And now, Part 3 in our 49-part series, "Better Know a State Budget." (Maine, with the highest state tax burden in the nation, is dead to us).

Part 1 was Maryland, Part 2 was Illinois. Today: New Jersey (alternate pronunciation: New Joisey). The "Fightin' Gardeners," where everyone sleeps with the fishes because the smell never goes away. Home to scenic Newark, fashionable cement shoes, and more oil slicks (literal and figurative) than you can shake a stick at.

Our very own Sam Batkins breaks down the taxing and spending habits of our most driven-through state (thanks, New Jersey Turnpike!). From 2000-2002, spending rose 21 percent while revenues actually declined by 23 percent. Incoming Governor Jon Corzine has proposed $1.8 billion in tax and fee increases (which he could probably pay for out of his pocket). Batkins estimates that if spending had been restrained to population growth plus inflation, average per capita savings would have been $900.

See the full report here and prepare to be amazed by the use of 37 footnotes. And if you didn't get any of the attempts at good-natured humor, look here for a big fat nightcrawler of truth courtesy of Stephen Colbert.