Bob Hennelly
WNYC's Bob Hennelly is an award-winning investigative journalist. While at WNYC he has reported on a wide gamut of major public policy questions ranging from immigration and homeland security to power outages and utility mergers.
Labor, Health-Care, and Education Groups Denounce Corzine's Budget Plan
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
New York, NY –
A coalition of 40 New Jersey labor, education, and health-care groups is blasting Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to cut nearly $1 billion to close a budget gap.
In a statement, Gov. Corzine says the economic crisis and the fall-off of state tax revenues left his administration no choice but to make the cuts.
Eva Bonime is with Better Choices for New Jersey. She says the 40 coalition groups are particularly concerned the income tax surcharge on the state's top earners will sunset at the end of this year.
"Giving the rich a tax cut really makes no sense," she says. "You know it is a recession. Average New Jerseyans are being asked to sacrifice. Everyone has to tighten their belts and yet the wealthiest New Jerseyans are actually going to get a tax break."
In addition to the current year's $1 billion budget gap, the state faces an $8 billion shortfall next year. Gov.-elect Chris Christie has warned the state must make major spending cuts in order to be able to make payroll in March.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.