A Portrait In Courage: "We'll Just Keep The Money, OK?"

Via The Daily Journal:

Three area legislators on Monday introduced an eight-point plan they said would reduce state spending and help balance New Jersey's budget.

Among their proposals is one likely to have some homeowners hitting the roof: suspending the state's property tax rebate program for everyone except senior citizens and the disabled.

A rebate is when they collect tax money from you and then give some of it back, right? That's how I always understood the term.

But the New Jersey state government -- specifically State Senator Jeff Van Drew and Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam -- wants to cut spending by cutting rebates.

Follow that? Warped as it seems, they apparently think that "Don't spend so much of our money" means "don't give so much of our money back to us."

They should go back to Legislative Kindergarten, and their teacher should be Assemblyman Polistina. We don't want them to give less of our money back, we want them to spend less of our money.

That gives a deeply ironic feel to this quote:

"This plan requires courage and discipline," Van Drew said, adding that he expected fallout from the proposal to eliminate the annual property tax rebate for residents.

"We know this is almost the Holy Grail of politics, sending people a check in the mail," he said. "But we believe this is the right thing."

I respect the fact that these people are trying to find ways to avoid having Governor Corzine double tolls, and then double them again, and then double them again. (A shoe shine in Penn Station, given the same price inflation, would cost $32.)

I don't respect their calls for "courage and discipline". It takes courage to say "no" to additional requests for money. It takes discipline to stick to a budget. It takes no courage and no discipline to keep the excess money that you've been sucking out of our property taxes during the year.

And I don't respect their spin on the issue:

Van Drew, Albano and Milam said numerous constituents have told them they'd rather forego the rebate check than see tolls raised or get hit with other taxes.

I, too, would rather forego the rebate check than see tolls raised or other taxes levied.

But I would much, much rather see them reduce spending. These gentlemen have set up a classic rhetorical device, the false dichotomy, in an effort to hoodwink us into thinking that this is the only way.

Maybe they actually believe that it is. Maybe they actually believe that they're being courageous. If so, their thinking is hopelessly muddled.

Senator Van Drew, if you're listening: you have it wrong. Only a politician who is warped by the sense of entitlement around him could think that the Holy Grail of politics is sending people a check. I don't want a check. Nobody I've spoken to wants a check. We all want you to take less money in the first place.

Doing that -- and cutting services to make us fiscally whole again -- would take courage and discipline. That's your job. Please execute.

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