Tuesday, February 27, 2007

As Tolls Indiana...So Tolls NJ

If Democrat Jon Corzine gets his way:

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine has made privatization of the New Jersey Turnpike the centerpiece of his budgetary strategy for the state - greatly raising the stakes in the debate over its wisdom. In his budget address Feb 22 the former investment banker said:

"Potentially, asset monetization (the NJ term for privatization via sale or longterm leasing) could reset the state's finances by dramatically reducing our debt burden, and consequently reducing debt service. Monetization could free up as much as a billion dollars or more in every year's budget - long into the future... Asset monetization gives us the potential to reduce our crushing debt burden - and meet New Jersey's long-term capital needs in a way no other alternative provides."

He listed the Turnpike first among various state assets being considered.

We look forward to Angry Bear posts decrying the corruption afoot in New Jersey.

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