Taxes are going up. And soon.
Gov. Corzine has proposed a budget that will attempt to tackle New Jersey's debt by raising taxes and cutting funding.
The College, as I assume many already know, will face major budget cuts if this budget is approved.
I will avoid the details - first, because math and I have an abusive relationship, and second because they were spelled out clearly in the two e-mails the College sent about the proposed budget.
The important thing here is the idea.
New Jersey does have a tremendous debt that should be addressed. However, taking money from education should be the absolute last resort. It is ludicrous that the state would consider taking money from higher education first because they fell into a rut.
Corzine has justified his budget by claiming that the cuts to higher education were "partly motivated by the financial scandal at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)."
UMDNJ deliberately overbilled Medicaid about $5 billion.
Granted, this is a terrible thing to do. But why is every state college in New Jersey being punished?
To justify taking millions of dollars from New Jersey colleges because of one university is idiotic. Corzine's logic falls apart at the slightest scrutiny.
Corzine has also justified the budget by playing to the apathy of the people of this state.
He has said that New Jersey has reached its "day of reckoning." He has harped on how wonderfully tragic it is that he has to be the one to make the tough decision to take money from higher education. He has whined about how sorry he is about the condition of New Jersey's budget.
With phrases like "day of reckoning," Corzine is turning a problem governments have faced for as long as they have existed into an epidemic. Reacting to fear and panic has hurt this country before, and now it threatens New Jersey in particular.
"I affectionately call this the Pepto-Bismol budget. It makes people sick to their stomachs," Assemblyman Joseph Malone (R-Burlington) said.
There is absolutely no reason to tolerate this. There is absolutely no reason for us to be "sick to our stomachs" and yet complacent.
I will not claim that the problem is easy or can be fixed quickly. I will only say that there must be a better alternative and that it is imperative that we challenge the people representing us to sit down, think and find it.
What about the millions of dollars that are wasted on roads that are never fixed? These roads are under construction for months - sometimes even years.
What about the millions of dollars lost in corruption scandals? New Jersey is infamous for corruption. Why not help keep the budget stable in the long run by addressing an issue that is constantly draining the state's budget?
Perhaps because that would put Corzine himself under scrutiny.
According to the conservative news Web site capitolhillcoffeehouse.com, Corzine gave "a half-million dollar loan (to) his ex-girlfriend, Carla Katz, who just happens to be the head of one of New Jersey's largest state workers unions." Eventually, the good governor was even nice enough to forgive the loan. How sweet.
How can Corzine justify this? How can he say that New Jersey has reached its "day of reckoning?" How can he be so audacious as to punish state colleges and universities because some dentists stole some money, while he does the very same?
By his own logic, his own budget should penalize him.
Where in your budget, Gov. Corzine, is the half-million dollars you owe this state?
It is unforgivable that Corzine would dish out money to his friends and take money from the people. He was elected by us and for us.
I have already contacted the senator and both assemblymen for the district in which I live, as well as Gov. Corzine himself.
If you give a damn, I recommend you do the same.
Information from - philly.com, capitolhillcoffeehouse.com
