The Height of Political Arrogance.
Remember just last week when New Jersey’s voters defeated a bond issue that would have permitted the nearly-bankrupt state to borrow $450 million for stem cell research? Surely you remember it. It was in all the papers.
Paul Mulshine reports in his article entitled “Stem Cell Switcheroo” that, despite strong voter opposition, the Governor and the State Legislature intend to go ahead with the construction of stem cell research facilities at a cost of $270 million. How can this be? The voters vote against this just last week?
Turns out, we’ve been had yet again.
Paul Mulshine states:
Wasn’t the vote Tuesday a simple, yes-or-no question on whether the stem-cell institute should be built? Nope. When you read the fine print [***] on that ballot measure, you find that it was not designed to raise money for the construction. The borrowing was for the institute’s operating expenses over the next 10 years.
The $270 million for construction is slated to come out of a different bonding measure, one that you never got to vote on. The Corzine administration plans to pay for the buildings with so-called “contract debt,” debt cleverly structured in such a way that it does not need voter approval.
Well, isn’t that just terrific. It turns out that when the majority of voters voted NO on that question, they were only voting on borrowing money to cover the expenses of funding research projects at research facilities that were going to be built anyway with $270 million of borrowed money – money that was borrowed without having to seek voter approval.
Of course, this begs the question of just how the research will be funded in these spiffy new stem cell research buildings. Hang on to your wallet!
Just one more reason for people to vote with their feet to escape this political hell hole.
*** Here is the exact wording of the ballot measure:
Shall the “New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act,†which authorizes the State to issue bonds in the amount of $450 million for grants to fund “stem cell research projects,†as defined in the act, at institutions of higher education and other entities in the State conducting scientific and medical research, and providing the ways and means to pay the interest on the debt and also to pay and discharge the principal thereof, provided that recurring revenues of the State are certified by the State Treasurer to be available in an amount equal to the sum necessary to satisfy the annual debt service obligations related to such bonds, be approved?
The whole thing makes me sick.
Every goddamned week I think it can’t get worse here, and every goddamned week, it does. I guess you could call it “The Reliable State.”
Comment by Shamrock — November 12, 2007 @ 7:50 pm
Amazing isn’t it – the utter bold faced arrogance. And they have reason – the yokels keep voting them in. *sigh* I’m sorry to hear they are digging down even deeper… so when is the expected sinking of New Jersey? Soon I would think.
Comment by Teresa — November 12, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
And you’re still there because?
Comment by dick — November 12, 2007 @ 9:42 pm
If everyone in the state that pays any taxes at all left the state would just go begging to the Feds to bail them out..and the Feds would raise the taxes on the rest of us to do it…have you ever considered a nuke?
Comment by GUYK — November 13, 2007 @ 11:29 am
GUYK: Cockroaches aren’t really affected by nukes.
Comment by Ken Adams — November 13, 2007 @ 11:54 am
Another case of the people mis-understanding what was written in double-speak fashion & not paying enough attention to that which was not said!……..Obviously the peoples fault!
Here about 6 or 7 years back a judge ordered a county wide re-assessment to level the playing field for the tax burden being applied to all taxpayers. Middle income property owners were told to expect a moderate tax decrease & low income property owners should recieve a large tax cut. We were also assured this would forestall any tax increase in the foreseeable future.
Turned out we had no middle income property owners & damn few low income property owners. Yes, we have had city & county tax increases every year since & a state tax increase two years back. last week the city administration announced they were holding the line for taxes in 2008 & the county stated a modest tax increase is all that would be needed in 2008.
All Realty offices are swamped with requests to appraise & list homes for sale……..wonder why?
Comment by dudley1 — November 13, 2007 @ 2:57 pm
Sorry to go slightly off topic here, but here‘s a story that law and order types like Jimbo will appreciate.
Comment by Cousin Jack — November 13, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
Is NJ some sort of graduate school for political crooks? Them boys be slick.
Comment by james old guy — November 13, 2007 @ 5:33 pm
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/11/13/dnt.gator.eats.robber.wplg.wplg
Comment by james old guy — November 13, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
I tell ya, it’s great to be thought of by so many of you peeps who took the time to put the link in comments and e-mail me the link of the story about the sorry ass thief who fled from the cops into a POND IN FLORIDA marked, “Danger. Live Alligators” and managed to get his ass killed/eaten by “Poncho” the now dead gator.
I would have sooner been arrested and locked up with a bunch of horny reprobates than dive into that pond.
Youse are all just farookin’ precious.
Jimbo the Gator Hater
Comment by Jim — November 13, 2007 @ 8:16 pm
Corzine is the worst example of the liberal elite..this whole democracy thing is just too messy for him/them. How dare the unenlightened and unwashed interfere in plans that are in our best interests?
The whole thing is just so…so….French. Wasn’t it Chirac (or maybe on of his cronies) who said, after the French people rejected the EU Constitution, “We’ll keep voting on it and voting on it until we get it right”?
Ah, Corzine has gone one better; he just does what he wants, and tells us to eat cake.
Comment by Jersey — November 13, 2007 @ 8:36 pm