"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have"
Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Special Session Results

Here is the scorecard for today's special "economic summitt" of the state legislature.

The Assembly passes a circuit breaker and higher income earners tax increase combo bill. This measure does not match the Senate school tax cap, so both are one house wonders, unless a compromise is worked out. 

No school tax cap passed by the Assembly means any home heating assistance measure is being held hostage.

$50 million in member item "pork" money is being swept away from lawmakers.

The Senate talk is about a 6% reduction across the board in state spending; legislative programs, certain aid to municipalities, excluding education, HCRA.

Paterson's mistake - proposing $1 billion in cuts and saying he would accept $600 million, which was the first signal to the legislature he would take less than that, so they may hit $400-500 million. He should have left it at $1 billion period!

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