Dear Editor:
It is fascinating to see Gov. Christie asking for bipartisan compromise, after two years of nasty, in-your-face, bullying, my-way-or-the-highway governance.
Gov. Christie longs to give his wealthy supporters a 10 percent tax break. To pay for it, he has projected that New Jersey’s revenue will grow at a higher rate than any other state in the nation. The legislature has given him the cut he wants, except that it will be delayed six months and go into effect only if revenues match up to his predictions. This is a wise and fiscally responsible position. We should not plan to spend dubious money until we are sure it is there. By asking for the tax cut to be immediate, Gov. Christie seems to be admitting that he knows those revenue predictions were outright lies.
Some, however, have suggested a more sinister motive. If this money is given to New Jersey’s wealthiest citizens and then we discover we have a revenue shortfall, it would give him an excuse to cut even more deeply into programs that help people in need – this on top of vetoing the Earned Income Tax Credit that would help many of our working poor.
Man up, Governor One Percent. You published these predictions. Now let’s see how good they are before we spend the money.
David Stump
Hudson MoveOn