Garden State Patriot

Gee, I was so looking forward to that extra $13 a week from Obama’s ‘tax cut.’ Wait, what am I talking about? I am probably too ‘rich’ for that.

Well, anyway, even if I were to get Obama’s unbelievable windfall consider that wiped out because Governor Corzine is ready to take away my property tax rebate.

With his budget-cutting options dwindling, Gov. Jon Corzine is preparing plans to severely curtail or eliminate New Jersey’s popular property tax rebates for the coming year, multiple sources close to the governor said today.

The rebate checks to homeowners and tenants, which cost the state about $1.7 billion last year, represent one of the largest remaining non-essential spending items in the budget Corzine will present to the Legislature on March 10.

Way to make the tough choices there, Gov.

Cross-posted at Red County.

My latest from CWA!

With the Inauguration taking center stage on Tuesday, this little tidbit seems to have flown under the radar. On CNBC’s Squawk Box, Governor Corzine said that New Jersey may receive as much as $4 BILLION in ‘economic stimulus’ over the next 2 years. That’s $4,000,000,000.00. Just last week the Governor announced that he would be seeking at least $300M for FY2010, but somehow this figure has multiplied more than tenfold - across 2 years - in a mere matter of days. 

Heck, Obama’s Oval Office chair isn’t even warm yet but our groveling Governor is acting as if it’s a fait accompli. However, I have the feeling our fellow Americans, who are still stewing over the trillion dollar TARP fiasco, might not take so kindly to this news. At the least, it will add more fuel to the fire of a Governor’s race in New Jersey that is already expected to be quite heated.

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said the Garden State could receive close to $4 billion in federal stimulus money over two years to help pay for education and health care.

Appearing on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday, Corzine called the federal stimulus package being advanced in the House “quite substantial,” but warned that it won’t be a blank check.

“We ought to take this time and make sure we’re reforming government, so it’s not just a bailout,” Corzine said.

Well, sorry to break it to you, Governor, but it is a bailout.

This notwithstanding, how can this even be called a stimulus? Throwing money at education and health care will do little, if anything, to create jobs. In fact, let’s face it. The only job that’s at issue here is Corzine’s.

Suffice it to say, this year’s Governor’s race is going to be one to behold. Most assuredly, Obama will finally make his way to this state – one which he has heretofore had little use for – to bail out Johnny completely by trying to drag him over the finish line in November. Dare I say: ‘Bring it on!’

Fellow blogger ‘Kempite’ of the Politics 24/7 blog has an excellent commentary up at NJ.com regarding Corzine and his proposed budget ‘cuts.’ Recommended reading for sure. And as a Led Zeppelin fan anything that includes references to airships is certainly going to also pique my interest!

I’m no economist – and I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night – but I think I’m still smart enough to know that schools don’t create jobs. Ergo I found this little tidbit regarding the so-called stimulus that Corzine and his other Dem Governor brethren are seeking to be quite interesting:

Gov. Deval Patrick and four Democratic governors called on the president-elect to include $250 billion to support schools pre-K through college in the $1 trillion economic stimulus package.

“We think it’s critical to have a safety net investment for education,” said Patrick. “Schools are the one transformative investment that lifts people out of poverty and long-term reliance on the safety net. States have made tremendous progress in raising standards and in education reform and none of us wants to lose ground during this recession.”

In a conference call with reporters Patrick, Ted Strickland of Ohio, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Wisconsin’s James Doyle and David A. Paterson of New York, the governors outlined three major categories for the infusion of cash: infrastructure for shovel-ready projects, money for essential services such as Medicaid, welfare and food stamps and school funding – pre-K through college.

So, Corzine, et al, claim they want $1 trillion buckeroos to help their state’s economies during recession but they want to take a full 1/4 of that – $250 billion – and allot it to pre-K through college education?

Certainly enabling our young people to obtain a quality education is a worthy goal – and the merits of spending that much on education are a debate for another day – but it is hardly a stimulus for the economy to buy new desks for little Johnny and little Jane. Moreover, money shouldn’t be a factor in “raising standards” or “education reform.”

Let’s take this again for what it is: a group of Governors unwilling to make the really hard choices for their state’s budgets, after having spent far too much, and now simply waiting for a handout from Obama when he takes office.

The Governor just announced today that he is planning to cut $2.1 billion from the state’s budget. The budget gap appears to be growing by the second as what was thought to be a $1.2 billion shortfall is now $900 million larger. Next year’s budget gap is anticipated to be a mind-boggling $5 billion and one now has to wonder if that, too, will only be worse.

The Governor is promising details this afternoon – perhaps a direct reaction to being sued by GOP lawmakers – but we are dubious. After all, the Governor keeps pushing for $1 trillion ’stimulus’ to help bail him and other Governors out of their budget messes and wants to put off his budget speech until mid-March. (Note: Notice how all these Governors with their hands out to Obama are Democrats in blue states: Wisconsin, Ohio and Massachusetts being the others.)

As pointed out at In The Lobby:

So now the governor says he wants to delay the budget speech until March 10, so he can take advantage of whatever belated Christmas gifts Barack Obama plans to give him.

But here’s what’s more interesting: State Treasurer David Rousseau told the Star-Ledger in the same article that “the move is also needed because treasury officials are running four to six weeks behind schedule trying to plug a $1.2 billion hole in the current budget.”

Here’s our question: Hasn’t Gov. Corzine been assuring us all along that he has this under control? That his Cabinet identified $400 million in savings in the fall, and another $400 million since? And wasn’t there some $600 million surplus as well?

But if the governor hasn’t figured out how to plug the $1.2 billion deficit that he already has, then what business does he have spending more money from the state budget, even if it’s for a stimulus package?

How can we spend money we don’t have?  Aren’t we already in the red?

Isn’t this what got us in trouble in the first place?

And if the administration is having this much trouble with $1.2 billion, how in the world will they handle the $5 billion deficit that’s expected in next year’s budget?

Economic crisis. Billion dollar budget gaps. The looming specter of budget cuts, state worker layoffs draconian tax increases. Yet, Governor Corzine finds $6M to make sure we, and our children, can safely cross the street. After all, without his help we couldn’t possibly do that all on our own.

Gov. Jon Corzine today announced the New Jersey Department of Transportation will award $4 million in Safe Routes to School grants and $2 million in Safe Streets to Transit grants.

“These programs are critical components of New Jersey’s 5-year pedestrian safety program,” Corzine said. “Providing kids and commuters with safe facilities to walk and ride their bikes can encourage mass transit use, improve quality of life and prevent childhood obesity.”

NJDOT’s 2008 Safe Routes to School initiative will provide grants of $8,000 to $300,000 for projects in 33 municipalities. The grants will be used for local projects to encourage children to walk and bike to school, including the creation of safer walkways, bikeways and street crossings near schools.

The Safe Streets to Transit program helps counties and municipalities improve access to transit facilities and all modes of public transportation. The initiative will provide grants to 15 municipalities statewide that will help install and upgrade sidewalks, pedestrian barriers and improve lighting and drainage on roadways upon which transit facilities are located.