Will November Be Too Late?
The Growing Public Doubt

I am dumbfounded by Governor Corzine's toll monetization plan. The citizens of New Jersey are pleading with him to end the gimmicks and borrowing, cut waste and spending, and lower taxes. His reply? "When pigs fly".

NJ 101.5

Instead, his monetization plan painfully increases taxes (aka tolls), then immediately borrows against them, and even adds to the government bloat by adding tolls to an existing free road and creating a new agency (the Public Benefit Corporation). How many salaries and pensions will that add to our state burden?

The governor calls this plan the "least painful" option. To whom? If he thinks raising the gas tax by 45 cents is too painful to consider, then how can he justify raising the toll-tax the equivalent of several dollars per gallon? I guess what he means by "least painful" is to his political career, since his plan only abuses a minority of voters. This is a blatant abuse of democracy.

Yes, toll-road commuters will be hit hardest by this grossly unfair plan, but it goes way beyond that. This will raise the price of virtually everything we buy, from soup to nuts, for all New Jersey citizens, our neighbors, and anyone on the eastern seaboard who receives goods by truck.

As for dumping a larger share of the burden on out-of-state drivers, oh sure, it's easy to tax those without representation. But forcing out-of-state drivers to balance our budget is nothing short of highway robbery.  Besides, I suspect they already bring more money into our economy than they burden it. If the Governor disagrees, feel free to show us the study.

His plan will increase congestion and pollution on all the secondary roads because many people won't be able to afford the tolls, which will eventually be higher than the gas itself. Shouldn't we be encouraging people to take the most direct route instead of the other way around?

Reminiscent of "Florio Free in 93", I hear calls to "remember in November". Unfortunately, if Corzine succeeds in ramming his plan through, the next election will be too late - the money will be borrowed and spent by then, and the ramifications felt for the next 75 years. We can't let this happen. Do I hear...?

And yes, Governor, I do have a suggestion: Stop the gimmicks and borrowing, cut spending by reducing wasteful bureaucracy, and lower taxes. How? Eliminate tolls, don't add more. This is the ONLY plan that will lower our overall tax burden by actually reducing bureaucracy. I'm sure the Governor is dumbfounded by this concept. That's the problem with politicians - they value state assets only in terms of how much money they bring in.  It is not. The real value of the Turnpike and Parkway is measured by the people and commerce they move. As for how to pay for them without tolls, that's easy. Just balance what our roads need with the gas tax. Then everyone will be paying equally and fairly for the same service, and nobody can complain.

- Jim Padykula

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