SPOT ON!
Governor Corzine's Statement to the N.J. Legislature
Published: July 5, 2006
Following is a transcript of Gov. Jon S. Corzine's address to a joint session of the New Jersey Legislature this morning as recorded by The New York Times.
Today is the fifth day since our constitutional deadline for passing a balanced budget has failed to be met. I'll be brief. The time for speeches, posturing, political hardball have long since expired — as has fiscal '06's budget and the authority for the state to spend money. The issues are the same today as they were yesterday. The Senate and I have laid down a framework to put New Jersey's people back to work — a sensible and honest compromise to end this current crisis. It's time for leadership to act on that compromise or propose an acceptable alternative.
As we all know, people are being hurt because there is an unwillingness to show the leadership necessary to solve this crisis. I cannot sign, I can't veto or amend a budget that has not been presented to my desk. All I request is don't create a budget that can't be passed by both houses and signed into law.
President Codey, Speaker Roberts and I have all agreed that reality requires new revenues along with more than $2.5 billion in spending cuts, maybe more, if we are to close this year's budget hole.
Each of us has said that an increase in the sales tax is a fair and responsible method to raise revenues. At least at one level our disagreement remains on how to use new revenues from the sales tax increase.
But in truth this crisis has been brought about by a conflict of two competing approaches to our state's finances. Is a budget to be a political platform to seek re-election, as has too often been the case in the past by both sides of the aisles? Or is it a statement of our mutually debated and small "D" democratically agreed upon priorities with an honest and real way to pay for those priorities?
This debate isn't really about whether we balance the budget with a penny increase in the sales tax or some alternative. This debate is about whether we'll use objective data and analysis to balance the budget or speculative assertions and wishful thinking. The debate is about whether we'll have a budget with a predictable, reliable and recurring revenue stream. Or will we have a budget with a patchwork quilt of unknown, untested and unvetted ideas that we hope will once again simply get us to the finish line? History has shown that approach leaves us in a sea of red ink.
We all know that I'm willing to compromise. I have repeatedly, have repeatedly said that the perfect will not be the enemy of the good in this situation.
The Senate has suggested a reasonable compromise. I accept that compromise. But I'm not willing to gamble on our state's future in a speculative context. I can't agree to a budget that is balanced with an unknown list of proposals, many of which have never been vetted, several of which have never been tried, and most of which I consider speculative or known to be economically depressive.
As a last observation, four days ago as a result of the Legislature's failure to pass a budget, the constitution and laws of our state require a shutdown of all nonessential state services. Shutdown is not a discretionary action. This is not something concocted out of my mind because we wanted it to occur. It is a legal requirement imposed on the office of the governor by the constitution of this state. It is deplorable that the people of this state are left in such a painful position but I don't have the authority to simply ignore and keep certain things open just because it makes life easier.
In particular, I have no authority nor is there any law to support the notion that casino inspectors are essential state employees, as has sometimes been suggested. Nor would it be legal or appropriate in a world where we have to protect the public from a homeland security context, where we need to protect people from violence in our streets to assign state troopers as casino regulators.
My hands are tied.
This is exactly what is wrong with this entire debate. We can't simply make things up because we don't like the consequences of the laws we created. Just like we simply can't make up numbers and say the budget's balanced. We can't give the public false impressions that answers are both easy and painless.
Leadership is not about telling the public what they necessarily want to hear. Leadership is standing up and telling the public how things really are.
I will be here all day. My treasurer will be here all day. We'll be here tomorrow and the next day and every day, indeed every hour that is necessary to put an end to this crisis. That's my obligation to the people of the state of New Jersey. It's our obligation as leaders in totality to the people of this state.
The people of New Jersey have every right to be angry, every right. The people of New Jersey have every right to demand that the Assembly and the Senate and the governor act responsibly for the future of our state. I remain prepared to do my part. My doors are open. They'll be open at 2 o'clock tonight. They'll be open at 7 o'clock in the morning. They'll be open at any time that we want to sit down and come to a logical and honest ending of this crisis. It's long past time to act.
(c) 2006 The New York Times
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