Earlier this week, I criticized my opponent, career Trenton politician John Adler, for voting to increase fuel taxes by $27 million since 2004, and contributing to the increased cost of home heating oil and rising gas prices at the pump.  To make matters worse, Adler then looked the other way while a good portion of the revenues were diverted from their intended purpose of cleaning up toxic sites, and instead spent on added state bureaucracy.

In response, Adler’s campaign stunningly defended the tax increase, saying that Adler voted for it, in part, because, “The rate had not been raised since 1987.” John Adler just doesn’t get it.  Just because a tax hasn’t been raised in 15 or 20 years isn’t a reason, or an excuse, to raise that tax today.  Frankly, that mindset embodies everything that is wrong with Trenton.  No wonder our State is in such fiscal disarray and living here has been so unaffordable under the Adler, McGreevey, Corzine regime.

A recent EPA Report criticized the NJ DEP, saying their problem was not a lack of resources, but a failure to use the resources at its disposal to implement agreements and carry out enforcement actions.  If they aren’t using the money they already have properly, then why in the world would John Adler vote to raise fuel taxes on consumers and give the NJ DEP even more taxpayer money to sit on?  It’s typical Trenton dysfunction and John Adler has been a big part of it for 16 years.

Signed into law in 2004, A-3117 (P.L. 2004. c. 50) amended what is referred to as the “Spill Act,” which was passed in 1976 to prevent oil spills, but was changed in 1981 to create a statutory means to compel responsible parties to clean up all hazardous discharges.  According to the Fitzgerald’s Legislative Manual, the Spill Tax generated approximately $48 million from 2002-2004.  Following Adler’s ‘Yes’ vote on A-3117, the Spill Tax generated approximately $75 million from 2005-2007—a $27 million increase over that comparable time period.  The Spill Tax is projected to cost taxpayers an additional $46 million between 2008 and 2009.

As for Adler’s wild, baseless and false allegations that I don’t want to be tough on polluters, it’s just a distraction from the issue at hand - Adler’s penchant for tax increases while serving in Trenton.  If running from your record in Trenton were an Olympic event, John Adler would easily win the gold medal.

The bottom line is that John Adler needs to explain to the people of this congressional district why he voted for a $27 million fuel tax increase that has made it more expensive for working families and seniors on a fixed income to fill up their gas tanks and heat their homes, and then never bothered to account for how the money was spent, or in this case, wasted.  It’s common sense that increasing taxes on refiners will result in those added costs being passed down the line as the fuel is sold to gas stations or local distributors, eventually forcing higher prices for consumers.

This fuel tax vote highlights John Adler’s phony rhetoric on lowering gas prices, which flies in the face of his own votes in Trenton.  He must be held accountable for last week’s announcement by the non-partisan Tax Foundation that New Jersey is the highest taxed state in the nation.  I intend to make his 43 tax increases since 2002 a central issue in my campaign.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 1:41 pm and is filed under Uncategorized .