From the Publisher ~ Art Hall ~ 4.26.2006

Definition for insanity:  “Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome.”
Finally, Jon Asks
The Right Question
Definition for insanity:  “Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting a different outcome.”
I was highly encouraged last week to read that our governor is now at least talking about spending cuts instead of higher taxes. It seems the legislature is just not behind him on his tax-increase proposals. Thank God!
Corzine took office facing an extreme budget problem that was not of his making. His address to the budgetary shortfall, however, is out of step with reality. In the face of this enormous problem, what did he do – He proposed spending 9 percent MORE. 
Such quick-fixes are just not flying any more. That is what New Jersey’s been using for decades, but it has come to a point that people realize that throwing more money at it won’t solve it. We’re not insane – we learn from our mistakes.
Given the push back, Jon is now asking, “Where would that billion dollars in cuts come from?” It is obvious in the way he asked the question, he doesn’t favor spending cut. If he favored cuts, he would have asked, “Where will the cut come from?” 
He is going there grudgingly, but at least he’s going there, and it is the people’s job to keep up the pressure. 
We’re not insane-we learn from our mistakes.
Unfortunately many of the housewives in New Jersey have better common sense about these matters than he does. Many people just know, if we’re spending too much, we’ve got to cut. They may borrow, but there is a limit to that.
Actually I am wrong about that; It’s not common sense Jon lacks, its honesty. When he was running for governor, he said, “I’m not considering raising taxes. It’s not on my agenda. We have a very high-rate tax structure. I’m not considering it.”
He knew what would resonate with us, and he told us, so we’d elect him…which we did. He never intended to do what we expected him to do, which was cut spending. If you’re short on money and you’re not going to raise taxes, and you cannot borrow any more, then you’ve got to cut spending. 
He had to have had in mind to raise taxes because the problem did not change once he got into office. As the Wall Street Journal put it in a March 29 editorial, “New Jersey voters may be getting what they deserve if they were dumb enough to believe Mr. Corzine.”
We’ve got to quit falling for these lies: Tell them what they want to hear but go ahead and do what you intended all along to do.
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And don’t think for a moment that the way we solve our tax problem here in New Jersey doesn’t set the stage for the way Congress deals with its budget problems after this November’s election.
Again, per the Journal, “Democrats on Capitol Hill are promising they’ll also cut taxes if they’re elected to run Congress next year…But voters who might otherwise choose Democrats for a change might think twice if they conclude that Mr. Corzine is the canary in the coal mine of real Democratic tax intentions.” 
Art Hall, publisher
PS:  I asked my co-worker, Nancy James to read this column prior to publishing it.  She asked me, “Are you bashing Democrats?”  I told her that’s not my intention. The Democrats, at the state and national level, used to be the big spenders; now, neither party shows much of any spending restraint. At this point in time it seems that the difference between the parties regarding budgets is that Republicans hold or cut taxes, and Democrats raise them.  
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