among the “activists” in the five-justice majority was archconservative Justice Antonin Scalia. after the amendment’s defeat.

Not that the politicking came only from the right. Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid voted for the amendment saying he did so because he was confident it wouldn’t pass. “Not exactly a profile in courage,” the paper wrote.

The roll call of bad votes includes our own junior senator, Robert Menendez, who backed the amendment and who happens to be running for re-election. Think the two are related?

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

So far, the impa t of Saturday’s state government shutdown has been minimal, but after the holiday who knows. This should have surprised no one. Nor should the battle between the governor and Assembly Democrats given the state’s allergy to tax hikes and its unwillingness to act in a fiscal manner.

But there is no way to fix this mess without some kind of newly recurring revenues — hence, the governor’s sales tax hike.

Here are a couple of good editorials on the shutdown from The Record and The Star-Ledger.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

Apparently, South Brunswick is not the only town hiring lobbyists. Doesn’t make it right.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

Someone send me some medication. Something must be wrong with me. I agree — or mostly agree — with Charles Krauthammer. There is a need to bring the Sunnis into the Iraqi government, which will require a declaration of amnesty for insurgents.

This doesn’t mean I think we should stay in Iraq. We must leave, and as quickly as possible. Let the Iraqis — with help from the United Nations and money from us — make their own decisions and begin the hard work of rebuilding their war torn nation.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press