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I don't know who I am voting for yet, but I do think that Christie's weight is going to hurt him. I can't understand why he didn't go on Nutrisystem or something and drop some of it this spring and summer. He's a good looking guy with a very nice family, but I'm convinced his obesity is going to hurt him.
Politics is a very visual game, even for men. Look at Huckabee. He only got to the national stage (and now his TV show) after slimming down.
people with that mindset don't deserve to have the privelege of voting...good grief
just look at your wallet and tell me who is better you dont need facts and figures.
Um, what is in your wallet IS a fact, and a figure.
Not only was that self contradictory, it was rather juvenile and ill-suited.
Guys, instead of yelling at each other, why don't you spend some energy researching the candidates and try to find SPECIFICS about them and what they pledge to do? The problem is, commercials can only fling poo or show the candidate kissing babies in the park. The cry "Lower taxes" but do not say HOW they will (I assume they will start growing Money Trees?).
They SCREAM about the possibility of tolls going up when they haven't, and exaggerate a 1% increase in sales tax to a RELATIVE 16% increase.
Corzine = Slime and Christie does not look like a savior. Maybe if you all would stop slinging hash and seriously look at the issues, maybe we could get an independent in here rather than someone who has bent over backwards (and forwards) to get up the political ladder in his respective party.
So when some Republican candidate starts talking about cutting this tax and that tax, I know he's just doing it to tickle the ears of his base, the people who whine incessantly about paying the high costs of living in NJ yet seem to want to stay even at the high cost. Well, I'm not interested.
I don't understand why so many conservative people, who love to talk about letting the "market" determine prices don't want that apply to any government or tax. If NJ's taxes are REALLY "too" high for what people get in return, then people will leave. We are customers of our government and its service. We can take our business elsewhere in the case of any government below the federal level. Don't like your town's taxes? You can leave! Same with state taxes. I'm not buying this "our taxes are too high" complaint. I'm sure we can stand to have a much more efficient government and less waste, and I don't agree with every single government program, but even if we fixed most of the problems we'd STILL have a higher tax burden than other states.
I consider myself to be very conservative on economic issues. After complaining about it for several years, I decided to leave. If you look at the Hughes/Seneca report, which provides an in depth analysis of migratory patterns of ex-New Jerseyans, the data backs up the facts that many of us have left, seeking out residency in more tax-friendly areas. The outflow of population is very real. I would suggest that you do buy into it, because the facts speak for themselves. My hope is that more will follow us. Unfortunately, there is a part of me that believes that most of us that are escaping are in the middle class. Those who are replacing us are either a) very, very well off, upper class, and b) permanent underclass. This continued demographic shift will only produce a second California. That's a shame, because I really wish NJ could have continued to be what I remember back in the 70s and 80s, a state that fostered a thriving middle class citizenry.
I consider myself to be very conservative on economic issues. After complaining about it for several years, I decided to leave. If you look at the Hughes/Seneca report, which provides an in depth analysis of migratory patterns of ex-New Jerseyans, the data backs up the facts that many of us have left, seeking out residency in more tax-friendly areas. The outflow of population is very real. I would suggest that you do buy into it, because the facts speak for themselves. My hope is that more will follow us. Unfortunately, there is a part of me that believes that most of us that are escaping are in the middle class. Those who are replacing us are either a) very, very well off, upper class, and b) permanent underclass. This continued demographic shift will only produce a second California. That's a shame, because I really wish NJ could have continued to be what I remember back in the 70s and 80s, a state that fostered a thriving middle class citizenry.
Interesting post. I think this is happening all over our country now, unfortunately, although it is more pronounced in certain parts.
I consider myself to be very conservative on economic issues. After complaining about it for several years, I decided to leave. If you look at the Hughes/Seneca report, which provides an in depth analysis of migratory patterns of ex-New Jerseyans, the data backs up the facts that many of us have left, seeking out residency in more tax-friendly areas. The outflow of population is very real. I would suggest that you do buy into it, because the facts speak for themselves. My hope is that more will follow us. Unfortunately, there is a part of me that believes that most of us that are escaping are in the middle class. Those who are replacing us are either a) very, very well off, upper class, and b) permanent underclass. This continued demographic shift will only produce a second California. That's a shame, because I really wish NJ could have continued to be what I remember back in the 70s and 80s, a state that fostered a thriving middle class citizenry.
