WW Among the Best in the Nation for Families, now in a State of Emergency

[Jerry Foster]

Great news - you may have seen that  WW is among the very best in the nation for raising a family, see:
http://www.centraljersey.com/news/west-windsor-township-named-among-best-places-in-new-jersey/article_4862b92e-3cad-11e6-9574-ffd207c39a23.html

Yet our acting NJ Guv declared a state of emergency last week, shutting down (for 7 days) what looks like all state-funded transportation projects so they can re-prioritize remaining NJ Transportation Trust Fund money for best effect under state of emergency special powers, see:
http://nj.gov/governor/news/news/552016/approved/20160706a.html

The shutdown totals of $2.7 Billion from NJTransit and $776 Million from NJDOT projects is higher than the total FY2016 Capital Budget, so either multi-year projects are involved or the numbers are designed to get everyone's attention (or both).
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/capital/tcp16/

Lawmakers couldn't agree on the particulars of the fig leaf necessary to pass a "replenishment" - that's a tax increase for us:
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/06/opponents_decry_23-cent_gas_tax_estate_tax_swap_as.html

Meanwhile, NJ has the most expensive roads in the nation, and not by just a little, but by a lot, a whole lot, see:
http://reason.org/news/show/21st-annual-highway-report-states

The Reason.org report has prompted debate between researchers and transportation advocates, it's great reading:
http://reason.org/news/show/new-jersey-excuses-poor-highway-con
http://reason.org/blog/show/new-jersey-construction-union-tries

Now can we talk about how all this spending doesn't have a positive overall economic benefit? And that nobody is willing to pay for it? Of course everyone wants it if someone else pays for it, everyone likes free stuff and our roads are free public goods, except the turnpike and parkway.

How's this for a fantasy? The NJ Guv declares that the era of Big Roads is over, time to shift money to completing the streets and maintaining what we have, so we can continue to enjoy our fabulous town with our families.

Jerry