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By TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
As the gubernatorial and Assembly campaigns gain steam, the way Republicans see it, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine can't do anything right.
Friday, Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-Union) critized Corzine for his administration failure to gain the approval of 30 states to allow New Jersey to join the Powerball Lottery, which is presently featuring a $213 million jackpot. If New Jerseyans want to take a gamble on the over 1 in 17 million chances of winning, they have to travel to Pennsylvania or Delaware.
As it struggled to create the state government's $28.8 billion 2009-10 budget and in the hope of collecting an additional $40 million in lottery tax revenue, the Corzine administration sought to join the Powerball states. But when a few states refused to agree, the administration dropped the effort."We took it off the table a few months ago since some member states didn't sign off,'' Tom Vincz, a Treasury Department spokesman, told a Gannett Newspapers reporter. "National discussions are continuing but we did not want to chance in assuming that all states would bless it during the FY (fiscal year) 10 window. We still hope that an agreement hatches out of them.''
The administration dropped its expectation of $40 million for the budget and, instead, budgeted another $5 mi llion it hopes will come from state Lottery revenue. New Jersey is one of the Mega Millions Lottery states. The Mega Million jackpot for Friday night is $146 million.
Bramnick said New Jerseyans are dreaming of winning the $213 million Powerball in hopes of affording the state's high taxes and cost-of-living.
“Like anyone else, I’d love to win $146 million, but how much revenue are we losing because there is a larger jackpot tempting dreamers to neighboring Pennsylvania and Delaware?” Bramnick (R-Union) said. “And, that $67 million difference could mean a lot in New Jersey where the only thing that grows as quickly as these lottery prizes is the burden on taxpayers.”
“We’re unlucky again,” Bramnick said. “If a New Jerseyan wins Powerball in another state, a lucky tax will still apply, but the state will have lost lottery revenue to another.
