Posted on 05/26/2010 5:32:20 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
New Jersey Governor Says He Has Residents Covered Through Fiscal Year 2011 Despite $800 Million Hole
RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBS) ―
New Jersey tax revenues have plummeted again, this time by nearly $800 million. But in a first for his fledgling administration Gov. Chris Christie is not calling for more painful cuts.
On the surface the news looked pretty grim for Garden State residents on Tuesday – thanks to an unanticipated drop in tax revenues of $402 million this year and $365 million next year.
But a new budget hole of nearly $800 million is not going to give Gov. Christie a single new white hair. At least this time, the governor's message is "gotcha covered."
"We're very confident we've been able to close the additional budget gap in (fiscal year) 2010 and in (fiscal year) 2011 we're going to be able to solve that problem without any new taxes at all and without any real significant cuts," Christie said.
Skipping the "fiscalese," what happened was the budget freeze imposed by Gov. Christie when he took office generated more savings than expected, enough to cover much of the lost tax money.
"I think we're going to be fine," Christie said.
Despite Tuesday's relatively good news negotiating a new budget with the Legislature remains a problem. Christie wants to slash education spending and enact other cuts. They want new taxes, preferably another millionaire's tax.
But Christie isn't going for any new taxes. He said New Jersey taxes have already been raised an unbelievable 115 times.
"We're not raising taxes, Marcia. That's it. It's not happening," Christie said.
How do residents feel?
"I'd rather see a tax on millionaires also. It's about time we stopped paying for everyone else," said Lionel Nazco of Carlstadt.
"Taxing the millionaires sounds great. The only concern I have is the millionaires have the ability to take their money and leave," added Anton Tsamas of Hackensack.
"I don't want to see the service cuts. I want to see the millionaire's tax," said Peter Brehm of Newton.
The governor and Legislature are supposed to reach a budget agreement by the end of next month. If not, they could end up like New York, which is now nearly two months into a budget stalemate.
It’s the Looter Mentality.
The redifine 'rich'.
Chris Christie for Director of OMB in 2012.
How weird that they could only find people who wanted to see the most productive penalized more.
This is a result of a generation of public sector hand-outs and the "I got mine" attitudes in NJ.
I've grown up here and it's a freaking liberal cesspool. Christie is the first governor in my lifetime that is talking sense to the public instead of blabbing the old lies about "helping the middle class". All that "help" was nothing more than pandering to unions for support and power consolidation in Trenton, but that's what the regular dumb-@ss voters in the cities want to hear.
NJ politicians all suck, but Christie is at least trying to right 30 years of fiscal wrongs. He may get slaughtered in the process, but at least he's trying.
Yes, that is a concern.. What to do, what to do...?
I know!
Build a giant wall. Call it, "the Berlin wall" (after Berlin, New Jersey) and don't let anybody out! Such a wall would fit in perfectly with the rapidly accelerating communist evolution of America, brought to you by idiots like New Jersey residents Tsamas, Brehm, and Nazco.
Thank God for Chris Christie. The decent humans are in charge, at least for awhile.
You, sir, are a f**king idiot.
Can we say “portly, ass-kicking 2012 dark-horse?”
Fixed it.
Those who say they want the millionares tax......who the heck do you think are supplying the jobs? If their taxes go up, who the HECK do you think are going to pay for those raised taxes????
JOB CUTS IDIOTS!!!
They come after the middle class & then fight among each other.
Can we say “portly, ass-kicking 2012 dark-horse?”
You read my mind.
Mentally I have paired him up with Paul Ryan.
Christie/Ryan 2012!!!!!!
Christie hearts gun control and illegal aliens. No thanks.
Christie hearts gun control and illegal aliens. No thanks.
The Corzine camp called him a “shill” for the NRA - so how bad can be really be?
Largely rhetorical because I know there’s not going to be a middle class when they’re done.
Living here in NJ (as you might also, Frenchtown Dan) I hear this a lot: “people are leaving NJ because of the high taxes.” I have looked for the statistics to support this assertion, because I’d love to be able to use it in conversations.
Unfortunately, I haven’t found any support for it. NJ has the third highest taxes in the nation *overall*, if you add in our high Federal Income Tax burden. That won’t change if people move out.
The last study I found (2007, http://blog.nj.com/statattack/2007/10/are_being_taxed_out_o.html) said that NJ’s taxes are 11.6%, which is the 10th highest in the nation, not the 1st.
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