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Old 11-13-2008, 10:12 AM
 
Location: 32°19'03.7"N 106°43'55.9"W
9,355 posts, read 20,727,008 times
Reputation: 9912

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Quote:
Originally Posted by solibs View Post
Inflation doesn't stop just because you cap property tax hikes.

Even if you froze pay - and, as a former state employee, I know from experience that state and municipal employees forgo pay raises and even take cuts in pay and benefits on a regular basis - the cost of supplies and utilities and everything else that goes into running an office or a shop is still going to rise at a fairly predictable 3% per year.

I'm not sure why you'd want to blame municipal workers, who don't make much money in the first place, for the fact that private sector workers are getting ripped off by their bosses.

All of the growth in real wages since 1972 can be attributed to women entering the workforce and making more money over the years. Real wages for men have been stagnant since then. That's for all industries, including gov't.

Wrap your head around that, if you can.

If you can't then consider that in 1970 the average CEO compensation was about 25x what the average worker made - about $700k/yr. Now it's 400x what the average worker makes.
A handful of CEO salaries in the private sector don't measure up to the plethora of NJ state and municipal employees, which are too great in #, and are creating increased pressure in the form of medical insurance plus pensions.
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Old 11-13-2008, 12:23 PM
 
Location: NJ
23,423 posts, read 17,101,753 times
Reputation: 17451
Default Thanks Mike!

Thanks for putting that in perspective. It is so sad when the issue becomes CEO salaries when the government is bleeding your tax money by the bucketfull.

The CEO issue is used only to incite the mob and divert attention away from the gapping holes of government incompetency that apparently are insoluable.
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Old 11-13-2008, 12:55 PM
 
Location: Savannah GA/Lk Hopatcong NJ
13,383 posts, read 28,655,416 times
Reputation: 12024
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kracer View Post
Thanks for putting that in perspective. It is so sad when the issue becomes CEO salaries when the government is bleeding your tax money by the bucketfull.
The CEO issue is used only to incite the mob and divert attention away from the gapping holes of government incompetency that apparently are insoluable.
Oh but it is a huge issue when our tax dollars are bailing these companies out and these grossly over paid CEO's are sailing into the sunset under their golden parachutes..doesn't matter any more be it big corporate America or politicians the bottom line is they are both screwing the tax paying public big time
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Old 11-13-2008, 02:28 PM
 
622 posts, read 3,109,961 times
Reputation: 305
Our officials stayed under the 4% cap by ADDING a 'sewer fee' that we pay every quarter. They've already raised the rate once and it has only been in affect a few months. Too funny.

They were proud of the fact they came up with this idea of a sewer fee while staying under the 4% tax cap. This is not a "tax". ummmm, yeah... Whatever, it's still a BILL we have to pay. I'd rather be taxed and deduct it! lol

While they were proposing this "fee", they said it would help conserve water, as residents would cut back on usuage to save money. Well..... residents did cut back on usage. When the city got their first quarter's reciepts, they said it was not enough income and raised the rate! lmao. So now we're using less and paying the same amount we would have before "conserving" water.
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Old 11-13-2008, 03:18 PM
 
526 posts, read 2,065,587 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mike0421 View Post
Newark school system, 89k a year is the median salary for Kindergarten.
That's not true. The median salary for a kindergarten treacher in Newark is $40K. Check the link below.

http://www.ihireelementaryteachers.com/t-Kindergarten-Teacher-s-New-Jersey-c-Newark-salary.html (broken link)

However, the median salary for an NYC kindergarten treacher is $71K. Now that's ridiculous.
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Old 11-13-2008, 03:25 PM
 
Location: Weehawken, NJ
2,179 posts, read 6,706,889 times
Reputation: 1167
Quote:
Originally Posted by solibs View Post
Two things I'd like to know:

1. Where do kindergarten teachers make $75k? My cousin teaches K-4 in a very affluent school district in Monmouth Co. and doesn't make anything close to that.

