( - promoted by JRB)
In the Legislature's pursuit of property tax reform, we have heard a great many ideas. Some, like the need for a new school funding formula, are real winners and get the support they deserve while others are so bad that we cannot forget them quickly enough.
Unfortunately, one of the worst ideas presented during this debate has managed to survive even in the face of broad public opposition. The idea of selling the New Jersey Turnpike was a dud from the beginning, yet it refuses to die.
Any plan to sell or lease the Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway or the Atlantic City Expressway puts the people of New Jersey at risk, both economically and security-wise, and simply changes how New Jerseyans are taxed, rather than getting to the core reasons for our high property taxes.
Any attempt to sell the New Jersey Turnpike or other major highways is simply a quick fix to our current financial woes. It embraces a "live for today" mentality and jeopardizes the long-term well being of our state's residents.
The Turnpike is both literally and figuratively the backbone of New Jersey. Many of our leading industries - shipping, oil refining and tourism - rely on safe, affordable, and easily accessible roads like the Turnpike to survive.
Without our highways, the Newark-Elizabeth port complex would not be the busiest port in the Northeast and New Jersey would not serve as the major gateway between the United States and the rest of the World.
Without our highways, visitors would not have easy access to the Jersey Shore, Atlantic City and all of New Jersey's natural wonders and beauty.
Without our highways, tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars would be lost to New Jersey's economy.
The New Jersey Turnpike belongs to the people of New Jersey. Our money, our homes and even some of our lives went into its construction. It makes little sense to put it at risk on a scheme that has failed to show success in Indiana and Chicago.
We are at a point where the need to develop a comprehensive transportation plan has become abundantly clear. Such a plan is not only essential to our future economic security, but also our homeland security. Abdicating control of the Turnpike to a foreign company would severely hamper our ability to make the type of infrastructure improvements we need.
We need control over our highways so that the State can be sure that the Turnpike grows and adapts to meet the constantly changing needs of the people of New Jersey. There is no guarantee that these updates will be made if we hand over the reins to a foreign corporation.
In many ways, plans to sell or lease our highways sound a lot like efforts for Dubai Ports World to take over port terminals in Newark and Elizabeth. I strongly opposed that deal just as much as I oppose any plans to lease the Turnpike - because New Jersey can't afford to have its major assets controlled by a foreign company.
No amount of money is enough for us to put the nation's homeland security at risk by letting foreign companies out for a profit manage the security threats that face our highways and ports. And in those cases where the safety of our people is threatened, we must have control of our major highways so that evacuations can be conducted quickly and efficiently. This is one area in which we can never be too cautious.
In the end, my greatest concern is the impact that leasing the Turnpike will have on toll rates.
Tolls are for the most part a hidden tax that people must pay simply to get to work every day. Without a doubt that tolls will go up under any lease plan, because there is no way for a private corporation to make a profit on current toll rates. New Jersey's working families can't afford this sort of shell game.
When you really consider the possibility of selling the Turnpike, it begs one question - what is the corporation going to do to make the road profitable and what is stopping us from taking those steps to see that profit on our own?
The Turnpike is already a financial boon to the State, taking no taxpayer money to run and contributing $12 million to the Transportation Trust Fund each year.
If there are ways to make the Turnpike more efficient and more profitable, then we should implement those changes immediately. But if this is just a way to raise tolls on our highways without having to take the blame for raising tolls, then we must pass on the idea.
Governor Corzine should heed the calls of the people of New Jersey to scrap any plan to sell our roads. What might seem like a good idea at Goldman Sachs isn't always in the best interests of the public. The quest for property tax relief shouldn't lead us to make horrible decisions that our grandchildren will pay for even when they are grandparents. |
