"Ed Huntress" wrote:

Btw, Chris Cristee was on Fox today, I like that guy. New Jersey might
have hope yet.

Yes, he's likeable, and probably what we need right now. Whether it will
improve things remains an open question but I'll go along with him. At the
very least, we'll find out one way or the other how much austerity will work
at the state level.

I believe he has a tough fight on his hands. Swartzenager pretty much lost his fight.


He's trying something that we've never tried before, at the federal level or
in this state: He's not only slashed the state budget, but he's also put a
cap on property tax increases. That means the schools will be bled from both
ends. I'm not expecting it to be tolerated for long but at least it gets the
forces on both sides moving and acting. People could come to blows over
this.

Property taxes might have made a lot of sense back in the days of agricultural communities
as a form of progressive taxation to provide for a common benefit to the local society.
The larger farmers having more land made a larger contribution.

I would prefer property taxes be kept low and school funding be made by state sales taxes.
Sales taxes capture revenue from everyone including the underground economy.

I say this as a former township treasurer that was responsible for collecting property
taxes. Property taxes are hard on the elderly with finite resources and are a perverse
disincentive to improving one's home.

As to people coming to blows, if there is a union involved, I'm sure there will be
violence.

Wes