Our politicians have bought themselves votes by bribing the upper class and underclass (via "entitlements") as well as certain public employees (via "payoffs") with an excessive number of dollars from the state treasury. Hence, after all the entitlements are paid, there's little left to pay for the common-good things we "middle class" use and enjoy ... like state parks!
Forty years ago, the problem started to show through "white-flight" from our urban areas. This was mistakenly deemed a race issue. (And I'm not denying that there were and still are racial issues, but race-baiters try to keep us fighting with each other to keep our eyes off of the real issues). It's really a class issue, and recently, as a greater number of minorities join the ranks of the middle class, these new middle class folk are just as P.O.'d about having their pockets picked as I am, if not more so.
Now, the entire state is experiencing middle-class flight -- including whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Jews alike -- because we can't afford to support both ourselves (spending our hard-earned inflation-diminished dollars) and the entitlement class (through the state's excessive spending and the related tax burden placed upon us.)
Having a governor who sleeps with the head of the public employees' union should cause some red flags to be waived too. But no one seems to have the motivation or the power to challenge this.
New Jersey is a great place to live if you're rich and a great place to live if you're poor. If you're middle-class, you're somewhat nuts if you stay! Presently, I'm one of the nuts. So that's where the money is going. We have the rich, we have the poor, and we have a retarded middle-class.
Though the source of this popular quote is in dispute, it's worthy of contemplation: A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the masses discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy... (with the working middle-class carrying the bulk of the burden.) Well, the masses (the "entitlement class" meaning the lower and upper class combined) have realized this! And now, those paying the bills -- the middle class, are at that point of serious fiscal hardship.
Someone asked, "Why don't we do anything about it?" Well, we do -- but remember that people vote in four ways: 1) with their ballot, 2) with their voice, 3) with their wallet, and 4) with their feet.
There are not enough of us to win with the ballot. We're not strong enough to win with our voices. We're too broke to win with our wallet. Hence daily, we read in this forum about people leaving New Jersey. Well, this is why: It's easier to leave than to fight. People are voting with their feet, because it's the only way we can win, (and most politicians are happy to see them go).
I'm born and raised in New Jersey. Lived here all my life. This is home and I love it here, in spite of our politicians who really have ruined our quality of life. But "New Jersey and me" are no longer "perfect together." I too will likely be forced out within a few years due to politically-provoked economic reasons. How about you?
//www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...at-your-5.html
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doubters have a look at california's solution, they writing IOU's to balance the budget
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