Cheating the system is not how mature adults resolve problems

Lying to constituents by promising things that had no chance of being delivered is wrong and damaging. I've been talking about the Trump tax cuts for a while now knowing that many New Jerseyans, despite our outrageous property taxes, will see tax relief. But for those that will take a hit because of the outrageous amount of property taxes they are paying, who is really standing up for them? Is this the fault of President Trump for creating real reform that helps most Americans? Or is it the fault of the mismanagement and corruption in states like ours that have led to out-of-control taxation with no end in sight?

How many people upset that the federal government in a move that helped most people, yes, even in New Jersey, wanted state government to act and offer some relief?

How many counted on Trenton to actually discuss solutions that would lower the property tax burden enabling people paying more than $10,000 in State and Local Taxes to enjoy the benefits of the lower rates charged on income?

Instead of discussing actual solutions to the out-of-control tax situation in New Jersey and having a conversation about what action to take, they decided to create a gimmick that sounded good for a headline, but actually set our state back even further. The gimmick pushed by the pols in Trenton and the Governor was to allow towns to create a charitable fund allowing taxpayers to write off their real estate taxes as a charitable contribution and therefore take a deduction beyond the SALT cap of $10,000.

This became yet another in a growing list of "I told you so" moments for us to call out the Trenton government. First was the lie about the sales tax cut offsetting the gas tax. Didn't happen. Then there was the #FakeMath surrounding the sports betting decision by the Supreme Court. Then there was the lie about expected revenue from legal marijuana and the millionaires tax to pay for the nearly three billion dollar increase in spending proposed by the Governor. Not happening anytime soon. Even if it does, the projected numbers are WAY off and won't be close to the $1.3 Billion.

And now we have the latest “I told you so” moment as the IRS addressed the gimmick that would have allowed a new deduction on property. No one should be surprised. It's time to start calling out lying politicians who will use fear and sound bites to manipulate the public into support schemes that not only won't help you, but eventually will drive more New Jerseyans to implement their exit plans. Who speaks for New Jersey?

Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea. The opinions expressed here are solely those of Bill Spadea.

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