Yes, I wish that when I was younger and would have enjoyed living in Hoboken that it wouldn't have gentrified to the point of being too expensive. I wish that developers and investors didn't recognize the benefits intrinsic to Hoboken due to its location and character. I wish they didn't fully recognize the potential for it to become the uber-hip urban scene with proximity and easy access to Manhattan not to mention the incredible views of the skyline. Had they not, it might be a more affordable, scaled-(way-)back version of what it is today which would not be so expensive or crowded.
I wish that people didn't realize that a Lexus or BMW was actually a nicer car than a Hyundai, then maybe they'd roll back prices to where they'd be more affordable.
I wish that people were still scared to fly so that airlines would stll drop their drawers and offer crazy low fares so I could afford to fly more often.
Yes, I wish that NJ could be a utopian haven for people who had North Carolina salaries, and that people didn't realize that NJ had such a great location with so much to offer that they drive up costs through the market where basic supply and demand drives up costs. I wish that I could buy a home with twice the property and more square footage right here in my own town for the amount I'd get selling my current home.
It's nice to wish things were just the way we would like them to be. It's great when sometimes we find a situation where that happens. For those of us lucky enough to have grown up in NJ when it was less costly for the middle class we experienced some of that.
But mature adults should realize that change happens, and there is good and bad associated with it. They should also realize, particularly if they are of a conservative bent and pride themselve on "free trade" and supporting the market and capitalism, that things which are good will be more in demand and will command a higher cost as the supply dwindles.
If NJ is, or ever gets, too "expensive" in terms of taxes that are too high and other costs (housing, etc.) that's "too high" then the market will fix that. People will leave and demand will drop; supply and demand dictates that then costs will have to drop.
So yes, you and many love NJ, and that's why it's so expensive. High demand. Yes, people are leaving and there is an "outflow" of people; I am well aware of that. But, as you mentioned, they are being replaced by a wealthier group of people, who want to pay the higher prices. Supply and demand.
Would you be willing to cap housing costs so the government controls home values, so that the middle class can afford to stay? Would you be willing to cut out many of the things we enjoy about NJ so the middle class can stay??? Would you be willing to let education in NJ drop so that are schools are middle of the pack instead of at the top so that people can afford to stay??
I understand that you and many like you firmly believe that the reason for high costs comes down to nothing more than overspending, overtaxing, mismanagement of money, corruption, etc. But you all seem to ignore the fact that even if all of that was somehow magically cleared up, NJ would still be the most expensive state in which to live. Why?? Because it has a lot to offer and people are willing to pay more to live here.
If taxes were cut 50%, NJ would be even MORE desirable. Home prices would shoot up, and homes would be assessed at higher values, and your taxes would go up THAT way.
The whining that goes on is like that of an irrational little kid who does't understand costs and budgetary limits - "but mommy, I want THAT bike! So what if it's 5 times the price? I want THAT one! Why can't you just ask the guy to give it for less? I WANT IT! "
Then, to avoid looking irrational, they blame it on the taxes, corruption, waste, etc. Sorry, I'm not convinced. I don't believe it's all because of corruption and mismanagement; I believe the bulk of the high costs is directly related to the high demand and lower supply due to NJ being a desirable state in which to live. I don't believe that eliminating or reducing the quality of certain services which currently make NJ so desirable will make the lower costs worth it. I don't believe that corriuption and mismanagement are problems unique to NJ which can be avoided by moving to another state. Even IF corruption and money mismanagement are WORSE here, I don't believe they are THAT much worse.
So, yes, people are flowing out of NJ, but that has much to do with the fact that NJ is already crowded and still there are people moving IN. There's an outflow but it's offset by an INflow.
