Love Thy Neighbor

Back in November, New Jersey elected Republican Chris Christie as governor. This result was and wasn't surprising. It WAS surprising because Corzine, the Democrat, was the incumbent and out-spent Christie. It WASN'T surprising because of the political atmosphere in New Jersey: high taxes, corruption, and a lack of patience with "businessmen" (which Corzine is perceived as being) nationwide as a result of the "bailout."

The election results were depressing, though - really - they were bound to be one way or another. Christie is the worse of the two evils. Corzine isn't ideal either, but I liked that he attempted to rally the true liberal base and didn't really try to cater to the conservatives that he would likely not win over anyway. He chose not to pander to them; he chose not to validate them. Unfortunately, they are the ones who came out and voted for Christie.

The election was probably decided primarily on taxes. Corzine had to raise them despite his promises and, really, they need to be raised. We have - not only a huge federal debt, but - a huge state debt. Christie claims he's not going to raise taxes. Who doesn't promise that? It can't happen with the way the state is run, though, and the things we need. I'm all for major structural overhaul of Trenton, but that's gonna cost even more. It's the whole: "things are going to get worse before they get better" philosophy. That's the problem with reform: it's going to cost a lot before you'll be able to see any return and people are impatient. [For example: the nation was struck by an economic disaster that was in little or no way caused by Obama / his administration, but because his solutions have yet to grant us a full recovery, we are already jumping to the conclusion of failure. It may well fail, but the administration has already admitted that we will not really see any gains until - at the earliest - next year.] Restructuring and change are going to cost: both money and time. There are infrastructures that need to be put in place, people who must be hired and trained. All of that costs.

I can't imagine that Christie will be able to reduce taxes and even if he does, it'll be at the expense of something else. Even if he manages to not raise them, at what detriment? Since I do not agree with his version of "public good," I fear what he'll cut. Education? His kids go to private schools and he supports parents who get their children into private schools, so what happens to my public schools? Health care? If he doesn't think public education is valuable, do you really think he cares about your uninsured son? How many jobs are going to be lost to cut corners? Is New Jersey going to make abortion illegal? He is quoted: "I am pro-life. Hearing the strong heartbeat of my unborn daughter 14 years ago at 13 weeks gestation had a profound effect on me and my beliefs...." (
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-bohrer/another-leading-republica_b_220452.html) which is all fine and good for one's personal beliefs, but not as a legislative mandate, not as a rule by which those who DO NOT share his beliefs should be forced to abide. We need to educate women on choices both before and after they become pregnant (including SAFE sex options and not just "don't have sex" options). We need to prevent unwanted pregnancies and the conservative method has proven to fail over and over and over again. Moving on: are we going to impede even more on the right of homosexuals? We need to move forward. Civil rights aren't matters of beliefs or opinions. Gay rights - or lack thereof - is an area in which New Jersey had begun to progress. At least we allow civil unions and I really had hopes that we would soon be among the elite who've woken up and have thrown fear aside for equality. Now, I'm not so sure. We have a governor-elect now who is willing to veto a gay marriage bill.



[For the record, this is not a "societal change" as Governor-Elect Christie claims. Society is not being asked to change. In fact, no one is being asked to change. No straight person who doesn't want to be impacted by this will be impacted by this. Your faith will not be challenged (and if it is, you should look more closely at YOUR relationship to God and leave me to sort out my own). There are no victims if gays can marry; there are only victims if they are denied that right.]

Currently, New Jersey is scrambling to make gay marriage legal before Governor Corzine relinquishes his power in January. [See: NY Times (Tuesday, December 8, 2009) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/nyregion/08marriage.html?_r=1.]

I guess I'm really a Socialist. I really have no problem with spending a little more now to help the whole of my state or nation to make it a better place (even if it is not in my direct, everyday interest). I only make $12 and hour and I get about $200 taken out of my paycheck every two weeks for taxes. It sucks, but it's needed. It pays for our infrastructure which many people STILL think doesn't run as smoothly as they should (whether this be the running of state business via the state's bureaucracy or the building of roads and buildings). It goes towards our police and fire departments. It goes towards education. And, yes, it probably goes towards things I'm sure I'd rather it not go to, but there is no such thing as a "perfect" union. No ONE person can really get everything he / she wants. Living in a republic, you'll always have to compromise a little.

In particular, we NEED to pour money into public education. We need to get good people in there running the school and we need to treat and pay teachers respectfully. Every once in a while, someone grunts about how high taxes are. People with kids in private schools or without kids at all moan: "why am I paying for public schools?" Well...why are you paying for the fire department? The police? I've never had a fire at my house and I've never had to call the cops, so why should I have to pay those guys? Or, as my mother cites: I don't support the war and I don't have any loved ones fighting over seas, so...why are my tax dollars funding wars I don't believe should be fought?

The answer is: because it's for the overall good of the nation. Or, at least, enough people think it is. I don't approve of the war(s), but we need a military as much as I wish we didn't. We pay taxes for the fire and police departments because we recognize those are services that are valuable. How is education exempt from that category? How is education not a general public good? Good public schools mean that someday, maybe, we'll have legions of really fucking smart people and they can make not only our country, but the world, a really amazing place. We're kind of in the shitter right now. We're allowing capitalism and greed to blind us from the realities: our kids can't compete with kids around the world and this is going to lead to the downfall of America. And on a more expansive note: the downfall - possibly - of humanity. We need smart people to find alternate solutions to problems that don't include guns and tanks. We need smart people who use their brains and not their fears to make decisions on civil rights. It's a cycle that can't easily be broken, but I fear we're only going to move farther and farther from where we MUST be to fix it if we continue to care about ourselves alone. Sometimes it's okay to "spread the wealth" and one of those times is when the wealth is knowledge.

Lastly, New Jersey did have corruption issues under Corzine, but it had corruption issues during pretty much every administration over the last couple decades prior too. This doesn't excuse it, but it'll likely happen under Christie's watch too...unless he really plans to overhaul the whole system. Which could be awesome, but only if he's moving in a progressive direction. Otherwise, I just fear we're going to wind up decades behind. Our goal should not be to end up back where we've been; we've got to keep moving. It worries me, the prospect that New Jersey may be becoming more conservative. Then again, Jersey is weird and even has a history of voting against the party just elected for the presidency in their off-year elections. So, this may not really illustrate much of anything. Corruption is a societal disease. When people seek that which they cannot have or have not earned, an environment is created where cheating is acceptable as long as it is hidden under the table. Politicians have been living in this world for a long time.

On an optimistic note, Christie has a decent environmental record. The New Jersey Environmental Federation actually endorsed Christie, the first Republican they've endorsed in three decades. [See: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/nj_environmental_federation_en.html.] If he keeps his promises on the environment, New Jersey could become an example. If he keeps his promises on the environment.

On the whole, though, there is not much optimism here. This election has made me not only question the fate of my government, but the state of New Jersians as people and what we stand for anymore, what they value. It saddens me how much self-interest and a "to hell with everyone else" attitude people seem to have. We are sadly proving Hobbes' theory on human behavior: that we are all "nasty, brutish, and short" and that, without some form a authority, we would probably all live in caves and hit each other with mallets. We are keen on referring to ourselves in the US as "civilized," but our intentions are really no more pure than anyone else's. We need a new social contract based firmly on what's good for the whole. We need a society less driven by markets and more driven by life and living it. We need to stop pissing on each other.

What ever happened to "love thy neighbor"?