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Not Just Bad for Business

May. 13 Big Government, Taxes 3 comments

New Internet Sales Taxes Will Grow and Expand the Size of Government, Too

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

Bill Clinton InternetWe stand at a crossroads in America, Save Jerseyans.

Maybe I am the only one who sees it this way, but the Federal Government is poised to grow State Government by seeking to expand taxation of internet sales. The Senate recently passed the Marketplace Fairness Act bill [S-743} by a vote of 69-27 and it is now going to the House. It should be renamed the Government Unfair Act of Expansion. President Obama supports the bill, too.

This is the way I see it: you can pick any U.S. state but let’s take New Jersey as an example. The 2013 proposed budget for New Jersey is $32.1 billion. We have taxes and other revenues equal to that amount to create a balanced budget. If we were to add in $212 million in unrealized internet taxes from 2012 for example, we would grow the budget 6.6%.

In other words, we would grow New Jersey state government by 6.6%.

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Bet On Outsourcing Government

May. 06 Big Government 5 comments

Lottery Privatization is Exactly What the Doctor Ordered

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

State House TrentonI like efficiently run smaller government. I also like the idea of providing value added services to citizens. Over time as services have been added to the menu, most governments look to themselves to provide services. Why? At the same time if there is an opportunity to outsource government operations to realize financial benefit, why not?

Governor Christie’s vision with outsourcing services currently provide by the State is the right vision. He should be turning over every rock to see where economies can be realized.

Outsourcing the lottery business, for example,is an idea ripe for the picking. There are private companies who do this already and it has been done in other U.S. states. The Northstar Lottery Group says they will more aggressively market the lottery programs and build online lottery sales. We are a gambling state so making lottery sales available through the internet will no doubt increase ticket sales.

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Outsourcing Inmates is Smart Policy

Apr. 30 Big Government, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, South Jersey 11 comments

Gloucester County Jail Plan Will Benefit Taxpayers

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

Prison FenceGloucester County recently inked deals with four other county jails to house all of its 270 inmates, Save Jerseyans.

I really like the idea and think it is a great example of how shared services should work and how economies of scale benefit multiple budgets. Gloucester County Republican Freeholder and ardent taxpayer advocate Larry Wallace said, “[t]his will create smaller less government.” And isn’t that the goal? Or at least it should be.

It is interesting to me how some New Jersey counties expand their government and others work hard to reduce. There are plenty of opportunities for informative contrasts at both ends of the Turnpike. Camden County raised their tax levy 3.1% in 2012 while Republican Freeholders in Gloucester County pushed to have the tax levy lowered 3% despite having to grapple with a Democrat majority.

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We Can’t Afford Not to Do It

Apr. 25 Chris Christie, Property Taxes, Taxes 12 comments

Attention Trenton! We need a Tax Cut ASAP

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

ScissorsWhat we need in this state more than anything else is a tax cut, Save Jerseyans.

Deep property tax cuts would be ideal but until that occurs, income tax cuts will work. Governor Christie is proposing an income tax credit up to a $10,000 limit based on 10% of your property taxes paid and phased in over 4 years. In addition, there is an earned income tax provision of his plan. The Democrats say we can’t afford it but I say we can’t afford not to figure out how to make it happen.

What we need to get our economy going is a strong housing market. A strong housing market increases sale prices, cash flow and revs up the economy. A stronger economy helps to generate jobs. The lynch pin is property taxes since they greatly influence the housing.

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Time to Focus on Local Taxes

Feb. 27 Big Government, Property Taxes, Spending, State Assembly, state budget, State Senate, Taxes 4 comments

Trenton’s Take is Too Large But Local Levies Deserve Greater Taxpayer Scrutiny

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

Cap 2.5 LindenLike the citizens of most states, New Jersey residents pay municipal, school, county, sales and income taxes. Seven don’t have income taxes and five don’t collect sales tax. Local taxes (municipal, local and county) account for 57% New Jersey’s aggregated consumer annual tax bill. 

