SmallGovTimes.comTaxpayers pay for government ineptitude By: Alan Burkhart | Published on 07/05/06 New Jersey is at a stalemate in regards to a new budget, and its government officially closed all nonessential operations on the morning of July 5th. The budget debate centers around a dispute between Governor Corzine and lawmakers over what to do with revenues from Corzine's proposed one percent sales tax hike. Corzine wants to use it to handle his budget shortfall. Some lawmakers favor using it to offset proposed reductions in New Jersey's property tax rates, which are the highest in the nation. This action also shuts down New Jersey’s casinos, since state law requires that a state inspector be present at all times in each casino. Let’s think this through a moment... New Jersey is facing a 4.5 billion dollar deficit on governor Jon Corzine's 31 billion dollar spending plan. New Jersey gets a cut from casino revenues. By shutting down the casinos, New Jersey is losing 1.3 million dollars per day and costing casino operators roughly 10 million dollars per day. The state was already losing 2.2 million dollars per day from lost lottery revenues. One would think that the casinos could scrape by for a few days without the assistance of government thugs hanging around watching for perceived improprieties. Why shut down a reliable source of revenue when you’re running short of money? This kind of logic only makes sense to politicians and bureaucrats. About half of New Jersey’s state employees, including state lottery, road construction, motor vehicle offices, vehicle inspection stations and courts have been told to stay home. That’s 45,000 people out of work. Why? Because the New Jersey legislature and Governor Corzine have failed to meet their constitutionally mandated deadline for a budget. Without a budget, the state has no means to spend money. The state police are presently working without pay. What does all this mean for the rank and file citizenry of the Garden State? State parks will be closed for a time, meaning a loss of revenue for the tourism industry. Some road construction, that not being done by private contractors, will come to a stop, meaning that pothole in front of your house may be there a little longer. If your driver’s license is about to expire, you may not get it renewed on time. You should hope that those New Jersey state troopers, doubtlessly already in a bad mood since they’re not getting paid, don’t take their frustration out on you. No need to worry about a ticket though - the courts are closed, too. The New Jersey state government has managed to shoot both itself and its citizens in the foot, and voters should be outraged. An efficient government (now there’s an oxymoron) would have contingency plans in place to deal with such a situation. A government that actually understands capitalism would never force casinos to close due to conflicts in which the casinos play no part. What about the casino workers who are out of work until this is resolved? What about non-government employees and employers whose pay depends upon the parks being open? New Jersey’s current troubles are a classic example of how poor management and political game-playing by any level of government adversely affects the people who pay their salaries. There’s an old saying that applies here… With politics, nothing works right. But without politics, nothing works at all. Sad, but true. Original URL: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/06jul05.taxpayers.pay.ineptitude/index.html |