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Hey you know there is an alternate argument. NJ is great but too expensive. We are not getting enough bang for our buck. A better analogy is we are in a Cadillac state paying Roll Royce taxes. I don't subscribe to the NJ love it or leave it theory.
It's not a "love it or leave it theory", per se.
It's a "market economics, lesson one: supply and demand" theory.
If the local Cadillac dealership started charging Rolls Royce prices and taxes for their Cadillacs, people, even those who like Cadllacs, would buy something else. If enough people bought something else and Cadillac sales suffered, then the Cadillac company would have to lower their prices to get customers back. If, however, Cadillac continues to sell and make a profit, then what they are charging has been deemed "acceptable" by the market; maybe not by the same customers but by the open market. If a customer buys a Cadillac because he loves it but feels it was overpriced, he's wrong; it was sold at a price that he made the decision to pay. Period. He decided it "was worth it" and THEN paid it. Plain and simple.
Same goes for NJ. If someone thinks living in NJ doesn't provide "enough bang for the buck" then that person would either:
A. still pay for it and have his actions contradict his claim, OR
B. not pay for it and go elswhere to pay for something he believes gives an acceptable "bang for the buck"
It's just that simple, overall. If you think $35 for filet mignon is "not enough bang for the buck" then it would be completely irrational to pay for it. Completely irrational. People are rarely, rarely that irrational; they make buying decisions based on what they think is worth it.
People are willing to pay for NJ (at least northern and central parts) because of its proximity to the city. It's as simple as that!
In the end, it doesn't even matter what the specific reason is - people will all have different reasons. In the end, all that matters is that there is SOMETHING about NJ that makes it worth paying the cost to live here for most people. Could be the schools, could be location, could be the people, the culture, the food, the neighborhoods...could be anything, as long as people buy it..
Avon sells a product called "Skin-so-soft". At one point, people discovered it made a good insect repellent and was less expensive and more safe than other insect repellants. Their sales went up (demand went up), and they nudged up prices to compete w/ insect repellants. Did Avon care WHY people bought it? No. People were buying it. They priced it and marketed it accordingly, but it was the market that set the price by increasing demand, lessening supply, thereby increasing price.
So the "why" doesn't matter. Is NJ worth the price? Yes. Because people pay it, period.
It's a "market economics, lesson one: supply and demand" theory.
If the local Cadillac dealership started charging Rolls Royce prices and taxes for their Cadillacs, people, even those who like Cadllacs, would buy something else. If enough people bought something else and Cadillac sales suffered, then the Cadillac company would have to lower their prices to get customers back. If, however, Cadillac continues to sell and make a profit, then what they are charging has been deemed "acceptable" by the market; maybe not by the same customers but by the open market. If a customer buys a Cadillac because he loves it but feels it was overpriced, he's wrong; it was sold at a price that he made the decision to pay. Period. He decided it "was worth it" and THEN paid it. Plain and simple.
Same goes for NJ. If someone thinks living in NJ doesn't provide "enough bang for the buck" then that person would either:
A. still pay for it and have his actions contradict his claim, OR
B. not pay for it and go elswhere to pay for something he believes gives an acceptable "bang for the buck"
It's just that simple, overall. If you think $35 for filet mignon is "not enough bang for the buck" then it would be completely irrational to pay for it. Completely irrational. People are rarely, rarely that irrational; they make buying decisions based on what they think is worth it.
Well government acts a little different than free enterprise. You over look a third option change governments which is what we did. Most New Jersians felt we were not getting good value for our tax dollar so we ditched the profligate spender and brought in the person who will live within our means.
You're confusing two different things here -- supply/demand and "majority". You can have expensive "luxury" goods that aren't of much interest to the majority, but are still "worth" it in the sense that the supply and demand curves intersect at some point.
Housing in NJ are becoming more and more like a luxury good -- supply is limited (especially given the supply crunch in the housing market), which means that the supply and demand curves meet at a small number of sales (as evidenced by low sales rates in the current market).
You're confusing two different things here -- supply/demand and "majority". You can have expensive "luxury" goods that aren't of much interest to the majority, but are still "worth" it in the sense that the supply and demand curves intersect at some point.
Housing in NJ are becoming more and more like a luxury good -- supply is limited (especially given the supply crunch in the housing market), which means that the supply and demand curves meet at a small number of sales (as evidenced by low sales rates in the current market).
Fine, then it's a luxury good, if it makes you feel better to say so. Heck, I've been using the illustration that NJ is filet mignon (a luxury item) and comparing it to McNuggets (a very cheap item).
