Posted on 07/06/2006 6:52:16 AM PDT by Nevadan
You know the punch line: A nuclear holocaust annihilates most of Western civilization, a resurrected Jesus Christ walks on water and the Chicago Cubs win the World Series, but in casinos everywhere ... gambling continues unabated.
Yet, on Wednesday, the alluring jingle of slot machines fell quiet in Atlantic City. Dice stopped tumbling and shuffled decks of cards remained in their shoes.
Games of chance were shut down, not because of an unforeseen catastrophe or a miracle, but over something completely predictable: an elected official seeking a tax increase. And the joke is on the residents of New Jersey.
Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, wants to slug New Jersey taxpayers with a 1 percentage point sales tax increase to fund a nearly 10 percent boost in state spending. Jacking the sales tax rate from 6 percent to 7 percent would cost an average New Jersey family, already coping with higher energy prices and interest rates, about $275 per year.
The New Jersey Legislature doesn't support Gov. Corzine's plan, and the resulting impasse has left the state without a budget for the start of the new fiscal year. So the good governor is shutting down all "nonessential" state offices and services. Among the state workers sent home: the inspectors who track the billions of dollars that flow through Atlantic City's casinos.
Can a major U.S. industry dominated by publicly traded companies be trusted to function temporarily outside the oversight of a few overpaid bureaucrats? Of course not! Gov. Corzine ordered Atlantic City's 12 casinos closed Wednesday morning, leaving about 20,000 dealers, pit bosses and cocktail servers out of work, too.
Big-government boosters such as Gov. Corzine know they can't take the chance of letting the private sector function without a constant regulatory presence. If they did so, taxpayers might catch on to how "nonessential" most government services and personnel really are.
Has Gov. Corzine halted the collection of sales, income and property taxes? Certainly not. Rather than shut down all government activities, Gov. Corzine has chosen a select few designed to elicit squeals from certain constituencies for the tax increases he wants -- in addition to the casinos, Gov. Corzine has also closed all state parks and beaches.
Gov. Corzine might not get the sales tax increase he desires, but his tactics likely will deliver revenue through another levy increase, perhaps through income or property taxes. And Atlantic City's casinos, most of them operated by Nevada-based corporations, will no doubt re-open sometime soon.
But with each passing day, this shutdown costs gaming corporations millions of dollars. Does Gov. Corzine think they'll be glad to invest billions more in a resort town they rescued from oblivion?
Or will these companies look to jurisdictions with more welcoming governments to create construction and service jobs and provide millions of dollars in tax revenues?
Gov. Corzine won't find the answers to those questions very funny at all.
I think there's some major ego involved here, too. Corzine seems to be taking this as a personal affront. The peons are getting too big for their britches. Nanny knows best after all.
That's my take, anyway :)
Liberalism is also a mental disease.
To raise revenues and balance the budget, I propose we lower the sales tax to 5% and cut spending. It will work.
because then, by closing the casinoes, mafia muscle is indirectly tapped to coerce support for his budget.
That bares repeating.
bump
A similar thought crossed my mind. If the state has a budget deficit, why close down a major source of revenue?
Because Corzine thought he could blackmail the legislature into submission?
Gormley has already said he will support the sales tax hike, just to get the casinos open. It's the Democrats who control both houses of the state legislative branch that are opposed to this -- mainly because they all got thrown out of office back in 1990 after Governor Jim Florio tried the exact same nonsense to finance his own spending spree.
Liberalism is proof-positive that "handicapped" can be a state of mind.
It's simple really. For dems, there is no such thing as a government that is too big or too invasive and controlling. To pay for the huge government they desire they need money. Since they don't understand economics, the only way to get more money in the mind of dems is to take it from the people. Of course that is all based upon ignorance and folly....hallmark traits of the democrat party.
Oh that cub is cute!
notice not one single word about spending decreases? that's the other side of the coin - rather than decrease spending, they're shutting the state down.
I grew up on Long Island, NY. I have memories that NJ had no or at least a very low sales tax. Am I wrong? Actually, 6% is not outrageously high, compared to the rest of the Country. Of course, it's alot compared to NO SALES TAX! Explain this to me.
"Oh that cub is cute! "
Yeah! Make a nice hat!
(The Palestinian terrorist regime is the crisis and Israel's fist is the answer.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.