I'm beginning to think more highly of Corzine.

[NNadir]

Because I love New Jersey, I have been opposed to the fiscal tricks that are used to obscure fiscal reality.

Of course, I voted for Corzine, and never even considered doing otherwise, but I wasn't convinced he was the best Democrat available for the job. I didn't approve of what he did with his Senate seat and the risk at which he put the Democratic Party.

But as a liberal, I believe that taxes are something you pay to live in a civilized society. I think Corzine is showing a quality that is needed, courage. I hope he does in fact, make our financial future in this state safer.

[FogerRox]

1. He could do what BLoomberg did, raise taxes on the rich

Make NJ's tax system truly progressive. His tax proposal is regressive, and I am against it. He could do better, and he still may..... the deal is not done yet.

[ramapo]

2. He needs to do both

I realize the sales tax increase is regressive but the money has to come from someplace. I think there should be additional luxury taxes, etc. but I don't think the fiscal problems can be resolved that simply.

I too applaud Corzine's courage for sticking with the sales tax increase. Let the legislature come up with a plausible alternative, one that does not involve gimmicks like selling off the highways.

USA Today had an article a week or two ago detailing the many deals afoot across the country that involved selling off some public asset or other as a means to resolve fiscal shortfalls. Made me want to barf.

How I yearn to hear a politician utter NNadir's responsible words, "Taxes are something you pay to live in a civilized society". I am so sick of the decades-long nonsense that has left the American people with the belief that you can cut taxes and increase services (especially defense services) without consequence. In other words, pay a little bit for breakfast and then get a free lunch, dinner, and dessert. It just defies commonsense and logic.

[FogerRox]

3. I agree:

"one that does not involve gimmicks like selling off the highways"

It may be that most of the gimmicks have been used up. Florio was right, but paid the price.
Whitman was wrong, McGReevy didnt help, Codey treaded water, Now its 14 years later, And Jon Corzine is in it up to his neck.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

9. Florio was one of the reasons (of many) that I became a Democrat

He wanted to equalize the educational system money in NJ, (I have and will never complain about my tax dollars going to education, never had kids, but paid them still the same), he also got stuck with Keane Seniors, robbing of the State workers pension funds IIRC(that really got me going Democratic, yes, born, bred and beaten Republican ), Keane was a big push away from the Republicans.

[mcscajun]

12. Just to clarify, it's from Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Taxes are what we pay for a civilized society" - Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, 1927.

[NNadir]

4. This is what my wife argued.

I don't have a problem with that either.

But we all need to make sacrifices, all of us. We cannot insist that our children eat our irresponsibility.

[FogerRox]

5. I would offer that a transfer of wealth has occured

From the Working and middle classes to the Wealthy. In thier hobbled condition, the Working and middle classes are not in a position to pay, very much. TO Correct it the RIch must pay. FDR understood this.

[NNadir]

7. Well you have a point.

However many people in the working and middle classes did vote for Whitman, Bush et al.

Another fact of life is that you must pay for your own actions.

[rusty charly]

6. y'notice:

when bush does things voters don't like, he's bold and doesn't care about polls and believes in what he's doing.

when corzine does it the nj press slaughters him.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. Currently, I'm pissed off with the slandering of Menendez.

I really hope him the re-election. Menendez is a good man. He was a friend of the family and I trust him.

[I_Make_Mistakes]

10. Quite honestly, I truly believe (and both parties have 'em, just one

way more than the other), that the financial elites (most of which are liars, cheaters and thieves) are truly living in a bubble in Washington, and that bubble is about to burst and they are going to be floored!

I am completely dedicated this election cycle (06/08) to the Democratically elected Primary candidate (to minimize the bleeding, both literally and figuratively), but after the Dem's regain power, look out!

There is a true Democratic movement to move progressively (forward) that will have to be reconciled with after that. If you are entrenched and not fighting the good fight (Lieberman) lookout, the ides of March are upon you.

Edit to add:

Did you see the debates between M and K? Who was Keane looking at and nodding to the whole time?
I hope I am not steeping in poop (does he have a mental disability? If so, I'd want to flagellate myself), because he came across like a robot that was programmed (not the kind of guy you would like to have a beer with ).

Watch the debates, how many people do you know that speak like that? I honestly, have known no one that says, 2,3,4 words, then stops. There was no message that he could deliver, because he didn't speak in phrases yet sentences.

