Shortsighted Republicans
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Published in The New York Times July 15th, 2007 |
July 15th, 2007 By Opinions Editor |
The Republicans intend to make a campaign issue out of Gov. Jon Corzine’s nascent scheme to lease the turnpike and other assets to help New Jersey ease its debt. This may be good politics, but it is bad government. By mounting a sustained attack on the idea before Mr. Corzine unveils it and explains it any detail, the Republicans may doom for years to come any prospect of dealing with the state’s long-term fiscal crisis.
That would be disastrous. More than 7 percent of the revenue in the state budget adopted last month is earmarked for interest and principal on the state’s mounting debt, a burden that will long endure unless Republicans and Democrats alike come up with a serious way out.
Mr. Corzine has said he will propose what he calls a monetization program to help bail the state out of its debilitating $30 billion debt. The plan reportedly calls for leasing major state assets — the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, the lottery — to a new independent public corporation. That entity in turn would sell bonds to pay down the state debt and, over time, would pay off the bonds with revenue earned from the state assets.
Relegated for years to an impotent minority, Republicans have seized on the issue as a magic elixir for a fall campaign in which every legislative seat is up for grabs. Using a version of the old tactic of negatively defining their opponents before the opponents define themselves, Republicans say the Corzine plan will lead to higher tolls, unfilled potholes, a reduction in highway patrols and a giveaway to private corporations.
The Republicans have offered no alternatives of their own, and Mr. Corzine indignantly insists that none of their warnings are true except for the likelihood of higher tolls.
Mr. Corzine is not without fault here, because by waiting so long to issue a detailed plan he gave the Republicans time to organize their counterattack. The plan was supposed to have been unveiled last spring, but that timetable was sidetracked by Mr. Corzine’s car accident. The governor is now pleading for more time to work out details, including the tax status of the new corporation. The Republicans say he is stalling to avoid debating the issue during the campaign, and that his real intention is to spring it on the Legislature in a lame duck session after the election.
In short, Mr. Corzine has not only failed to provide supporting detail for his plan but he has also failed to keep it from becoming a political hot potato. Many Democrats are now joining the Republicans in mobilizing against it, and rank-and-file voters, surveys suggest, are at best lukewarm.
There are two big dangers here. One is that the plan will not get a hearing on its merits. The other is that, absent a concrete idea on the table to argue about, there will not be the kind of serious, sustained discussion this state needs about its fiscal problems. The obvious alternatives to the governor’s plan are raising taxes or making deep cuts in state programs, but neither has much appeal in the antitax, pro-special-interest climate that now dominates Trenton.
And that, in turn, leaves New Jersey with the gloomy long-term prospect of spending 7 percent of each taxpayer dollar every year just to pay off debt. A much better option would be for Mr. Corzine to release his plan quickly and for all New Jerseyans, including the candidates, to give it the consideration this issue demands.
That would be disastrous. More than 7 percent of the revenue in the state budget adopted last month is earmarked for interest and principal on the state’s mounting debt, a burden that will long endure unless Republicans and Democrats alike come up with a serious way out.
Mr. Corzine has said he will propose what he calls a monetization program to help bail the state out of its debilitating $30 billion debt. The plan reportedly calls for leasing major state assets — the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, the lottery — to a new independent public corporation. That entity in turn would sell bonds to pay down the state debt and, over time, would pay off the bonds with revenue earned from the state assets.
Relegated for years to an impotent minority, Republicans have seized on the issue as a magic elixir for a fall campaign in which every legislative seat is up for grabs. Using a version of the old tactic of negatively defining their opponents before the opponents define themselves, Republicans say the Corzine plan will lead to higher tolls, unfilled potholes, a reduction in highway patrols and a giveaway to private corporations.
The Republicans have offered no alternatives of their own, and Mr. Corzine indignantly insists that none of their warnings are true except for the likelihood of higher tolls.
Mr. Corzine is not without fault here, because by waiting so long to issue a detailed plan he gave the Republicans time to organize their counterattack. The plan was supposed to have been unveiled last spring, but that timetable was sidetracked by Mr. Corzine’s car accident. The governor is now pleading for more time to work out details, including the tax status of the new corporation. The Republicans say he is stalling to avoid debating the issue during the campaign, and that his real intention is to spring it on the Legislature in a lame duck session after the election.
In short, Mr. Corzine has not only failed to provide supporting detail for his plan but he has also failed to keep it from becoming a political hot potato. Many Democrats are now joining the Republicans in mobilizing against it, and rank-and-file voters, surveys suggest, are at best lukewarm.
There are two big dangers here. One is that the plan will not get a hearing on its merits. The other is that, absent a concrete idea on the table to argue about, there will not be the kind of serious, sustained discussion this state needs about its fiscal problems. The obvious alternatives to the governor’s plan are raising taxes or making deep cuts in state programs, but neither has much appeal in the antitax, pro-special-interest climate that now dominates Trenton.
And that, in turn, leaves New Jersey with the gloomy long-term prospect of spending 7 percent of each taxpayer dollar every year just to pay off debt. A much better option would be for Mr. Corzine to release his plan quickly and for all New Jerseyans, including the candidates, to give it the consideration this issue demands.