As I said earlier, I love NJ, it will always be my home. But if push comes to shove, if I find myself being too poor to live in my home state because I'm being replaced by a population of wealthy people, I will move on, no hard feelings. I won't be particularly happy about it, but I can't blame the market for NJ being so darn desirable that wealthier people are pushing me out. If it's not worth the cost to me to stay, I'll move. Maybe I'll move to PA so I can be near NJ, maybe even work in NJ to take advantage of higher pay (as many people who currently live in NJ but commute to NYC do for the higher pay); or maybe I'll move to California, or Arizona, or Nevada, which are other places I love.
It's all too convenient to just whine and complain, to blame this problem and that problem, to wish things were like they were in the good ol' days, all the while ignoring the FACT about our capitalist, market-based economy and the fact that THAT is the primary reason for NJ becoming unaffordable for some of us.
Then all that kind of irrational whining is used as a platform for politics, and it enters a whole new level of ignorance.
Whether Corzine wins, or Christie...or Lonegan, or Dagget, or Rush Limbaugh, or Al Franken, or the most ultra-leftist or the most ultra-rightist, NJ is still NJ, and NJ is still desirable. The only way to cheapen the costs of NJ is to cheapen the benefits of living in NJ - let the schools go to crap, let the beaches erode, let the parkway and turnpike crumble, etc. If we want to keep those things, we need to pay. We need to pay through our state's government. And with that comes corruption and inefficiency as it would in any state government.
Just face the facts, people. The whining is ridiculous.
This could partially explain why NJ has experienced the second sharpest drop in median salary over the past 2 years. Policies are now starting to catch up to the state's economy.
Mike, careful when you start picking select bands and call on "median salary" drops.
You realize that many of the jobs for working class people in NJ are coming from NYC, right? You know that a lot of THOSE jobs were recently terminated. The ones earning $200K+ did not necessarily lose their jobs, but a lot of people under them did.
So how can we just point fingers at NJ being at fault for the fall of the middle class?
As for housing costs, that is difficult. Because of the crazy deregulation of loan requirements, EVERYBODY could afford NJ... And guess what? They all tried to buy in. Now we are experiencing the backflow and sellout of a lot of this. People cannot afford to drop prices too low because they would not be able to afford it and we are seeing housing prices lag behind salaries and spending as people hold onto them for as long as they can.
I am disappointed in the outrageous costs of many of the nice areas in NJ. Comparing houses sen on the House Hunter shows on HGTV and the like going for 1/3 to 1/4 what could be gotten from places still within COMFORTABLE commuting distance from the city, but that is the thing. Houses are STILL selling at much higher than the national average!
It is not like all of NJ is moving out.
The prices have been trickling down, but we still have not hit a recoverable bottom line (or had inflation pick up under enough to put the floor closer to the flood waters...).
While I do not agree with the heavy handed approach BCJ tends to take in his responses, I do have to agree with his gist in that so many people like to blanket NJ with so much hate over things they feel have been taken from them. I have seen many here that complain about NJ having too much this or that, but many still wanting to live here. It's a tough dichotomy to deal with. A state that has a little bit of a lot of things, and is so close to so many places, but costing so much as to make it difficult for many to afford.
But lets see if we can't get back OT.... How are we supposed to pay for all the things that still need fixing in NJ? The infrastructure is rated at rock bottom (a few layers of paint away from collapsing in some cases), school funding is thrown about politically rather than to qualified teachers and staff that may be able to do something (Grand Piano for Newark! That should get them smarts!!!), pension systems that do not take into account that people are LIVING LONGER (cops, hello! You may not walk the beat when you are 50, but retiring after 25 for full benefits?????).
We need to cut spending in general, eliminate our state debt, then save for funding of repair and development of our infrastructure. ROW for high speed rail would be one thing to think about, and there are probably many more, but the key now is to get out of debt and fix what we have.
So how is EITHER candidate proposing to do that? Kissing babies and saying "no new taxes" just doesn't do it for me.
I don't wish NJ was like it was back in the day, when my parents weren't able to buy a house until they were in their mid-40's.
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