Raise motor fuel and income tax, not tolls
Gov. Corzine seems hell bent on raising tolls and establishing new tolls on Routes 80, 78 and yes, 440. He and Sen. Raymond Lesniak feel that tolls are not taxes and only the toll-road users will feel the impact. This they feel will effectively shield government entities from the wrath of the majority of residents of this "Soprano State."

The taxpayers of this state are not as dumb as our elected officials think, and the governor's proposed 800-percent toll hike was rejected in all quarters. Consider also that the 800-percent toll hike was developed by an independent law firm that presented amultimillion dollar bill to us taxpayers to pay. Here we go again!

We now have this dumb plan, and dumb it is. It has been proved time and again that tolls do not work in the 21st century. Waiting at toll booths burns expensive diesel fuel and gasoline. Tolls slow traffic, and toll booths cause accidents. It has also been shown that close to 50 percent of the tolls collected go to collect the tolls. Further tolls put the burden of resolving the financial problems of the state again on the toll-road users, not all citizens of the state equally. This idea has to be soundly trashed aswell, but it is evident the governor and even my elected officials don't want to even look at other ideas, such as the one below.

Besides doing some hardnosed management and house cleaning in Trenton, the only realistic financial solutions are to raise the motor-fuel tax and to increase the state income tax. Our elected officials want to distance themselves from these overt taxes, but the toll-road solution is only another Band-Aid on a gaping financial wound. We need major surgery or the patient will die.
Thomas J. Kesolits
Holmdel