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BY STEVEN LONEGAN
COMMENTARY
The Trenton politicians pontificate about plans to solve the problem of New Jersey's highest-in-the-nation property taxes. They set up commissions to study the problem. They raise the sales and income tax and say that will stop high property taxes. They appear to agonize over getting the job done by droning on about shared services or consolidation.
Then, when no one is paying attention, they quietly and deliberately pass legislation that will drive your property taxes even higher.
More disturbing, these bills are passing with bipartisan support from the Republican Party, victorious against these not-so-powerful brokers, but unable to take a unified stand against higher property taxes.
Governor-elect Christie will have a difficult task reducing taxes in the wake of his own party lending support to these four bills.
Here's a brief explanation of the grand slam of higher taxes, creeping through the lame duck session of the Assembly and Senate:A4293/S3028: Concerns payment of prevailing wage in certain construction undertaken with BPU financial assistance. Last year, Governor Corzine pushed utility rate hikes through the Board of Public Utilities, allegedly to fund "green" projects. The BPU also harvests massive revenue from utility taxes every month. Then they provide "grants" for additional green projects.
This bill requires that all work on these projects be at the prevailing wage. As costs skyrocket, there will be fewer green projects to be funded because the environment is less important to the masterminds of this bill than satisfying union bosses.
A4268/S3095: Extends prevailing wage requirements to certain maintenance-related projects. As a mayor, one of the best tools I had to control costs was the ability to outsource certain work to the competitive private sector.
Independent private contractors, saving millions, can do landscaping, vehicle maintenance and tree trimming cheaper and more efficiently. This bill requires that contractors pay union wages as a condition of bidding on a contract. This eliminates the ability of these companies to compete and builds the ranks of government employees.
Along with these additional employees come pension, medical and other costs common to government workers, as private contractors no longer compete.
A4291/S3096: Extends prevailing wage requirements to certain for-sale multi-family housing. The central planners behind the state's COAH low-income housing mandates are forcing taxpayers to subsidize these projects, allegedly to provide "affordable" housing. This bill requires high union wages and benefits be paid to workers on these projects, driving costs up an average of 30 percent.
Those building competitive housing in the free market sector could never afford this increased cost. As a former homebuilder, I know good non-union craftsmen have always made a good income.
This nonsense bill drives up the cost of these government projects and that cost is passed to the taxpayer, while workers on these projects will earn subsidized salaries much higher than their private-sector counterparts.
A4151/S2850: Extends prevailing wage requirements to food service contracts and to local units and state authorities. As if local school budgets weren't high enough and rising even higher, this bill requires the traditional lunchroom mom be paid union wages and benefits.
These high salaries will dwarf private sector equivalent salaries like those paid at McDonald's or Dairy Queen.
Traditionally, these jobs have been for moms looking for a few extra bucks while their kids are in school. We are now told to believe these are jobs for people supporting families on these part-time salaries.
Here's a totally uncompassionate message for lunchroom workers looking for union wages and benefits: Go get a job somewhere else and join reality. Give these low-skilled part time jobs back to those content with the pay. There are jobs in the private sector where you can make more money.
Here's a novel idea for the Trenton gang: Try cutting taxes and lowering the size of government so we can create more private sector jobs.
Steven Lonegan, who was a candidate for the Republican nomination for New Jersey Governor in 2005 and 2009, is the state director of Americans for Prosperity, NJ. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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