Public Question 1: Building Our Future Bond Act

“Do you approve the ‘Building Our Future Bond Act’? This bond act authorizes the state to issue bonds in the aggregate principal amount of $750 million to provide matching grants to New Jersey colleges and universities. Money from the grants will be used to build, equip and expand higher education facilities for the purpose of increasing academic capacity.

Yes____  No_____.”

Last summer, Chris Christie Republicans including Atlantic County state Assemblymen Chris Brown and John Amodeo voted with Steve Sweeney Democrats like Atlantic and Cape May Sens. Jim Whelan and Jeff VanDrew to borrow $1.5 billion. Half will be borrowed directly by state government and paid back with higher taxes. The other half will be borrowed by the state colleges and paid back with higher tuition and student fees.

Running up debt and expenses in a bad economy when most people who pay taxes and tuition are struggling is stupid and cruel.

Fortunately, Article 8, Section 2 of the New Jersey Constitution does not let our state legislators borrow money unless voters approve. So they were forced to put their borrowing plan on the Nov. 6 ballot as a public question.

How you vote on that ballot question is as important to your future as how you vote for candidate for president, U.S. Senate or Congress.

Back in January of 2008, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine said that when unfunded pensions were included, our state government was $117 billion in debt. He warned that if we did not sell our toll roads and hike tolls by 800 percent to pay down that debt, it would crush our economy.  

But we stopped his toll hike scheme. Since then, the economy crashed, lots of public employees and schoolteachers retired and tapped into the pension fund early – and the usual state budget gimmicks continued.

Statebudgetsolutions.org reports that as a result, New Jersey state government debt is now $258 billion, the fifth-highest state government debt in the nation, after California, New York, Texas and Illinois. That comes to more than $30,000 for every man, woman and child in New Jersey; $120,000 for a family of four. Most New Jersey families owe more on our state government debt than they owe on their home mortgages.

It would be nice if Stockton College taught this stuff to its students. At some point, they must deal with the mess we created for them.

But last week, Thomasa Gonzalez, Stockton vice president for student affairs, sent out thousands of official emails urging all current and former students to “Support Stockton’s future!” The email steered them to the Building Our Future official website, where they were all urged to “Vote YES” on the public question.

Building Our Future is a political committee registered with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.

It was set up by Maggie Moran, the campaign manager and chief of management and operations for former Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine. It is now headed by William T. Mullen, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of the NJ State AFL-CIO.

Its website claims that the “Building our Future Bond Act will invest in higher education for the first time in a quarter of a century” and get “the brightest students, innovators, and entrepreneurs to live and work in New Jersey.”

What lies! The website never even mentions the words “borrow” or “debt.” And it doesn’t explain that even higher taxes and tuitions will be needed to pay the money back with interest over the next 20 years. Or how high taxes, tuitions and “pay to play” politics in New Jersey is what is driving the best and the brightest out of New Jersey in record numbers.

No investment in higher education in 25 years? What about the $65 million Stockton just spent on its “wow” student center? Or the $50 million for the science building?  The $49 million for new dorms to house 380 students? Or the $36 million paid for the Seaview Country Club Resort, with $1.5 million just to spruce up the golf course?

Meanwhile, 10 fully accredited colleges in Texas are moving in the opposite direction. Last week they announced new programs that would award degrees to students for less than $10,000 total.

The best and brightest flocked to New Jersey when I and almost any student could pay for one year of a state college with one summer of work. As a former underpaid adjunct professor willing to teach again, we can easily do that again.

Somers Point attorney Seth Grossman appears on 92.1FM 8-9 a.m. Saturday. For information see www.libertyandprosperity.org, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (609) 927-7333. Breakfast discussions are held 9:30-10:30 a.m. every Saturday at the Shore Diner on Fire and Tilton roads in Egg Harbor Township.