New Jersey takes 43%, which is good news, since on average, American states that collect an income taxes take 60%. In fact, we are the second lowest state in this metric out of all states who collect an income tax.

What that tells us is that our local taxes are out of whack. Not that we don’t need to lower state taxes, Save Jerseyans, but local taxes exact a much bigger impact on our local economies. In 2013, local governments will spend $23 billion. 

Governor Chris Christie proposed the tool kit in 2010 which included pension reform and the 2% cap (originally a 2.5% cap) among other tools. These tools have helped to slow the rate of growth of local taxes, resulting in over $1 billion in combined local tax savings in 2011 and 2012 alone. And in 2013, they’ll add another $500 million to the savings column. But our Democrat-controlled legislators have pushed-back against all but six of the tool proposals and, as mentioned above, insisted on a legislative 2% cap instead of a constitutional 2.5% cap.

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Voting for Democracy

Feb. 13 Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Republican Party, Voter Fraud, Voter ID Laws no comments

Opinion: U.S. Governments Should Do More to Foster Voter Participation

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

Wooden Ballot BoxPresident Obama last night announced the creation of a non-partisan commission to improve the voting experience in America. He tapped Democrat lawyer Bob Bauer and Republican lawyer Ben Ginsgberg to co-chair the commission. I agree that we need to do all we can to make sure our “God-given rights are protected here at home.”

The sad reality is that the United States is 138th out of 169 countries in terms of Representative voter turn-out versus the voting age population. We are 12th out of 16 countries in North America, behind Canada for registered voter turnout.

Voter turnout growth as a percent of registered voters and total population is flat. Our Democracy is weaker because the voice of all citizens is not being heard. Though it is a right and responsibility of citizens to vote the complexity of life and built up disdain for Government and its processes has created the environment of not prioritizing the need to vote.

It is the responsibility of Congress to enable and foster our Constitution, and in this case be innovative to make sure all voices are heard at the polls. We are the lead proponent of democracy through action and funding in the world, but when it comes to our own country our turnout results don’t represent our international actions.

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Jersey’s Moving Van Blues

Jan. 17 Chris Christie, Economics, Property Taxes, State Senate, Taxes, Uncategorized 5 comments

The Northeast Continues to Rank High in Outbound Moves

By Scott Alexander | The Save Jersey Blog

Moving VanThe success of any State, County or Municipality can be measured by the desire of people and businesses to move to that location. In a recent study by United Van Lines “United Van Lines 2012 Migration Study Reveals Northeastern U.S. Exodus” they measured the migration of movers to and from States throughout the U.S.

The report noted the top 5 inbound migration and 9 outbound migration States. New Jersey ranked #1 in outbound moves along with 3 other Northeast States.

It was noted in the article by Professor Stoll that high inbound States were attractive because of their lower housing costs, more temperate climate and growing economies. Little was said as to why a State would have high migration so I looked into cause.

My first inclination was taxes.

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Encourage, Not Discourage Volunteers

Oct. 30 Chris Christie, Consolidation, Property Taxes, Spending, Steve Sweeney 10 comments

Last week the State Senate passed bill S-1650 along party lines to redesign New Jerseys’ EMS, sending it to the Assembly for consideration.

Taking a hard, honest look at this legislation is important particularly with Hurricane Sandy bearing down on New Jersey.

At first I didn’t think much of the bill at all, but then I realized it was sponsored by Senate President Steve Sweeney so there had to be more to it. And guess what, Save Jerseyans? Sweeney, the king of advocating service consolidation at the county level, wants to effectively replace local volunteers with paid services.

The New Jersey State First Aid Council (NJSFAC) issued the following statement:

The New Jersey State First Aid Council is deeply concerned that the changes proposed in S-1650 / A-2463 will result in a decline in the number of volunteers in EMS services throughout the state, and an explosive financial burden to municipalities. This could be avoided by addressing recruitment and retention issues and creating a process to coordinate a blended system of paid and volunteer first aid and rescue. Not only will it effect the day-to-day operations of local EMS agencies, it will also have a significant negative effect on disaster readiness and response if the number of volunteer squads is significantly reduced.”

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