 "Photo: DT")
Sen. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., answered a wide spectrum of questions from college journalists at Friday's press conference. Here are Corzine's responses to some of the major issues:
Student Participation in Government
Corzine was honest in his opening remarks, making it clear that while he is making himself available to the demands of students, politicians will still cater to the views of those who traditionally exercise their right to vote.
"The fact is we go where the votes are and that's the realistic reality, and I hope you can help make that different, help reshape it."
"Making sure that young people and the students who are in college participate in an election that has so much long-run meaning with regard to our country I think is absolutely essential."
The New Jersey Primary
"I don't think New Jersey ought to be at the tag end of the line. I think we should have jumped forward and gotten into the mix because I think it gives us leverage in the whole process. Plus, the candidates get to know New Jersey a little bit better if that were the case."
However, that does not mean there should be a national primary system in which all states vote at the same time. Corzine said there is an advantage to "retail politics," in which citizens are able to personally meet the candidates before they vote for them in a few states.
Arts Funding
Since the last state budget had a drastic impact on arts funding, Corzine was asked what the federal government's role in arts funding should be. He commended President George W. Bush's administration for keeping art's funding steady but said more must be done.
"I think there is a role for the federal government to provide funding. [Currently] it is, in my view, just not enough in a $2.4 trillion budget. One hundred ten million dollars [the federal government pays for art programs] is a drop in the bucket with regard to what I think we ought to be [spending for]. The arts, actually pull us together as a society."
Improving the Job Market
Corzine said the job market would be helped by overcoming its $500 billion federal deficit and a growing trade deficit in conjunction with using existing international institutions to benefit the United States.
"There is only so much capital in the world, and if a whole bunch of it is going to the federal budget - as opposed to private investments - it raises the cost of capital over what it would otherwise be."
"We need to use the rules of the World Trade Organization more to the advantage of the United States to level the playing field, not to get an unfair advantage."
The outsourcing of American jobs - a process where companies move their factories abroad to take advantage of cheap foreign labor - must be addressed by the government in a creative way to keep the United States competitive in many industries.
Corzine said instead of placing restrictions on trade, the government should make tax credits for job creation, as well as other kinds of innovative physical investments in the economy.
Racial Profiling
Corzine said legislation must be executed to secure fairness with law enforcement. He thinks cameras should be put in police vehicles to definitively prove what happened if a complaint about police treatment arises.
"We have to have a world where people have confidence that justice is fairly applied, and quite frankly, nobody has shown in any statistical analysis that uneven application of justice is going to lead to a safer society."
Patriot Act
"If you are sneaking and peeking into people's homes without search warrants, you are using [the act] to the extreme. To go in and take out people's hard drives out of their computers - I don't think that's the implementation of the Patriot Act that I wanted to see."
However, Corzine did say he wanted to see more comparison of information between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is why he originally voted for the act.
Leave No Child Behind
Many people that protest this act feel mandatory testing and standards for schools are necessary, but the implementation of the act is less than desirable, Corzine said, adding there are many holes in the program.
"Putting out mandates on our state and local governments without putting money there means property taxes are going up here in New Jersey."
Detention of 9/11 Prisoners
"The law ought to be equally applied no matter how egregious the charge of an individual, and I think when we get away from that we lose something of what we are as a nation."
Israel-Palestine Conflict
Corzine questioned the priorities of the current administration in getting peace in the Middle East.
If the Bush administration had spent the money used in the Iraqi war on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, "We'd probably have peace in the Middle East," he said, adding that it is a very complicated situation that the federal government needs to put much more attention in the area.
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