Hats off to Governor Corzine, the guy with the beard and geeky glasses, for sticking to his guns and raising the New Jersey sales tax to 7 percent. Call me a liberal if you like, but a state is like a household: We all have to pay our bills and stop fixing things by borrowing money.
Unfortunately, Corzine caved on an issue that I, as a home-owning liberal, find rather disconcerting. Half of the new funds raised by the increased sales tax will go into property tax rebates.
Granted, New Jersey has some of the highest property taxes in the world (not to mention those car insurance rates). But by giving rebates to homeowners, New Jersey unfairly penalizes the poor, namely those who rent, who will have to pay the sales tax but won't get a rebate.
I'm sick of legislators who try to cover their butts with their constituents by making sure their voters get enough pie.
Godless liberals like me can think of many ways that New Jersey could spend its newfound largesse - like rehauling its Division of Youth, Health, and Family Services and ratcheting up its environmental protection services. I can sure use that property tax rebate, but I could do without it.
I'll remember that on election day.