More Shallow Rhetoric from Trenton

New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation; its top income tax rate is the fourth highest in the nation; and we have one of the highest sales taxes. There is no question. New Jersey citizens are among the highest taxed in the country.

The question is why,

Many elected officials are laying blame on New Jersey’s wide array of small towns and municipalities. Governor Corzine continuously reminds us New Jersey has 566 municipalities, 616 school districts and 186 fire districts, which along with our 21 counties rely on property taxes to fund their operations. He states these facts as if these numbers alone provide the answer to New Jersey’s sky high taxes, a convenient diversion from the real problem-Trenton’s central government.

Many ill informed politicians are coalescing around this false solution of combining municipalities. While this proposal provides a cheap sound bite, the facts do not support the scheme. In fact, an analysis of the cost of local government proves the opposite. Smaller municipalities have lower per capita operating costs. Bogota, with only 8,000 residents has a per capita municipal cost of $741, compared with $2,039 in Newark and $1,183 in Teaneck, Bogota’s larger neighbor.

Moreover, the bigger the town, the more difficult it becomes to “fight City Hall” or just accomplish government related business. I challenge anyone who doubts this statement to try to get building permits - or even a marriage license - in Newark versus Denville or Summit.

It is far easier and even more prevalent for taxpayers in small towns to monitor how their tax dollars are being spent. A taxpayer in East Rutherford has a much simpler job learning how the governing body is spending his money than a taxpayer in Newark or Jersey City. Hence, corruption and waste, rampant in large cities, is virtually non existent in small towns.

Equally important are our schools. The best public school systems in the state are in small towns. This results not because they are better funded. At this point, due to the Abbott decision, schools in Newark, Camden and other cities receive state funding to bring their per student spending above what even the best small school districts spend.

The reason towns like Ridgewood, Allendale and Leonia, have such excellent schools is effective parental involvement and local oversight. If we were to combine school districts we would dilute the ability of parents to influence school activities. We would also likely dissuade parents from becoming involved as dealing with a very large school system is much more daunting than a small local one. Besides, any “savings” from such forced mergers would be diverted to additional aid for inefficient districts.

Finally the issue is not just local control for the sake of local control. Democracy cannot survive without a strong dose of local government. In these communities, anyone willing to work hard can be part of local government. In large cities, one must be well financed and be connected to the political machine to get elected. This is the process that puts the power of self government in the hands of the people. Combining municipalities would wipe out many of these breeding grounds of democracy.

Unfortunately, many feckless politicians would like us to believe New Jersey’s high taxes can be solved by forced consolidation of municipalities; there is no evidence to support that. Nor would we want to live in a state that was full of Newarks, Trentons, and Camdens.

The answer to New Jersey’s high taxes is obvious when our politicians try to ignore more spending than the state can afford. It simply isn’t reasonable to impose high taxes on citizens so that Newark can have a lavish arts center, or indoor batting cages in W. Deptford, or to subsidize the marketing of New Jersey raised crops, or for State employees to work 35 hour weeks and retire at 55, and much more to the tune of 33 billion dollars.

The answer lies in more local control not less. If the Legislature would simply rescind some of the mandates imposed on local government such as requiring all employees be enrolled in the states outdated pension system, property taxes could be cut.

Governor Corzine likes to claim he will run New Jersey like a business. This is worse than cliché. It is shallow rhetoric. Government is not and never has been a business. Government is politics. In politics, bigger is not better, Trenton proves that. In the world of government, small is the answer.

Steve Lonegan is was Mayor of Bogota, NJ, and is Executive Director of Americans for Prosperity - New Jersey. Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP Foundation) are committed to educating citizens about economic policy and mobilizing those citizens as advocates in the public policy process. He is a prolific writer, having been published in newspapers and blogs. He just published a book, Putting Taxpayers First: A Blueprint for Victory in the Garden State, that discusses the impact of the Trenton government on the well being of the taxpayers of the state. He offers solid and workable solutions. Learn more at lonegan.com.