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When my folks moved to Greenville, SC, they traded in a 1200 square foot 3 bed 1.5 bath ranch for a 4 bed/4bath 4,500 square foot Williamsburg Colonial on a golf course and resort. Tax bill as of last year? About 1300 dollars, which had increased about 30 dollars from 2006. This is due in large part to the SC Educational Lottery that actually goes to the school districts. Schools are outstanding in the Greenville area (county system), county police, county services, and most residents are from NY, NJ, MA, PA, and OH. There comes a breaking point from where you are just getting by, to barely scraping by, thus the exodus to the Carolinas, GA, and TN.
Say what you want about paying for great schools in NJ. A kindergarten teacher does not need to be making 75K/year for finger painting and basic ABC's. It's just ludicrous. There are other major metros with tax bills more sane, cheaper housing, and just as good of schools.
The residents of NJ need to wake up and realize they are getting bent over. This is not normal.
I hear the same from my sister who moved to Greenville, SC about 2 1/2 years ago, loves the education system, taxes are ridiculous low compared to NJ and their services are an envy.
[quote=HobokenGuy;6137596]When my folks moved to Greenville, SC, they traded in a 1200 square foot 3 bed 1.5 bath ranch for a 4 bed/4bath 4,500 square foot Williamsburg Colonial on a golf course and resort. Tax bill as of last year? About 1300 dollars, which had increased about 30 dollars from 2006. This is due in large part to the SC Educational Lottery that actually goes to the school districts. Schools are outstanding in the Greenville area (county system), county police, county services, and most residents are from NY, NJ, MA, PA, and OH. There comes a breaking point from where you are just getting by, to barely scraping by, thus the exodus to the Carolinas, GA, and TN.
Say what you want about paying for great schools in NJ. A kindergarten teacher does not need to be making 75K/year for finger painting and basic ABC's. It's just ludicrous. There are other major metros with tax bills more sane, cheaper housing, and just as good of schools.
I hear the same from my sister who moved to Greenville, SC about 2 1/2 years ago, loves the education system, taxes are ridiculous low compared to NJ and their services are an envy.
Now, where's that bottle of KY LOL
That may be true but then you are living in Greenville, SC. I will take NJ and its flaws over living in SC. I could go on here ripping SC for its many issues but there is typically a REASON cost of living is cheap in areas over others. Otherwise everyone would live there. (like NJ)
That may be true but then you are living in Greenville, SC. I will take NJ and its flaws over living in SC. I could go on here ripping SC for its many issues but there is typically a REASON cost of living is cheap in areas over others. Otherwise everyone would live there. (like NJ)
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.
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.
I don't know where the heck it's going to, but I know where it's coming from: out of your pocket.
I have come to the conclusion that most of those who remain in NJ are of two breeds: a) They prefer the higher levels of local government and the resources they consume, and are accepting of paying more in taxes (these folks vote mostly straght-line Democrat ticket, by the way) and b) those who were born and raised there, have family there, are acclimated to the unique culture that NJ offers, and hope for some sort of financial reversal long term. They'd love to leave, but something is holding them back (family, the unique culture of NJ, etc) that leaves them grounded. But they feel at liberty to voice their displeasure nonetheless.
I just thought of the third breed: people who have been on the dole most of their adult lives and don't get caught up in the pragmatism of the argument. Their thought process typically doesn't evolve past 5 minutes from the present time. They are the malfunctioning engine on the NJ jet plane that is largely responsible for driving it into ground.
If these politicos were boat captains they might come up with a better solution than just bailing to prevent the ship from going under.
If Aesop did not have a fable about a guy who could not put money in his pocket fast enough to keep it full because there was a hole in it, he should have.
Jon wanted his fiscal way this spring so he relies on his strength, bullying. He threatens to close down state parks if he doesn't get his way.
You got a hole in your pocket so you tighten your belt. Well it has something to do with pants and the pants are the problem. What on earth are these guys up to?? Did the "War of the Worlds" really happen in Browns Mill and was the state actually taken over by aliens???? Must be aliens as their logic is sooo far beyond the common sense logic humans use.
Not just to pick on Jon but all the past dolts from both political parties are stomping down the exact same path. Guess they don't call them parties for nothing. Perhaps the appropriate term would be GANGs.
What is so sad about Jon, is he is supposed to be some sort of financial guru. "If Jon can't do it nobody can" as the high school cheer goes. Guess I missed the financial magic he performed in his role as governor.
A temporary Federal takeover is the only answer. The voting process simply will not save NJ.
Other than a federal takeover we need to pick a random name from a phone book and write that guy in for governor. We need somebody who has no knowledge of how the NJ political system works. Somebody who thinks $20 is a lot of money.
I just thought of the third breed: people who have been on the dole most of their adult lives and don't get caught up in the pragmatism of the argument. Their thought process typically doesn't evolve past 5 minutes from the present time. They are the malfunctioning engine on the NJ jet plane that is largely responsible for driving it into ground.
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.
How about a 2% cap. Once you set a cap, it guarantees a yearly raise. Even when many in the pvt sector won't see any raise, reduced benefits with higher costs borne by the pvt sector employee, etc.
The public sector has to get in line with the pvt sector when it comes to employee compensation. Doing otherwise is allowing a false economy.
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.
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.
Newark school system, 89k a year is the median salary for Kindergarten.
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I could go on here ripping SC for its many issues but there is typically a REASON cost of living is cheap in areas over others. Otherwise everyone would live there. (like NJ)
Solutions are clear, the path convoluted
