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Originally Posted by ngdawg
The union guidelines were first bandied about before the NCLB and came into effect in 2003. Bottom line is always revenue, so it was an easy choice for them, not for those of us who got pushed aside.
Now that Manhattan has the tax free days a couple times a year, coupled with the proposed increase here(and gas prices), sales will drop off daily; the longrun is anyone's guess.
Delaware is still a good possibility for many who live close enough; it's a half hour out of Philly and I95 isn't a toll road. 7% on a relatively large purchase, ie; computers or large appliances would more than make up in savings what's spent getting there. Then there's internet buying which would undoubtedly increase.
NJ residents are jaded. Regardless of his wealth and therefore personal interests, we've had the thumbscrews in so long, he could walk on water and we'd question it. Seven months in is barely enough time to thoroughly go item by item on budgetary concerns, even though there had to be a balanced budget by July 1. The property rebates came at a time of surplus and slowly the government here ate away every nickel.
If Corzine is so rich (as, I'm sure many of the state senators are), they can work on a voluntary basis. Fat chance of that though.
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I don't even believe that sales tax increases are the fairest method to raise additional revenue, because they disproportionally tax the bottom half of the population who spend all of the money that they have, each month; especially now that gasoline and heating costs have skyrocketed.,,,,,but.....
....I disagree with all of your protests and concerns. Here is why:
Gov. Corzine volunteered not to accept any of his $175K annual salary even before he took office.
Something has to be done quickly to signifigantly increase state revenue. No one has come up with a way
to replace the $1.1 billion that the penny sales tax increase is expected to take in, in the next 12 months.
The era of Whitman tax decreases did not work.....it resulted in doubling existing state bonding debt, and a school construction bonding intiative that Whitman deferred until she was leaving office. The result was $23 billion in new combined bond debt, vs. less than a total of $8 billion in debt when she took office in 1993.
I've included NJ population distribution documentation and links that support my point that, because of the costs
of travel...fuel, tolls, and the distance...at least half the state population...and the most affluent half....live
too far from Delaware, and too far from I-95....they mostly live near the GS pkwy and NJ Tpke toll roads....to make it worthwhile to shop out of state. The extra miles traveled to reach I-95 to escape the tolls will signifigantly increase the fuel costs of those in the heavily populated north eastern NJ region.
Tax losses from internet purchases have not persuaded NY State to lower their higher than 7 percent sales taxes.
The counties around NYC have even opted out of the yearly, two week "sales tax free" periods allowed by law.
So,,,,not to worry, IMO.
I dont' intend to turn myself into a Corzine cheerleader....but trust him for a couple of years. Whhen it comes to finance management, he knows what he's doing. Any fortune 100 company would hire hime to manage their finances, in a heartbeat. He was the mentor and superior of the new U.S. treasury secretary, Hank Paulson, he paid to get the governor's job, he's not taking a salary, and he'll not only end the state's borrowing, he'll probably design a way to manage and pay back the existing state debt and refinance it at the lowest rates.
As far as the teaching assistants...the GAO report excerpts (below) from 1995 indicate that requiring them to hold college degrees is not a new concept. It has been a requirement in some districts since as far back as 1992, The GAO report shows that the Baltimore teacher's union objected to that requirment. Would you prefer that the NJEA not support reforms in education that are at least 14 years old? My point is that this reform for assistants was not a union driven concept in it's origin. Higher standards are linked to improved schools with better test results, This tends to increase property values. Shouldn't all of the public schools in NJ in 2006, employ teachers assistants that could meet education standards required in some Baltimore schools, 14 years ago?
Quote:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=3758735
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - December 26, 2005 - In deciding not to accept his $175,000 annual salary when he takes office next month, New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine continues a trend started by his predecessors who also opted for austerity in the face of budgetary concerns.
In the past 15 years, most New Jersey governors - all of them career politicians, only one wealthy - have declined their full salaries.
Other millionaire officeholders around the country, such as California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and in his day, President John F. Kennedy, have declined their paychecks.
Corzine, a 58-year-old former Goldman Sachs CEO who is to take office Jan. 17, spent a combined $107 million of his own cash on his successful 2000 U.S. Senate campaign and this year's governor's race. Last year, Corzine's estimated net worth ranged as high as $262 million.....
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Quote:
http://www.gao.gov/archive/1996/he96003.pdf
or html link: http://216.239.51.104/search?q=cache...s&ct=clnk&cd=2
United States
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C. 20548
Health, Education, and
Human Services Division
B-259870
April 19, 1996
.....As you requested, we are providing our report about the early experiences of four school
districts that contracted with private companies for management of their public schools.......