It might be KR to the max, no sound bytes, it just might byte them in azz, because they look so zombie. (Yes, I intentionally spelled byte that way!).

[LynneSin]

11. My heart goes out to New Jersey and Jon Corzine

Nothing personal, but your state is screwed fiscally. Property taxes are through the rough and the budget has got to be out of control especially with footing the bill for Homeland Security in a state with a high risk for potential terroristic threats.

Corzine is going to be very unpopular after this is done but I think in the long run this will be good for New Jersey - get the budget under control in hopes of one day being able to bring down property taxes. One can only wonder how Florio's budget would have affected NJ if Whitman didn't come in there and get rid of all those taxes. Perhaps NJ might be in a state today where they could start offering tax breaks.

[mcscajun]

13. Corzine is cool to taxes on the rich, and the Legislature is cool to

sales taxes (the ones that hit everybody else.)

Nobody's budging an inch...this is going to be ugly very soon.

[LynneSin]

14. I lived with 6% sales tax most of my life

People will survive. Of course now I live in Delaware - we have no sales tax :woohoo: And I hate to say it - stuff like that affects our border states because you'd be suprised at how filled the parking lots are with out-of-state cars

[NNadir]

15. One fallback position Corzine could take is to raise income taxes.

You've hit the nail on the head by noting this originated with Whitman.

She was a piece of shit. New Jersey bears responsibility though, for buying into it. We shouldn't have done so.

[rusty charly]

16. New Jersey’s budget woes can be traced back nearly a decade.

In 1997, then-Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (R) plugged a budget shortfall -- caused in part by her tax cuts -- by issuing $2.8 billion in bonds to cover long-term liabilities in the pension system. The bond proceeds were deposited into pension funds and then invested in the stock market just as the dot-com bubble began to inflate.

The assets in the pension funds mushroomed, allowing the state to skip annual payments of more than $600 million for employee benefits. The Legislature also approved a huge increase in pension benefits for workers and retirees in 2001 based on analyses that there were sufficient assets to pay for them with no additional cost to taxpayers.

http://www.stateline.org/live/ViewPage.action?siteNodeId=136&languageId=1&contentId=103969

But when the stock market tanked and asset levels fell to the point where the state was required to resume making payments, state revenues also had tanked. There was no money to make the payments, which by that point were more than $750 million a year.

[Berzerkley]

17. Too many local governments for such a small state

I think one of problems is that New Jersey has too many municipalities for such a small state, many of which operate their own police department, fire department, school administration, etc. We live in a state that has traditionally thought at a very local level. I remember reading somewhere that here in Bergen County; we have more fire trucks than all of New York City, despite having like one tenth of the population of the city. I wish the state government would look and see if some local services could be consolidated between neighboring towns and eliminate redundancies without degrading service. I think Corzine has mentioned this before, which is good.

[flyarm]

18. actually i am hearing all my repub neighbors applauding Corzine

for his fiscal responsibility to the state..quite the opposite of what i expected..in fact they seem to love what Corzine did more than dems!!

they think he has giant balls!!

fly

[LynneSin]

19. What is it about Menendez you were concerned about?

He voted against botht he Iraq war resolution and patriot act. If anything, I would think this is the type of democrat that we've been fighting to get into office.

[NNadir]

20. I'm a Rush Holt guy. By far, a vast amount actually, Holt was the best

choice for the Senate - if the sole goal of the appointment is trying to have an outstanding Senator.

This country needs more people like Holt . He is just too outstanding for words, extremely intelligent (he is a nuclear physicist by training), compassionate, fair, intuitive, frank, principled, honest, liberal and clean. I've seen him speak, and I understand that his main motive for being in politics is pure patriotism, the belief that he can make his country live up to its ideals.

Of course I will vote for Menendez, but frankly, it was, in my view, not the best choice to select him over Holt.

Of all the congressman I have ever seen - and I'm getting to be an old guy - Rush Holt is the only one that I felt should be President of the United States. And that, I think, is the problem. Holt in the Senate would become a national figure and he would represent a threat to any New Jersey politician who envisioned himself as a potential President, including John Corzine. Holt is just that good.

Corzine is the best governor we've had in many years, with the possible exception of the short tenure of Richard Codey. But I feel that a lot of what he does is motivated by pure politics and by pure ambition. This is just my opinion, but if he was motivated by what is best for the country, and best for New Jersey, Rush Holt would today be Senator Holt.