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The #1 reason is these scumbags that get elected time and time again. This senator Sacco has 3 FULL TIME jobs that pay 300,000 a year and he has accrued over 300,000 in sick time AFTER being paid for it over the last 10 years. And to boot with 3 jobs, he only works about 3 or 4 hours a day. What a f-ing disgrace. He should be in jail with Bernie Madoff. And this goes on all over. I can write 50 names in here.
Part of the problem is the exorbitant salaries and pensions paid to public workers. It is very common to find teachers, police officers, and firefighters in this state making over $100k, which is unheard of in most other states.
Thats it in a nutshell, pensions & salaries for the public secctor employees.
- High level of corruption.
- Poor auditing and monitoring how the taxes are actually spent
- NJ has way too many governing bodies that can raise taxes
- Lack of consolidated local governments (when every town has their own police/fire chief, mayor, whole administrative staff that comes with town, etc. There are savings on overlap we miss and we also miss out on things like purchasing power)
In return we get the following...
- Great school system
- Cheap gas
- Cheap sales tax
- Good highway
- Some great towns
You kidding me? We have a horrible highway system in NJ -- add to that general terrible infrastructure in the NYC area. We have higher than average sales tax, high cost of food, high cost of homes, high taxes, high cost to use a PUBLIC BEACH (unheard of in most states.) Pretty much there isn't a whole lot going for NJ except proximity to NYC and Philly. If you live in suburbia, you can get it cheaper and more back for your buck in other states.
That's the $1 million question. When we moved to GA, that's all we heard- "you're leaving behind so much- great schools, well-maintained roads, great services, blah, blah, blah....". I can tell you that I pay a fraction of the property taxes I paid in NJ, and even with the annual $250 car registration fees, 2% sales tax on food, 6% on clothes, etc., I still end up thousands ahead, and have no difference in services, roads, schools, or anything else.
The biggest problems in NJ, which have been alluded to above, are home rule, and bloated salaries/retirement/benefits packages for state and local employees. Until something is done about those issues (and it'll never happen....), the taxes will continue to be high. When you've got guidance counselors who were making $80-90k/year and retire with pensions that pay them $5,000/month for life, there's something wrong.
Other than proximity to NYC and the job and cultural opportunities that that creates for those who live in northern NJ, there's nothing there that can't be found in plenty of other places for a fraction of the cost.
I totally agee with your theories here....We have about the same fees here. Much better then the high school tax bill I had up North. That was getting outrageous.
1: NJ offers larger homes than the 5 boroughs of NYC with the ability to get to Manhattan in a similar time frame for work. So for people with families it offers a better lifestyle than raising children in the 5 boroughs. The state charges a higher property tax but lower taxes on other things that NYC charges taxes on. Net net you end up with a larger home for your money vs NYC. NJ knows what they can get from its people living in the state so thats what they charge. Its all supply vs demand.
2: Corruption, NJ is one of the most corrupt states in the country, just ask Jon Corzine! I can only imagine how much tax payers dollars are in off shore accounts in his name after what he did with MAN Financial.
I lived in New Jersey for 64 years, operated my own business, and paid the outrageous never ending list of taxes and fees because l was stuck there. Now, l live in Florida and find life much more economical.....I still have all the same services and Florida students are able to gain entrance into the same colleges that New Jersey students do. The reality is that behind closed doors New Jersey politicians must laugh hysterically at how dumb New Jersey residents are to pay the highest taxes and continue to live there. It's not Christie....it's The financial insanity that New Jersey has become. I wish I could have left sooner.
Part of the problem is the exorbitant salaries and pensions paid to public workers. It is very common to find teachers, police officers, and firefighters in this state making over $100k, which is unheard of in most other states.
This, and we have so many police officers and firefighters. The majority of towns, boroughs, cities, townships, you name it big or small has is own PD, in addition to a few county PD's then the state police. Same with fire: almost every town has a fire dept. This often isn't necessary, we can cut down or consolidate towns, and is rare in other states.
On the Asbury Park Press's website, you used to be able to pull up the salaries of any teacher. This is public info I believe, as they're state workers, so is probably available elsewhere but I always went to APP. I looked up teachers in my district and found gym teachers making 110k a year. Not saying they don't work hard, but that is a lot for a gym teacher.... they'd been working for 35 years and got a raise every year. This is the type of stuff seen in NJ and not in other states, and makes us unique in a good and bad way depending on how you want to look at it. It's also why we have high taxes. Someone has to support all those public workers and their high salaries, pensions, and benefits.
pension salaries too many administrators theft greed
Would you be fine with a radical merger of services...
All police departments are eliminated, with the state police absorbing all police, and then they would be the only police in the state?
All city, boro, town, etc. are eliminated and everything is merged into a one-gov. county organization?
Schools are redone the same way county wide?
Last edited by bellhead; 08-19-2013 at 05:45 AM..
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