Shout out to Coda from the Tri-Town News

He has caught my attention two issues in a row so I have to recognize some local flair while we examine the state and the state of our Governor:

So, it looks like Gov. Jon Corzine has started shooting the cocker spaniel. As longtime readers might remember from the last time I used the term, shooting the cocker spaniel is an old technique used by administrators facing budget cuts they really don't want to make.

In this case, the bosses (taxpayers) tell them (elected officials) that they have to cut government expenses by reducing the size of government. The officials don't want to do that because they like big government and have other plans for raising money (increased taxes, charging a lot more for toll roads). They appear to be going along by saying, "Fine, we'll cut the budget, but you're not going to like the results." Then, they start cutting programs and services that the bosses (taxpayers) really need and want (shooting their cocker spaniels), hoping that we'll eventually say "To heck with it. Do whatever you want."

Mr Coda goes on to describe a series of issues that we have highlighted here such as the Governor's "big employee cut" fallacy:

Cutting 3,000 state jobs by attrition, early-retirement incentives and some layoffs. This sounds like a lot, until you remember that the number of people on the state payroll increased from79,298 in 2004 to 84,401 in 2006 (figures from the New Jersey Department of Personnel), an increase of 5,103 workers. I don't have figures for how many state workers were added in 2007, but I do know the number didn't stay flat. Using those numbers, that means Corzine is proposing to cut threefifths of the new government positions added between 2004 and 2006. Big deal.

I am left with the feeling when reading his work that we are not alone. Read his entire commentary here.

---