Will sales tax increase survive?

Politicians from both parties were making a lot of noise in the wake of Gov. Corzine's call for an increase in the sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent about how they hope to be able to head it off. We'll see. We're skeptical of any Democrats who say they want to decrease spending. Typically, they are looking for ways to add money to the budget. Republicans haven't been much better, which helps explain their lack of success at the polls in recent years. They have failed to provide any unified, coherent opposition, particularly at budget time. This year, for a change, we would like to see them present an alternative to the governor's budget - one that doesn't balance it on the backs of taxpayers.