January 20, 2009 - 11:32am
Press Release

Want access to post press releases? To sign up, use this form. You must be logged in.

BUCCO ON CORZINE'S PENDING WALL STREET DEBT ISSUANCE: INVESTMENTS WITH BERNIE MADOFF ARE BETTER DEALS

Governor Corzine's administration is planning to borrow $175 million later this month. The borrowing was not approved by voters. No spending cuts or revenue streams have been identified to make payments. And in an interesting twist, in a "disclosure" document provided to bond buyers, the estimated "debt service schedule" is left blank. (See attached.)

"Governor Corzine hiked New Jersey Debt to almost $40 billion and some of it has payment schedules worse than what you get from a pawn and loan shop," said Bucco, the Deputy Republican leader in the state Senate.

Among the debt obligations added by Governor Corzine in the last few years are millions of dollars for transportation projects that have their first payments due 20 years from now. Taxpayers who have yet to be born will pay off debt on projects they may never use. More importantly, delaying payments means the state will have far higher debt costs than if Corzine had done the right thing and gotten approval from voters for responsible borrowings.

"Taxpayers would have a better chance of getting their investments back from Bernie Madoff than getting a fair deal from Jon Corzine's debt sales," Bucco said.


For more information visit www.senatenj.com

ANDREW PRATT can be reached via email at apratt@njleg.org.
Related topics: Corzine, Madoff, New Jersey debt, debt