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>May 26, 2010
The Reform Agenda: Changing Course in N.J.
By Gov. Chris Christie

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/05/26/the_reform_agenda_changing_course_in_new_jersey_105729.html

Fiscal Crisis: The Current Budget As An Example

As you all know, we have a fiscal crisis in New Jersey: a $10.9 billion deficit on a $29.3 billion budget.


At 37 percent, it’s the worst budget deficit percentage in America-worse than California, worse than New York, worse than Illinois-and we need to take bold steps to deal with it.


On March 16, we put forward a budget with $10.9 billion in reductions against proposed spending of the Corzine administration.

This was not easy to do, so I want to start off by saying that while I stand firmly behind the cuts we proposed, please don’t take my firm stance in favoring those cuts as meaning that I don’t know how painful they are.

Everybody would love to be governor in a time when you can just give things away and make everybody your friend and make everybody happy.

That’s not the time that I’m getting to be governor.

I feel an obligation to stand up and do what the people elected me to do, which is to get our government under control, and to start to reduce the amount of money that people have to pay to the government in taxes.

But if all we do is cut, and we don’t get at the underlying problem, we’re just going to be back in this spot year, after year, after year.

New Jersey Is On An Unsustainable Fiscal Course

Over the last ten years, municipal spending has grown by 69 percent, and property taxes have grown by 70 percent, until New Jersey property taxes are now the highest of any state in the nation.

This is an unsustainable course.

For nearly 30 years, the citizens of New Jersey have placed in the hands of politicians-mostly politicians from Trenton-the responsibility for fixing property taxes. And in every gubernatorial election since 1973, we’ve had folks dancing around this property tax problem, putting band-aids on it, but not doing a thing to address the structural issues that allow politicians to hike property taxes year, after year, after year.

We can’t increase municipal aid, increase aid to school districts, and increase property taxes without end. At some point, the people’s ability to pay runs out.

And now we’re there.

With property taxes up 70 percent in ten years, people in New Jersey are now voting with their feet, and they’re leaving.

Senior citizens are leaving the homes that they raised their families in, heartbroken because they can’t pay the property taxes anymore.

Young couples can’t buy their first homes, not because of home prices, but because of the property taxes.

And middle class families are suffering from 9.8 percent unemployment in New Jersey, the highest in the region-higher than Pennsylvania, higher than Connecticut, higher than New York. Many of them are finding that after they’ve lost their jobs, they’re going to lose their homes as well, because their property taxes got raised beyond their ability to pay.

In every poll you’ll ever see, New Jerseyans say our biggest problem is property taxes.

So how do we fix it?

The Centerpiece of the Solution: Cap 2.5

First and foremost, we have to impose discipline on every level of the political system. I propose that we start with Cap 2.5, a constitutional amendment to cap property tax increases at no more than 2.5 percent per year.

For 30 years, politicians in Trenton have been passing the buck, and property taxes have gone up and up and up. The people of New Jersey have had enough.

I believe in less government, lower taxes, and empowering local officials who act on behalf of the people who elected them. I came here to do what the people sent me to do.

That may lead to a disagreement or two. Just recently, I had a friendly little exchange with a reporter you might have seen….

But anyone who comes to this discussion talking about “you can’t cut this” and “you can’t cut that” who doesn’t have some way to pay for it besides jacking up property taxes is just joining that pathetic, 30-year tradition of passing along the problem for the next guy to deal with.

When we enact a constitutional amendment to limit property tax increases to no more than 2.5 percent across the board annually, we will have put in place the foundation for getting our fiscal house in order for the first time in a generation.

With that in place, then and only then can we begin to look at doing-in a sustainable way-what New Jerseyans want for urban revitalization, education, and every other big-picture issue.

Read the rest:

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/05/26/the_reform_agenda_changing_course_in_new_jersey_105729.html

>Ingle: Falling revenue could cause bigger cuts

If new revenue projections hold, there could be steep cuts above those already announced by the Christie administration.The Asbury Park Press obtained an analysis by the Office of Legislative Services saying taxes and other revenue for the budget year that ends June 30 will be $402 million less than expected. (Ingle, Gannett)
https://blogs.app.com/politicspatrol/2010/05/25/falling-revenue-could-cause-bigger-cuts/

>First, I have no connection to the RHS lax team and I would not consider myself a friend or “supporter” of Coach Pounds. But, I am reasonably knowledgeable about lacrosse and the players on the team this year.

Secondly, Coach Pounds does many things that hurt his program. For example, Ridgewood teams have a bizarre tradition of “honoring seniors” by playing them over underclassmen, rather than putting the best players on the field (regardless of their class). Pounds has followed this “tradition” on the lax team. On ANY Varsity team, the best players should be the starters and team leaders, PERIOD! He also doesn’t have definitive cuts at the start of the season, so underclassmen float “in limbo” between the Varsity and JV. This has a negative effect on the moral and spirit of these players and fails to fully develop their skills. The JV program historically has mediocre coaching and a weak schedule, thereby, ineffectively preparing the boys for the Varsity, which plays a very tough schedule. These “limbo players” would be better off getting more playing time on the JV and stepping into leadership roles, in preparation for their time on the Varsity, particularly if the coaching and schedule could be improved.

With that said, I am astounded by the negative comments from people on this blog, who clearly have no idea what they are talking about. Make no mistake. Noah Pounds is the MOST TALENTED lacrosse goalie at RHS. I understand that Pounds did not start him earlier in the season because he was concerned about the negative perception that might be created behind his son’s back (I guess he was right). I am sure that Pounds felt he was helping the team by putting “the best goalie” in the game. As a former college goalie, Pounds is well qualified to evaluate the skills of that position. Unfortunately, by not giving him the necessary preparation on the Varsity throughout the season, he probably did his son and the team a disservice.

The truth about this year’s team is that this senior class is one of the weakest in many years. Perhaps many of these boys tried to balance baseball, soccer and lacrosse every spring as youth players (an impossibility) and they never developed the skills necessary to compete at a top level in lacrosse (or the other sports). Or, maybe they just never dedicated the personal time and effort to improve their skills outside of practice and to develop an understanding of the game’s nuances. Whatever the reason, their lacrosse skills are weak. In general, the best players on the team are Juniors and Sophomores. Furthermore, there is no clear leadership on the team and very few players, in any grade, play with the passion needed to have a great season, let alone win championships. My understanding is that the coaches tried to address this all season, with little success. Unfortunately, that is something that is not easily coached. Generally a player has a burning desire to compete or he doesn’t. In my opinion, it has a lot to due with whether the player is coddled at home as a child or is taught the meaning of commitment and responsibility at an early age and whether he has older brothers, who played sports or not. This team did not demonstrate 100% commitment on or off the field (as evidenced by the drinking issues). These are the reasons why this team had an unsuccessful season this year…plain and simple. Armchair coaches (parents), who never picked up a lacrosse stick in their lives, need to find a scapegoat to explain their son’s frustration (the blame could never lie with their son). But, this is the reality.

Anyone, who suggests that a coach would intentionally lose a game to end the season early or punish players, has never played on a truly competitive team in any sport in his or her life. No coach would ever do this. Besides, while the coach may take the responsibility, it is generally the players, who determine the outcome of a game, not the coach. Grow up people!