| But they still want to believe in the Democrats, and want the Dems to run the show. They sent a clear message that they still prefer Democrats, extending the majority in the state Senate and only shifting two seats to the GOP in the Assembly. Locally things went pretty even and Dems came closer than ever in highly Republican areas like Somerset and Hunterdon.
Clearly, however, there are issues. For years New Jersey has been laboring under increasing fiscal problems at all levels of government, problems which have resulted in dramatically rising property taxes and slightly higher state sales and income taxes. Voters can believe in the Democratic platform and still see their wallets squeezed to the point where they wonder if they can feed their kids.
A three bedroom cape in the suburbs - and we're not talking Far Hills or Princeton but Sayreville or Manville - that used to be called a starter home is costing $6,000 to $8,000 a year in taxes. For a family bringing home $50,000 after payroll and income taxes that's 12 to 16 percent of their entire bank. Add on home repairs, mortgage interest, mortgage principal and utilities and just having a home can walk off with 30 percent of your income before you even consider feeding the kids.
It's too much, and the people of New Jersey have known this for years. They've been telling the politicians and elected officials this for years. At the same time the voters have been loyal and returned Democrats to control in the state, passed all the spending measures put on the ballot, and asked for relief.
In return they got gimmicks, one-time deals and band-aids. Now the voters have decided that enough is enough, and this election is the last one the Democrats can expect to slide on the fiscal issues.
New Jersey voters support embryonic stem cell research by a whopping 71 to 19 percent, and even Republicans back it with a 52 percent majority. That's an amazing number that should translate into electoral success for a ballot issue asking for money to fund the research.
But the $450 million bond initiative - small in terms of our $33 billion budget - failed 54/46. That means at least 25 percent of the voters support embryonic stem cell research but voted against bonding to pay for it.
They didn't vote against stem cell research: they voted against adding more debt to an already crushing load.
New Jersey voters overwhelmingly support lower taxes, with no one I have ever spoken to suggesting that our property taxes are reasonable or necessary to provide the services we want and receive. Sure, many Democrats are willing to compromise on this issue to ensure good services, but even we out here on the left end of the spectrum need a break and recognize that there is waste and redundancy that could easily be shifted to reduce the burden.
And yet the voters turned down a chance to spend another half-penny of the sales tax on property tax relief! They voted against property tax relief because they want property tax reform. No more band-aid solutions that put a few more dollars in their pockets, but a straight up solution to the structural issues that are destroying our state.
They're sick of add-ons like Atlantic City gambling and the income tax, and those failed to address the issue. They're tired of band-aids like the Republican NJ Saver or the similarly idiotic Democratic plan that shifted a half-penny of our sales tax increase to checks for homeowners.
Thirty years of evidence proves they don't work. We've begged for real solutions to this problem, screaming from the rooftops that our backs are breaking and we get sophism, smiles and slaps on the back in return.
Well the voters just told us that they have had enough. The Democrats were kept in power this year, but both increased spending and band-aid solutions to skyrocketing property taxes were shot down.
Democrats have less than two years to make a change, a substantial change, to the way things work. In 2009 Corzine's term is up, and if the Dems keep doing nothing we will lose that seat and we may lose the Assembly.
There's a lame duck session coming up, and it's an opportunity for the Democrats to step up and tell the state that they heard the message. They need to either admit that they are simply unable to fix the problem and begin the process to have a Constitutional Convention on property taxes, or they need to begin putting together a fix right now.
There are enough plans out there, enough studies, enough recommendations. We have already dragged this one out long enough, and the time has come to pick a plan and go with it. By the end of lame duck they should have an outline, by the end of February they should have a set of bills, and by the end of June they should have it on the Governor's desk along with a budget.
It's possible if we do what is right - a complete restructuring and realignment of governmental responsibilities and rights from fire districts to school boards to City Hall to the Governor's office - that Democrats will still lose in 2009. The necessary solutions are hard to swallow and will cause a lot of pain, particularly to the governmentally embedded private citizens and corporations who profit so handsomely off the redundancy and waste of our current system.
These leeches will fund Astroturf groups to convince the public that Satan walks the land. Local elected officials will scream that only they know how to deliver services locally and that the county or state can't do it. Unions will go nuts and rally their members to oppose any radical change. They will all choke off campaign funds and make the election season miserable and difficult.
Yes, it's possible that the Democrats will lose control of the state government in 2009 if they do the right thing. But I can guarantee you we will lose if we don't.
So we have a choice between doing nothing and losing for sure, or instituting a fair but tough solution and having a shot at maintaining control.
The voters told us what they want. Now we get to see if our party's leaders are listening.
Nathan Rudy is the former Democratic Council President of North Plainfield, NJ and a current State Democratic Party Committeeman. |
