From the Trentonian:
Paying down the debt or a one-time budget fix?
In 1949, when state lawmakers were selling the idea of a toll road to be called the New Jersey Turnpike, the grand promise was that the tolls would be temporary until the cost of the new super-highway could be paid off.
Fifty-eight years later, commuters are still paying tolls, but now the money could be headed into the bottom line of some corporate spreadsheet as state Democrats are moving forward with a plan to sell off the rights to the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and the PNC Arts Center with the promise of $15 billion in bootie.
Yesterday, Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, formally put forth his plan to facilitate the leasing of the Turnpike, Parkway and Arts Center to private interests – corporations, consortiums, even the state Highway Authority could get in on the deal.
“New Jersey is at a crossroad,” Lesniak said in making the announcement. “We cannot raise taxes or increase our debt, but we have obligations to invest in our future that we must make, or we will go backwards as a state.”
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Lesniak wants to see the $15 billion bootie used “to encourage investments in our schools, higher education, open space and our transportation infrastructure.”“We need to find creative ways to unlock the hidden value and potential of our existing assets,” Lesniak said.
But under the plan, whoever picks up a proposed 75-year lease of the toll roads would have the option of raising tolls every year without the usual backroom politics, and public outcries could fall on deaf corporate ears.
So the state will get the pleasure of spending it’s $15 billion bootie, but the common working person using these roads will be forced to reach deeper and deeper into his/her pocket to get to work everyday. Lesniak’s plan calls for “any toll increase to be limited to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for cars and to the Gross Domestic Product for commercial vehicles.”
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And a bigger question is how the $15 billion bootie will be spent.Will the money be dedicated to paying down the state’s massive debt load, or will it be funneled into one-time budget fixes and political gimmicks?
Just how fast can $15 billion be squandered in New Jersey?
How about a Networking Get Together for all regular folks on this board? There were lot of good restaurants mentioned yesterday.
We could use site like http://www.meetup.com to plan it.
I am down for that. I really want to meet BOOOOYA BOB and listentothewannabehomeowners or whatever his name is…
How fast
20 minutes of a closed legislative session. That money will be gone in one year.
It does not affect them, state car with state EZ pass, and if they do have to pay they make so much money that the 3-4 dollars it costs for them is a pittance.
Meanwhile each year they will jack the amount like B&T of NYC and they will make lots of cash, because it’s part of 95. Go look at the card or the website and see how much a semi pays.
NJ is for the rich all you po folk if your not driving to clean my house or make my dinner get out!
Does anyone know how much this state collects in tolls every year?
“We need to find creative ways to unlock the hidden value and potential of our existing assets,” Lesniak said.
This sounds like the makings of a late night get-rich-quick infomercial. I’m picturing a guy with a bright green blazer covered in question marks hawking timeshares in a Florida swamp.
How about unlocking the hidden value and potential of fiscal discipline and responsible spending. What about the magic of living within your means?
We cannot raise taxes or increase our debt, but we have obligations to invest in our future that we must make, or we will go backwards as a state.”
NJ spends boatloads of money and is going backwards as a state. Everyday we lose more businesses and citizens to more business and tax friendly states. Since the past few years, we have lost well paying private sector jobs and replaced them with government workers and minimum wage retail and restaurant jobs. The pace of people leaving NJ has picked up. Last year almost 75,000 citizens left the state. Simply stated, what we are doing now isn’t working.
Instead of NJ government deciding for us how best to “invest in the future”, why not let citizens and businesses keep their own money and decide for themselves how best to invest in the future. The free market is an incredibly powerful tool for efficiently allocating resources.
Where are spending cuts? Not one mention EVER!?!?!?!?
I dink de mo ney would best be spent on de ABBOTT districts ,de funds gots been digtin’ low and should be replinished fast time