New Jersey government shut down

[Drifblim]

...And on the 4 July weekend too. Faced with an outstanding deficit of $1 billion and opposition to his proposal to increase the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent, New Jersey's governor Jon Corzine declared a government hiatus yesterday. On Saturday all lottery ticket sales stopped and motor licensing was halted. Yesterday the horse racing was stopped. Tomorrow night state parks and beaches shut down, and the following morning Atlantic City's casinos are going to go as well.

To me, the shutdown was a horrible move — the lottery and gambling taxes provide the bulk of New jersey's revenue, and deciding to stall that whilst he battles with the legislature to increase the sales tax was only shooting himself in the foot. Couple that with the time of the shutdown — New Jersey needs a balanced budget by July 1 — and you have something that could have saved the situation. But no, Corzine was adamant about it.

Is anyone from New Jersey or areas around it and affected by the budget crisis? Was it a wise decision for Corzine to shut down the government? Discuss.

[Natsuki]

Well, I'm not from New Jersey nor do I live in a city where this type of thing has been experienced, but I feel like replying with my thoughts anyway...

I think it was an incredibly stupid move for the governor to do. Especially on the July 4th weekend. Doing something like that could cause the city to go bankrupt or fall deep into debt. Closing state parks and casinos on the eve of a national holiday cannot possibly bring profit to the state. How Corzine thought this was some brilliant idea? I haven't a darn clue. One thing's for sure - trusting political decisions doesn't always come out in the favor of the public.

For example, in my city the mayor is planning on placing a road cutting across Elm street next to the public schools. This will create a four-way intersection and "supposedly" increase the flow, yet decrease traffic jams. The problem with this is that not only is the road going to be built at an awkward and narrow angle (actually cutting through my grandparents' property...they weren't exactly pleased about that), but the four-way intersection will only take up more time during school hours, plus the addition of a new walking/biking trail on the side of Elm Street only makes the roads more narrow and compact.

So yeah...politics can be pretty stupid sometimes IMO. XD; I hope things work out for those in New Jersey and other places being affected by these decisions to shut down income industries and such.. :x

~Kelsey