From .pdf page 21:
In July 1992, the Baltimore City Public School District signed a 5-year
contract with EAI that gave EAI broad authority and responsibility for
managing 99 of the district’s 183 schools. Under the contract, EAI was to
(1) implement its Tesseract instructional approach, which included
supplying computers for use as instructional tools <b>and college-educated
teaching assistants;.........</b>
From .pdf page 25:
In Baltimore, the mayor, superintendent, and, initially, the teachers union
supported private management of the public schools. The school district
selected for private management only those schools with principals who
were interested in private management. In addition, the district gave
teachers who did not want to teach in privately managed schools the
option of transferring to other schools in the district. The teachers union,
however, opposed EAI’s requirement that teaching assistants(11) have at least
90 college credits.
The teaching assistants who did not meet this requirement were
transferred from the privately managed schools to other schools in the
district. EAI replaced these assistants with a larger number of teaching
assistants, who usually had college degrees. The Baltimore teachers union
protested the transfers as well as the replacements. The union contended
that the original teaching assistants were valuable because they were
experienced and from schools’ neighboring communities and therefore
provided inner-city children much needed relationships with familiar,
trusted adults.
(11) Baltimore refers to its teaching assistants as paraprofessionals while EAI refers to them as
instructional interns.
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The total population of new Jersey is estimated at 8,717,925
You can quickly view the population of each county by clicking this link:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/map...ersey_map.html
These are the population figures for the most densely populated counties, and they
are distant enough from Delaware to make it unlikley that signifigant numbers
will make the trip to another state to save one percent vs. the current six percent
sales tax. These counties contain 4 million people...the folks who enjoy the highest
household income...they'll continue to do the bulk of their shopping in NJ, as they
do now, IMO:
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34017.html">Hudson Cty population= 603,521</a>
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34003.html">Bergen Cty population= 902,561</a>
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34031.html">Passaic Cty population= 499,060</a>
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34013.html">Essex Cty population= 499,060</a>
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34027.html">Morris Cty population= 490,593</a>
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34025.html">Monmouth Cty population= 635,952</a>
<a href="http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/34/34035.html">Somerset Cty population= 319,900</a>
As far as your concerns about loss of sales tax revenue due to internet sales...this 2006 NY State report
concludes that although it is a problem, it is not enough of one to persuade NY State tax dsitricts to
reduce current sales tax rates that are all between 7 percent and 9-1/2 percent:
Quote:
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/...nal_report.pdf
Local Government Sales Taxes in New York State Local Government ...
From .pdf page 23:
Internet Sales
Competition from adjacent states, and from internet sales, is a serious tax policy issue in New
York State. Each year, State and local sales tax revenues are lost to the growing popularity of ecommerce
transactions (i.e., internet purchases), where sales tax is often not collected. As this form
of commerce grows, so will the amount of uncollected sales tax revenue.7
Estimates of uncollected sales tax revenues vary widely due to varying assumptions related to
compliance rates, definitions of e-commerce and measurements of e-commerce sales. A 2000
report from the General Accounting Office estimated state and local sales tax losses nationwide for
2000 between $0.3 and $3.8 billion, <b>or 2 percent of projected sales tax revenue.</b>8 Projected losses
4. 2006-07 New York State Executive Budget -- Economic & Revenue Outlook (p. 369).
5. 2006-07 New York State Executive Budget -- Economic & Revenue Outlook ( p. 361).
6. The Sales Tax Clearinghouse.
7. Although individuals making internet purchases are required to pay the sales and use tax directly to the
Department of Taxation and Finance, few actually do. For further discussion on this issue, go to
http://www.tax.state.ny.us/pdf/publi...pub774_206.pdf
8. “Sales Taxes: Electronic Commerce Growth Presents Challenges; Revenue Losses Are Uncertain.” General
Accounting Office. June 2000.
for 2003 were estimated between $1.0 and $12.4 billion, <b>or 5 percent of projected sales tax revenue.</b>
More recent estimates have been released by various interest groups, including one which cites sales
tax losses on the order of $46 billion by 2006.
From .pdf page 24:
The Tax Rate
A statewide sales and compensating use tax was enacted in 1965 at the rate of 2 percent. This statewide
tax rate was increased to 3 percent in 1969, to 4 percent in 1971, to 4.25 percent in 2003 and then
lowered to 4 percent in 2005.
Counties and cities are authorized by Article 29 of the New York State Tax Law to impose a tax on
the sale of certain goods and services at a rate of up to 3 percent. Although the Tax Law generally
only allows for up to a 3 percent local rate, counties may increase their rates above the 3 percent with
approval from the State Legislature. Currently, local sales tax rates range between 3 percent and 5.5
percent and are added to the statewide sales tax rate of 4 percent. Accordingly, combined rates range
from 7 percent to as much as 9.5 percent.
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It's certainly you're right to protest against Corzine's actions and his policies, and against those of the NJEA. I just don't see that your criticism is justified for the reasons that you've given.