>Are these guys really this dumb?

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N.J. Assembly reviews budget analysis showing $605M shortfall

Posted by cdelacru April 07, 2009 21:26PM

With Gov. Jon Corzine’s proposed state budget facing a possible $605 million shortfall and state workers across New Jersey protesting his plan to save money by furloughing them, lawmakers spent time today debating this question: Are New Jersey residents taxed too much?

Members of the Assembly Budget Committee — all up for re-election this year — took turns either praising or picking apart Corzine’s $29.8 billion budget proposal.

And state Treasurer David Rousseau, who appeared before the committee for the first time since Corzine’s March 10 budget address, got caught up in the political arguments.

Rousseau, in his introductory remarks, said the Corzine administration is bringing “property tax growth under control.”

When Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington) asked Rousseau if he thinks New Jersey residents are “overtaxed,” the treasurer paused, said “no,” and then said that while New Jersey property taxes are among the highest in the country, the state has relatively low income taxes on the middle class and provides quality schools and other services.

“I think that anybody, everybody up there (on the committee), believes that they would like to pay lower taxes, but there’s a choice between how we tax and what we provide,” Rousseau said. “We also provide a lot more services than other states provide.”

Malone suggested there is a “disconnect” between the public and state government when it comes to taxes.

Rousseau responded: “I don’t think there’s a disconnect. I think there’s a frustration over the level of taxation in this state, but again, how do you deal with that? Do you cut services? The only way to cut taxes right now is to cut services either at the state level (or) the local level.”

Two Democratic committee members later came back to the same topic after Republicans criticized the treasurer’s statements in a news release issued during the meeting.

Assemblyman Joe Cryan (D-Union), who is also chairman of the Democratic State Committee, asked Rousseau if he thinks property taxes “are fine.”

“No, and actually my statement says the rate of growth is under control,” Rousseau said.

Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) said it’s a legislator’s job to “feel the pain” of state taxpayers.

“I just want to make sure that people not walk away thinking that you’re cold or callous or anything else,” Schaer said. “You do obviously feel the pain and we appreciate your sensitivity.”

The political discussions left little time for lawmakers to ask Rousseau about how he could cure a possible $605 million gap in revenues that was outlined Monday and again today by David Rosen, budget and finance officer for the nonpartisan state Office of Legislative Services.

If Rosen’s analysis holds true, Corzine would have to either raise taxes or make more cuts to a budget that already reduces spending by $3 billion.

One of those plans to reduce spending — enacting a wage freeze and unpaid furloughs for state workers to save more than $400 million — drew protests from the Communications Workers of America outside the Statehouse and at two dozen other sites across the state.

“In our case, they reneged upon our contract we had agreed to,” said David Weiner, president of CWA Local 1081 as several dozen union members picketed county offices in Newark. “They want us to give up the last two years of the contract. It’s unfair. We’re hard working men and women and we shouldn’t have our wages and our salaries threatened because of conditions we didn’t create.”

The CWA is one of several unions suing to stop the furloughs of state workers and other government employees. An appeals court panel is scheduled to hear the case on April 16.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/state_assembly_debates_state_b.html