Governor Corzine often says, "There is no easy answer." The current plan would reduce New Jersey's debt by half, and fund much needed improvements to our ailing transportation infrastructure for a generation.
The plan, proposed by Governor Corzine, and currently being debated in the public domain - calls for four equally important, components to deal with this fiscal crisis once and for all:
Freeze spending for next year's budget at this year's level.
This may sound easy enough, but to attain this goal, spending will have to be cut by $2.5 billion - this number represents more than just waste - this number means tough choices that will likely impact services that we depend on.
Ensure that future spending only grows at the rate that revenues grow.
This too, is no easy feat. In fact, over the years, spending has increased by close to 7% while revenues have lagged at approximately 3%. This dramatic difference can be attributed, in part, to the increase in costs for things like health care, post retirement medical expenses, increased pension obligations, and court mandates - but again, to maintain this commitment - there will be significant cuts.
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Ensure that all future debt that does not have a dedicated revenue source will have to be approved by you - the voters. In fact, create a Constitutional prohibition that debt cannot be approved without voters.
This was the original intent of the framers of the NJ Constitution -however, over the years - we have become deft at finding ways around this.
The previous three aspects of the plan have not received much notoriety as of yet - but they likely represent the most significant long term fiscal reforms and demonstrate true leadership. The fourth aspect, however - remains the most controversial.
What is critically important to realize, is that doing that first three, without the fourth, while certainly representing progress don't address the state's debt burden, and don't fund transportation. Rather, our debt would continue to grow and the funding stream for transportation would completely run dry.
Maximizing the value of our toll roads.
Yes, this is the toll increase - but more specifically, this the transference of the operations of the state's roads to a NJ not for profit. This transaction allows for an initial payment to the state of $32-38 billion which will go directly to paying half the debt AND funding transportation infrastructure improvements for 75 years. The toll schedule will be implemented on the Parkway, Turnpike, and Atlantic City Expressway.
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CLICK HERE TO SEE GOVERNOR CORZINE's PRESENTATION ON THE PLAN