millvillefirst.org

A meeting of Millville First is scheduled for Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., at the American Legion Post 82, Buck & Mulberry Streets, Millville, N.J.  Peter Boyce, U.S. Constitution Course Instructor and Republican Primary Candidate for State Assembly, District One will be giving his power point presentation: “Untapped State Authority to Resist Federal Over-Reach”.  The presentation will include an overview of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.  The public is encouraged to attend and participate in this informative presentation.

also, read this…

TOPIC: UEZ

To the Editor

 America is a great country because it was founded upon principles of fairness, liberty, and equal treatment under the law. The first constitutions of the US and New Jersey guaranteed those principles. However, because of an apathetic, ill informed electorate, the NJ Constitution was amended, undermining those fundamental principles and allowing government to discriminate, that is treat people differently depending upon, among other things, location.

The constitutional amendment, in the guise of encouraging economic development, allowed politicians to arbitrarily give disparate treatment, including selective tax breaks, to favored groups and locations. Enter the creation of special zones. Once the special zone is created the rules designed to treat all citizens fairly and equally no longer apply. Those located in these artificially created zones get a long list of special privileges to the devastating detriment of those not included. One only need look at a map of any of the many special districts to recognize the caprice involved.

The constitutional amendment allowing zone discrimination was advanced as a way to rebuild “blighted urban centers” like Newark, devastated in the urban riots of the 60’s. Today’s landscape of special zones bears no resemblance to that original proposition. We have urban enterprise zones, redevelopment zones, federal enterprise zones, entertainment zones, center city zones and revenue allocation districts to name some. In each one the favored business/developer is exempt from the general rules and granted special privileges. It can exercise eminent domain for a private project, not pay sales tax for equipment and machinery, sidestep local planning and zoning laws and reduce its real estate taxes. Those not included within the boundaries of the special place are at a competitive disadvantage and all other tax payers pick up the burden for the taxes not paid by those in the zone. In order to neutralize those who questioned the idea, the law was temporary. For the UEZ’s it was 15 years because that was all the time it would take for this blatantly un-american, disparate treatment to work its magic. However, like many “temporary” government programs the sun never sets and they are perpetually extended. The Vineland-Millville UEZ is now in its 23rd year and its beneficiaries argue that it still hasn’t gotten the job done. Time and space do not permit a thorough exposure of the true costs and fallacies of the program, but ask yourself: If it is so great why are all the politicians arguing that we need it because we are still so poor and things haven’t improved in the 23 years or so UEZ has been in effect?

 Paul R. Porreca