Corzine – Page 8 – Hank Kalet

Lack of votes taking their tollon proposed toll hikes

Sometimes, when you write a column on a weekly deadline, the world moves and you’re left talking about things that have changed.

That appears to be what’s happened with the governor’s toll-hike plan, which he now is acknowledging is nearly death.

“I’m not conceding that it’s dead. On the other hand, I’m a realist. I don’t have 21 and 41 votes for this,” Corzine said, referring to the minimum votes he needs to push his proposal through the state Senate and Assembly.

The governor now says he is willing to listen to alternatives — he’s been saying that all along, but now actually seems serious about doing so.

Corzine said yesterday he will review a proposal by Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman John Wisniewski, the first detailed alternative to his plan.

“We’ll have to see what it actually accomplishes,” Corzine said. “But it’s a healthy addition to the dialogue. I’m searching for a solution that actually addresses the failed financial position of the state.”

The plan announced Wednesday by Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) would phase in an 18-cent increase in gas taxes over three years and consider privatizing the state Lottery. Under this scenario, tolls would rise by less than half of what the governor has proposed.

There are other options that, if considered, could be part of a more varied approach — income taxes, for instance. In any case, the toll plan as currently conceived seems on life support.

The other question that this raises is whether the governor will remove the toll plan from his budget calculations and how this might affect his planning.

Corzine had previously pledged to hold spending flat, a move that alone requires more than $2 billion in spending cuts.

“We can only spend the revenues we have, and details of the plan will come on Tuesday,” said Corzine spokeswoman Lilo Stainton.

Corzine said he still hopes to halve the state’s $32 billion debt. But his comments Thursday focused more often on investing in state infrastructure, the second of the two prime goals in his toll plan.

“We may not get everything I want with regards to these issues, but if we get a long way down that path, I think we will have made real change, a real contribution to both the present and the future of this state,” Corzine said.

It’s not a solution, but at least the issue of the state’s fractured finances is on the table. That’s more than we’ve gotten from anyone else in recent years.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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I hope the governor is not surprised

Poll numbers released today by Quinnipiac University show in statistical black and white that the governor’s toll hike plan is unpopular and that its unpopularity has voters in an ornery mood. The governor’s disapproval raiting is strikingly high — 52 percent, the highest of his term in office. (That said, he remains far more popular than President George W. Bush. But then most people are these days, with the possible exception of Roger Clemens.)

I can understand the numbers, though I do think they are a bit unfair. But that is politics. The governor is making a good-faith effort to fix a problem that has been growing for a dozen years, a problem that presents no easy or painless solutions. So he catches grief.

I agree that his toll plan is the wrong approach, but I also think he is being far more realistic than most of the elected officials in this state — and more realistic than most voters.

I keep having this same conversation with people. They complain about the plan, but offer the same cliched response — eliminate waste and corruption. I say, “great,” but how much of the budget do you think that accounts for?” No answer. Once you back out the debt, pension and other fixed payments, you’re left with maybe $15 billion in spending to tackle, maybe not even that much. If waste and corruption account for 10 percent — an absurdly generous assumption — you still manage to trim just $1.5 billion, about 40 percent of what would be needed to plug what has been a recurring hole. And it still leaves you dealing with future budgets.

I’ve said it before. We need to be realistic and we need to be comprehensive. Everything has to be on the table — streamlining government at all levels, cutting spending, redirecting money to where it is most necessary (antipoverty programs, for instance), reducing the local portion of the school tax bill by increasing school aid, cutting corruption, controlling debt. The list is endless, so we better get started.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Heavy lifting ahead on toll plan

The governor is pitching his debt and toll plan to the wrong people, as Alfred Doblin points out in this on the mark column.

Unless the governor can change the structure of the protests, he will lose the debate — even if he is better prepared and offers what may be the best financial rescue for New Jersey. The public doesn’t want tolls raised and does not distrust government to make substantial cuts.

Remarkably, Republicans are making this their issue. As if state Republicans played no part in under-funding state liabilities or ignoring the looming fiscal crisis.

The public has every right to doubt that the governor can cut spending significantly. But it is foolish to believe that opponents of the governor’s plan will cut spending either. Cutting taxes is painful. Cutting services is more painful. Cutting contractually agreed upon benefits from state workers is more than painful, it is litigious and costly. There is no easy or inexpensive way out.

Corzine would have been smarter to unveil his plan in stages. He spent a year crafting his plan. During that year, he could have cut $2 billion from the state budget, demanded that the Legislature authorize no new spending without a guaranteed recurring revenue source and insisted that the public vote on whether the state takes on unsecured debt.

There wouldn’t be pig balloons flying around Trenton in February if Corzine floated those balloons last spring. New Jerseyans believe the state is drowning in debt. But they also believe the state is weighed down by wasteful spending.

If the governor wants to get rid of the flying pigs, he has to first cut the pork to the bone.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Corzine: No MOM in Middlesex

The Home News Tribune is reporting that the governor has killed the MOM line — or at least the portion running through Jamesburg, Monroe and South Brunswick. A victory for common sense and New Jersey taxpayers.

“It will be the MO line, not the MOM line,” he said to applause from to an audience of Middlesex County residents.

Check the South Brunswick Post and The Cranbury Press pages on Packetonline for updates on Monday.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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The governor, the MOM line and toll hikes

The governor has placed what appears to be the MOM line on his list of mass transit priorities.

But what this means is anybody’s guess. The Asbury Park Press reported on Saturday that the governor was backing an engineering study of the rail proposal — cost: $250 million, a figure that seems absurd.

The state is not confirming the report and South Brunswick Mayor Frank Gambatese said this week that Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri, who was quoted extensively in the APP story, called him to say the governor had not endorsed MOM.

“He told me ‘don’t think the governor supports this,’” Mayor Gambatese said.

Mr. Kolluri did not return our calls this week, though Department of Transportation spokesman Joe Dee offered this statement:

”The governor continues to be a strong advocate for public transportation,” said Joseph Dee, Department of Transportation spokesman. “Currently, the MOM project is in the environmental study phase. It would be premature to discuss any other expenditures.”

Again, not exactly a definitive answer. Maybe, the governor can offer something more definitive this weekend, when he will take his debt restructuring road show to Hightstown on Saturday and East Brunswick on Sunday.

Here’s the schedule and how to make reservations:

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Hightstown High School, 25 Leshin Lane, Hightstown; To RSVP or call (609) 777-2513
Sunday, Feb. 10, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at East Brunswick High School, 380 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick; To RSVP or call (609) 984-9846

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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