To the editor:
In the Jan. 29 issue of the South Brunswick Post, Hank Kalet’s piece "Does McGreevey fear anti-tax backlash?" is baffling. Knowing his political affiliation, it doesn’t surprise me that he writes some of the blame for Gov. James McGreevey’s budget problems are due to former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman’s administrative tax cuts and the Bush administration has decided that aid to the states is far less important than aid to the very rich. Yet, sentences later he explains that "McGreevey has forced his administration to make painful cuts in the state budget…leaving the rest of us to pick up the tab in the form of higher property taxes/diminished services. And, "McGreevey fears that a tax hike could create his own tax-backlash."
Honestly, can you understand what you’re saying, Hank? A tax is a tax is a tax. One way or the other, taxes will be raised, either by property or sales. It doesn’t matter. Let’s not criticize one and suggest the other.
It’s a fact that federal and state funding has been reduced, but what do the state and local governments do? Reduce spending? No. The citizens pay more from their pockets to fund excessive spending on both the state and local levels. So, the extra money we receive from the tax cut can pay for the increase in taxes by our local officials. And you think this money is going to the rich?
I would only hope the government could run itself the way most households are run: if you don’t have the money, you don’t buy it. If you can’t afford it, you don’t have it. And, if money is tight, you eliminate what you can’t afford. Sorry to say that state and local governments cannot seem to get the picture. The answer? Stop spending. Stop looking to increase taxes to pay for things not affordable. And one other thing, please Hank, stop the spin.
Kathy Matches
South Brunswick
