Governor Christie pegged New Jersey’s storm damage at $36.9 billion last month, Save Jerseyans; the Administration estimates 77,000 Garden State properties were damaged or destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.
Affected-state governors (including our own) went to D.C. last week seeking over $80 billion in aid… President Obama is reportedly asking Congress for $60.4 billion.
I’ve got a better idea.
The IRS collected approximately $112.1 billion from New Jersey taxpayers in 2011 (from all federal sources, including excise and corporate taxes). How about a 2012 federal tax holiday for New Jersey’s 77,000 homeowners and business proprietors?
Think about it. $37 billion divided by 77,000 works out to about $480,520 per property!
Granted, most damaged homes don’t need close to that much aid for repairs, so the actual tax break need not equate to $37 billion for New Jersey. The excess billions should rightly go directly to infrastructure/beach repairs (dooming beach tags for all time?).
God knows this state pays well beyond its “fair share” in taxes — only five state sent more to Washington last April.
But why give government agencies (and their union buddies) a fat, blank check for the full aid amount when those folks most affected by Sandy could directly receive the benefit?
I don’t expect any influential politicians to take this idea seriously, Save Jerseyans. A few Democrats are talking tax breaks but nothing quite so far-reaching as a tax holiday. After all, they know how to spend our money better than we do! A wise Democrat once advised “never let a serious crisis go to waste.” Even those who know better can use the “fiscal cliff” as a plausible excuse to protect their precious “revenue.”
At least you and I can take comfort in having confirmed that we’re still thinking rationally. Someone needs to, right?