April 15, 2009
  | CASAGRANDE AND O’SCANLON: |
Elected leaders should take the tea party protests held throughout New Jersey and the nation as a warning that their days of over-borrowing, overspending and overtaxing without concern for taxpayers are over, Assembly members Caroline Casagrande and Declan O’Scanlon, both R-Monmouth and Mercer, said today.
“Just as tea came to symbolize the end of Britain excessively taxing the colonies without representation, it will come to symbolize an end of the days when officials such as Governor Jon Corzine can ignore taxpayers to maintain a large government residents do not want and cannot afford,” Casagrande said. “The strong showing of frustrated taxpayers is more proof that New Jersey is overtaxed despite the delusional denials by the governor, his staff and Democrats in the Legislature.”
O’Scanlon, who has recently sparred with Democratic legislators during budget hearings whether New Jersey has a particularly high tax burden, said taxpayers have nothing left to sacrifice for government’s refusal to responsibly manage public dollars.
“The nation’s Tax Freedom Day, which marks when average taxpayers earned enough to cover their state, local and federal taxes, occurred two days ago, yet New Jerseyans will be working for two more weeks because of the tax increases enacted by Governor Corzine and his Democratic colleagues in the Legislature,” said O’Scanlon, referring to a recent study by the federal nonpartisan Tax Foundation. “New Jersey is clearly overtaxed and today’s protests show residents are aware of that reality, but are no longer willing to accept it.”
