A Proposal for NJ Pols - Budget neutral or you pay

I had an idea for politicians in New Jersey. You see, in this state, politicians get elected and then immediately push their pet priority (having no relevant support from their constituency). And usually (since most of our politicians are democrats), these ideas involve more spending. Spending is fine if it is coupled with accountability.

So here is the rule. If you are elected and have a spending proposal to better our state, you have to prove two things:

1. You have an accountability plan. That means that you anticipate up front that your proposal needs to be examined by the people and measured according to your proposed promise.
2. If your spending fails to succeed, your constituency pays the rest of New Jersey for your failure to be effective.

Of course, I don't think there are many politicians in NJ who are willing to sign up for this plan. One, because it is far easier to throw money at the constituent and claim anyone who disagrees is a scrooge. And two, accountability is not popular in our state. As a matter of fact, indictments are more popular than accountability due largely to the sad state of our electoral awareness.

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