2. What's this "dole" that you speak of? There hasn't been "welfare" since Bill Clinton's second term and what's left of it - TANF, WIC, etc have time limits.
An upper Bergen Co. Elementary school.
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Old 11-13-2008, 03:39 PM
 
Location: In My Own Little World. . .
3,238 posts, read 8,775,631 times
Reputation: 1614
Quote:
Originally Posted by HobokenGuy View Post
I don't mind NJ as well, but it all goes back to the question of where the heck the money is going to.

Why is the cost of living cheap in SC? I would like to hear your reasons.
Well, I can't speak for SC, but I can tell you what I have found since I've moved to Oklahoma, where my property taxes are about $1200 for a 3bedroom/2 bath house with 2/3 of an acre.

1. Garbage collection is once a week. (In my NJ town, it was three times a week). You get a really big garbage can from the township, but if you want them to pick up more than one can you have to pay extra for it. Garbage, water and sewer runs me about $60 a month.

2. If you want to keep your garbage down, you can recycle. However, it's voluntary, and you have to bring it to the recycling center (in my NJ town it was picked up twice a month.)

3. I work for the State of Oklahoma, and they haven't had a raise in 3 years. My starting salary here is pretty good (about 70% of what it was after working for the State of NJ for 3 years.) The benefits are comparable to NJ. I pay a little bit more for health insurance, but OK has a pension plan, as well as a 401K plan that they contribute (a small amount) to. NJ had the pension, but the 401K was employee contributions only. I have the same amount of sick and vacation time. Comparable holidays, also.

4. The roads are bad. Not much more to say about that.

5. We have a 7% state sales tax, but each town adds an additional tax that is used to pay for services. So, you try to shop in your own town whenever you can. And sales tax is charged on food and clothes, except for one weekend a year when there is no sales tax on clothes (around back to school time).

6. We have a combination paid/volunteer fire deparmtent in my town. (My NJ town was all volunteer).

7. Teachers make WAY less than NJ teachers. (I substituted in both states), and our township has one nurse for every three schools. Also, all the sports teams, and even some of the classes run fundraisers for "extras" that the NJ schools supplied (field trips, etc.)

These are some reasons that I see the difference in taxes. However, I am more than happy to put up with the loss of some services to have a MUCH lower tax bill. The prevailing attitude here is "government, stay out of my life", so you don't hear people grousing about a lack of being taken care of by the government. Most people here are very happy with the state, and their life.
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Old 11-13-2008, 05:34 PM
 
Location: South Philly
1,943 posts, read 6,968,736 times
Reputation: 658
Quote:
Originally Posted by njkate View Post
Oh but it is a huge issue when our tax dollars are bailing these companies out and these grossly over paid CEO's are sailing into the sunset under their golden parachutes..doesn't matter any more be it big corporate America or politicians the bottom line is they are both screwing the tax paying public big time
Exactly my point.

A handful of CEOs, let's say 5, equals 2000 municipal employees. I'd say that more than measures up.
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Old 11-13-2008, 05:37 PM
 
Location: South Philly
1,943 posts, read 6,968,736 times
Reputation: 658
Quote:
Originally Posted by E-TOWN-R.I.P. View Post
That's not true. The median salary for a kindergarten treacher in Newark is $40K. Check the link below.

Kindergarten Teacher Salary in Newark, New Jersey - Free Salary Data (http://www.ihireelementaryteachers.com/t-Kindergarten-Teacher-s-New-Jersey-c-Newark-salary.html - broken link)
Dude, don't bring facts in to this. We deal only in rumor and innuendo around here
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Old 11-13-2008, 07:10 PM
 
526 posts, read 2,065,587 times
Reputation: 177
Quote:
Originally Posted by solibs View Post
Dude, don't bring facts in to this. We deal only in rumor and innuendo around here
Ah, now you tell me.
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