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It's the property tax which is killing us.
Home rule -> higher property tax -> high rent and high business overhead -> stores close much faster in NJ than other states
Cost per student here: $12K
Cost per student in the even-more-expensive (and higher SAT score) Silicon Valley: $5K
R town and D town - both have high tax
Home rule is the main cause for high property tax, not political party
However, it seems that no one wants to give up home rule in NJ.
It has been proven by Bret Schundler's loss to Jim McGreevey in 2001 governor race.
And proven by numerous votes - towns refused to merge.
Powerful unions looking to protect their own interests - they are the one who control this state (and control my financial freedom).
(They are so powerful I don't even dare to mention their names in this post.)
Crooks in both parties sucking blood from public funds by awarding contracts to cronies.
People here don't want to change home rule.
People here kind of accept the fact that it's ok to have no money left year after year after paying all thses taxes.
And many people here have the attitude like "if you don't like it (or can't afford it), leave!" (I bet you have seen it a lot in here.)
Then how can you possibly start a constructive conversation with people (e.g. my spouse) about change? You can't.
Sadly, the only way to fight the 27% increase of property tax bill is to change your state address altogether.
So here we are, bounded in modern economic slavery.
I am staying only because of family. And I like the fact that people here are friendly, cool and non-judgmental. But don't know how long I can hang on.
Kind of accept it or more like- kind of accept that they are powerless. Talking to your spouse is not going to be enough unless your spouse is I don't know........you fill in the blank.
Not really.
The family are the dems and the repubs.
That is true in other places as well.
The two parties are a facade in many places.
You would think people would know.
If it changes at all it will have to come from up high and then be followed by a huge revolt or groundswell from below.
Up high does not mean from Trenton.
I have posted the same thing on the NY board. Up high does not mean Albany.
Hopefully people will start catching on.
you know what gets me about towns and taxes is this. i live in aberdeen my taxes are about 7500 for a small 976 square ft home.1 bath 2 small bedrooms. 50x50 lot. the house is about 80 years old not many improvements. siding,maybe some new kitchen cabinets. ok.. so we pay school taxes, garbage.and leaf pick up. so i've noticedin the last 2 years aberdeen has 2 new suv's.. one is mid size and the other bigger. the bigger one they just got like 2 months ago,it has police on it and then in BIG letters it says"SUPERVISOR"... WHY!!!!!!why does a supervisor get a huge truck to drive around in and patrol? a car is not good enough.i want to know why? anyone? to me that is waste of money,thats where my tax money is going...
We need some of the ridiculous amounts of small towns to merge. We have so many mayors and city councils in NJ eating up tax dollars, it's insane.
this is definitely one reason. just yesterday (or the day before) in the daily record, there was an article that morristown and morris township won't be merging (b/c of morris township's reluctance - morris township being the wealthier of the 2, of course). NIMBY at its finest - let the onus be on the other guy to drive my (generic my) property taxes down.
these days it's "ask not what i can do for my state, but what my state can do for me", LOL.
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