Asbury Park Press Op-Ed: Budget cuts not the only option
Sunday, June 26, 2011
by Bill Holland
Contrary to Gov. Chris Christie’s self-described “combative” style, his approach to the state budget has too often been about passing the buck.
Last year, to pay for his tax cut for millionaires, he shifted the burden of providing essential services to New Jersey’s communities. After the state Supreme Court decided that his cuts to schools had violated the constitutional rights of New Jersey students, Christie washed his hands of the budget and placed the ball entirely in the Legislature’s court. But whether legislators are prepared to fill that void in leadership will be tested as they take action this month on the state budget.
As they do so, it is critical that they keep two points in mind. The first point is that the impact of the governor’s cuts has been deep, broad and severe. Everywhere around the state, working families are paying more and getting less for it.
Over the last year, property taxes have spiraled upward by $1 billion, or 4 percent for the average homeowner. Meanwhile, homestead rebates are just a fraction of their 2009 levels, and hollow promises by the governor to double the rebates in exchange for state worker concessions would raise them just a fraction higher. Everywhere in New Jersey tuition is more expensive, bus and train fares are up, and parents must now pay out of pocket for their kids to play sports or join clubs.
At the same time, Christie’s budget cuts have weakened critical services and are already compromising quality of life in the state. In Newark and Camden, crime is rising as a result of mass layoffs of police officers and first responders. Residents are threatened, economic development is stunted and long-term prosperity has been jeopardized.
Cuts to schools have reaped similar results. Though a recent Supreme Court order to restore funding was limited to 31 historically challenged Abbott districts, the fact-finding conducted by Superior Court Judge Peter Doyne found that the governor’s cuts are preventing 205 schools from meeting core curriculum standards. It’s a story told in anecdotes throughout New Jersey, from larger class sizes in Freehold Regional to the canceled after-school and summer programs in Neptune.
The only segment of the population that has not been called on to sacrifice over the last year is the very wealthy. They received a significant tax cut when the fiscal year 2010 surcharge expired.
The second point is that Christie has presented a fundamentally false choice to legislators and the working families of New Jersey. He has cast budget cuts as the only available choices. In doing so, he’s pitting seniors against students, urban residents against suburban, and state workers against homeowners. But the truth is that fighting for scraps is not the only option. There are better choices our elected officials could make.
Better Choices for New Jersey, a broad coalition of more than 70 community groups representing students, teachers, workers, and communities of faith, together has identified $1.5 billion in new revenue and savings that could restore funding to vital services and prevent the deeper cuts included in the governor’s proposed budget. Restoring the millionaires surcharge, closing corporate loopholes and ending corporate giveaways would allow legislators to restore funding to education, property tax relief, mass transit, higher education and affordable health care programs.
As legislators decide on a final budget, we urge them to reject Christie’s false choice and his so-called “new normal” by adopting a balanced, responsible approach that asks for real shared sacrifice from all New Jerseyans — including the state’s richest residents and corporations — and lays the groundwork for an economic recovery all can share in.