I fear that nobody truly understands why the state of New Jersey is in such a terrible financial mess. The problem is systemic and goes back some 35 to 40 years, to decisions made by both political parties when they were in power.

These decisions were at least tacitly accepted and supported by New Jerseyans. For it was decades ago when the state government began to closely regulate, even micromanage, virtually every aspect of life in the Garden State.

Before the 1960s, the state government was reasonably small in size, function and cost. But beginning in the 1960s, the state decided that the people, businesses and industry of New Jersey needed to be more closely monitored by the state. The result was increasing regulation of the environment, construction, education, business, auto insurance and virtually every other facet of living or doing business in New Jersey.

Naturally, the state had to expand the number of government employees to monitor all these new regulations and the state's payroll ballooned. I suppose many citizens thought the increasing state controls served some good purpose. So they permitted this ever-increasing number of regulations and bureaucrats without considering the rising costs.

Even today, most folks do not understand the staggering costs of regulation borne by the taxpayer and the consumer. For one example, take the cost of housing. When a new home is constructed in this state, approximately 20 percent of the cost of the house is for nothing other than the paperwork required to fulfill the myriad construction regulations.

New businesses avoid setting up shop in this state because it is so burdensome to do so. Existing firms are looking for a way out of New Jersey because of the business taxes and environmental and hiring regulations they must abide by.

In many instances, state agencies duplicate the work of an already existing federal agency. Does the state really need its own Department of Environmental Protection or homeland security agency? No.

The costs of running this state are out of control and the only way to permanently reduce the state's deficit is to reduce the cost of government. That means cutting back its interference in the lives of citizens. State residents must come to realize that much of their tax burden is an artificial need to foster the hiring of political party workers who not only do little good, but, by their meddlesome interference with business and commerce, hamper the economic vitality of New Jersey.

What can be done to stop this? First, the state needs to end its tax rebate program (I just heard the collective scream from readers). It makes absolutely no sense for the state to be gouging its residents looking for new sources of revenue while at the same time giving away much of that money as a tax offset. Not only is the program senseless, it is costly to maintain.

Secondly, to save money immediately, the state must order a 5 percent cut in every department's budget for the coming fiscal year. That's every department, agency and bureau in state government, no exceptions. Each department can decide for itself where to cut, but it must be done. If the state recovers financially the next year, some things can be reinstated.

Lastly, there must be a commission appointed by the Legislature to examine every regulation, ordinance and law that requires money to implement. This commission must not include elected officials. It should be composed of the business community, workers and residents who do not feed from the public trough.

The group's task will be to end arcane regulations that stifle initiative, cripple the economy and squander the people's resources. Should the Legislature refuse to implement the reforms, we will know precisely whom to hold responsible.

At least two factions will oppose such changes. Elected officials and their cronies will fight any such systemic reform because it will threaten their continued reason for existence. No surprise.

Ordinary citizens will also hesitate to adopt such sweeping reform. Most residents have lived for so long under the state's micromanaging of their lives they do not realize how different life can be. There are many states that allow citizens to live mostly unregulated lives. There are states that have no sales or income tax (and no beach fees) because they do not believe they have the right to do these things.

It may take some profound rethinking on the part of New Jersey's citizens, but if they are to get our state's spending under control, they must reorder their priorities and insist that elected officials cut spending. If officials will not do that, then we, the people, will, whether it be by ballot, recall, referendum or taxpayer revolt.

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