Josh Marshall offers an interesting take on the GOP strategy of attacking Democratic presidential candidates that seems to make sense. The gist is that the substance of the attacks is not important — only plays to the committed conservative — so much as the attack itself and the response it engenders. A poor response creates the impression of a weak candidate, which dooms the candidate in the mind of voters.
Dispatches: A dream not yet realized
Dispatches is about the 45th anniversary of the March on Washington and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous address.
New Jersey: The debtor state
How bad are the state’s finances? Consider this report from The Star-Ledger:
New Jersey’s state debt swelled by almost $2.2 billion last year even as Gov. Jon Corzine campaigned to rein in borrowing, state officials have confirmed.
The additional borrowing pushes the state’s debt load to $32.9 billion. Including $3.6 billion in bonds being repaid with payments from a national settlement against cigarette manufacturers — which the state Treasury does not count in its debt calculations — the state’s total debt load is $36.5 billion, nearly triple the level of a decade ago.
State bond documents show that the bulk of the new debt run up last year was attributable to the state’s $8.6 billion school construction program and transportation projects.
The problem with debt, of course, is not debt itself. Some debt is inevitable — it simply makes no sense to upgrade or build new roads using general operating funds (most people don’t do that with their homes), or to build new schools or purchase parkland. These are longterm expenditures that will be of benefit not only to us but to future generations.
The problem is that the state’s debt also includes an array of borrowing designed to do little more than balance the budget.
The upshot of all of this, of course, is that debt repayment pinches other areas of spending.
Repaying the state’s debt is scheduled to cost about $2.8 billion this year, a jump of about $115 million over last year’s debt costs. But Corzine said his debt retirement plan will cut that tab by at least $130 million.
That’s $115 million that had to go to debt repayment in a flat budget that could have gone to other programs — or to tax relief.
That makes debt our No. 1 fiscal issue, one that has to be tackled to allow the state to do the other things that need to be done.
Signs of trouble on local roads
Whose bright idea was it to place the “No Turn On Red” sign behind the lane sign on Route 522 at Stouts Lane? The placement makes it difficult to see, making it likely that many will not follow the rules. Brilliant.
MSNBC gives Rachel her due
Rachel Maddow, who has done a tremendous job both as a guest and guest-host on Keith Countdown with Keith Olbermann, will now follow him on the cable channel with her own show. Great move by MSNBC.
Hank Kalet 