Ronald Reagan likened big government to a baby: "voracious appetite on one
end and no sense of responsibility at the other." In New Jersey we
experience that. Read the new, 131 page budget.
This link takes you
to the murky world of where NJ finds its money and how it spends above $28
billion per year.
The executive branch of our state government has more than
12 channels into which the revenue flows. The Departments of Health and
Senior Services and that of Human Services account for $6 billion. The 28
programs and services of the former will astound you. Talk about a finger
in every pie! The rulers of our state don't believe we ordinary people have what
it takes to help ourselves. They have a list of
government-will-do-it-for-the-people programs that would have turned most soviet
socialist republics green with envy. Meanwhile the Department of Human Services
has 15 divisions rushing to our aid. Unlike states in the center of our country
New Jersey is saddled, it seems, with a very weak variety of human being that
needs large government.
"Anarchy is preferable to most authoritarian or totalitarian governments," says R. Rummel, Political Science Professor, University of Hawaii; author of Death by Government. Rummel knows that any government left to itself long enough will increasingly supervise its people. The unspoken assumption is that the poor are stupid. As the years pass we find more things that the poor "cannot" do for themselves. The state then hires highly educated people to bring new theories as to how best the poor must be helped. They miss the point. It's not ignorance that causes society's woes, its sin.
The web sites of our state departments show why we have to raise so much in taxes. Maybe these billions of dollars represent the price for our collective selfishness. Communities of volunteers used to attend to many of these needs - I said "volunteers," so you know how much they used to cost the state.
We struggle to pay for this huge infrastructure. Most of the money comes from property, sales, business and "sin" taxes. There is, however, a hefty amount to be gained from: Fertilizer Inspection Fees, Milk Control, Pleasure Boat Licenses, Retired Officer Handgun Permits, State Police Fingerprint Fees, Autonomous Transportation Authorities (almost nobody knows what that is), Horse Breeding and Development Fund, Poultry Service, State Revolving Fund - Administrative Costs, Traumatic Brain Injury Surveillance, Innovative Seat Belt Use and something called: "Truth In Renting."
Some items look excellent on the surface. If you are homeless in NJ its comforting to know that you don't have to look to your family or neighbors for help or seek employment in another state. I speak of our Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Does the TANF program define homelessness? No, it simply enumerates situations in which emergency assistance may be provided to alleviate actual or imminent homelessness. All's almost well so far. Now go speak with state officials who tell of how adeptly the "needy" work the system.
If you're a Bible reader you'll expect government to limit
itself to just treatment of those with little power, equal hearing before the
law, punishment of the guilty, repelling invasion, making sure all are free to
try and freedom in worship. In modern times we might add: Transportation lanes,
prosecution of polluters and rescue services. I'm less concerned about
government "watching us" than about our failure to watch the government. What
happens in Trenton IS our business - so rise
up and mind your own business! Remember however your first duty is: pray for
those in authority over you.