"Wes" wrote in message
...
"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.

NJ municipalities get 52% of their funding from property taxes. The national
average is 28%. Thus, we have the highest property taxes in the country,
averaging around $7,500 for a home.

We were on our way to property tax reform several times, with the best
prospects coming around the time Christie Whitman (R) was governor. But she
campaigned on a promise to cut income taxes, which she did. As a result,
property taxes went even higher.


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

It's always disconcerting to know there are people who are "sure" of things
like that. d8-)

--
Ed Huntress