Bottom line - you either want it enough to pay the asking price, or you seek out a less expensive option. That's the bottom line. There are apparently millions of people who pay for NJ out of all the places they could pay to live.
The fact that there may be millions more eating McNuggets doesn't mean McNuggets are more desirable so much as that they are more abundant. If you offered a person McNuggets vs. Filet Mignon for FREE, which would they choose? Most people would choose the Filet. Some might choose the McNuggets, but that's the minority.
That's why demand is higher for filet - more people prefer it. That's why demand for living in NJ is higher - more people prefer it. And that's why both of those cost more than McNuggets or living elsewhere, respectively. And that's why there are tons of cheap homes in the middle of rural areas and there are tons of McDonald's as opposed to restaurants that serve filet mignon. Supply and Demand applies for luxury goods as for anything else - the only difference is that Supply for luxury items is more scarce, so price is driven up.
I think you're making the mistake of assuming that because fewer people end up buying luxury items that they are less in demand; it's quite the opposite, really. Fewer people buy them because they are less in supply.
Fine, then it's a luxury good, if it makes you feel better to say so. Heck, I've been using the illustration that NJ is filet mignon (a luxury item) and comparing it to McNuggets (a very cheap item).
Bottom line - you either want it enough to pay the asking price, or you seek out a less expensive option. That's the bottom line. There are apparently millions of people who pay for NJ out of all the places they could pay to live.
The fact that there may be millions more eating McNuggets doesn't mean McNuggets are more desirable so much as that they are more abundant. If you offered a person McNuggets vs. Filet Mignon for FREE, which would they choose? Most people would choose the Filet. Some might choose the McNuggets, but that's the minority.
That's why demand is higher for filet - more people prefer it. That's why demand for living in NJ is higher - more people prefer it. And that's why both of those cost more than McNuggets or living elsewhere, respectively. And that's why there are tons of cheap homes in the middle of rural areas and there are tons of McDonald's as opposed to restaurants that serve filet mignon. Supply and Demand applies for luxury goods as for anything else - the only difference is that Supply for luxury items is more scarce, so price is driven up.
I think you're making the mistake of assuming that because fewer people end up buying luxury items that they are less in demand; it's quite the opposite, really. Fewer people buy them because they are less in supply.
Well housing prices have dropped considerably in NJ so using your logic people don't think it is worth it.
Well government acts a little different than free enterprise. You over look a third option change governments which is what we did. Most New Jersians felt we were not getting good value for our tax dollar so we ditched the profligate spender and brought in the person who will live within our means.
We change governments every few years. We just changed government again and the same people are complaining.
Government will respond to supply and demand much like private enterprise, anyway. Government can tax businesses out of the town or county or state and they can also cut taxes to attract businesses back in. It's a different version of supply and demand but it's supply and demand nonetheless.
If most New Jerseyans felt we are not getting good value for our tax dollar, then most New Jerseyans would go to where they can get good value. The fact is that most New Jerseyans feel that they are getting enough value for their tax dollar that it's worth continuing to pay it. So they do continue to pay it. That's the bottom line.
Well housing prices have dropped considerably in NJ so using your logic people don't think it is worth it.
Well prices dropped everywhere, but NJ's prices are still higher than other places'. The bubble burst, remember? Everywhere. But in NJ prices didn't drop nearly as much.
We change governments every few years. We just changed government again and the same people are complaining.
Government will respond to supply and demand much like private enterprise, anyway. Government can tax businesses out of the town or county or state and they can also cut taxes to attract businesses back in. It's a different version of supply and demand but it's supply and demand nonetheless.
If most New Jerseyans felt we are not getting good value for our tax dollar, then most New Jerseyans would go to where they can get good value. The fact is that most New Jerseyans feel that they are getting enough value for their tax dollar that it's worth continuing to pay it. So they do continue to pay it. That's the bottom line.
Well thats not true. We changed governments for the first time in 16 years (Corzine, Cody and McGreevey all persued the same fiscal policy). This is the first Republican government since Whitman. If most New Jerseians are not getting good value for their tax dollar they will throw the bums out and they did. If anyone is complaining about Christie they are a tad premature since he hasn't even been sworn in yet.
Well prices dropped everywhere, but NJ's prices are still higher than other places'. The bubble burst, remember? Everywhere. But in NJ prices didn't drop nearly as much.
Oh so you are saying there are other factors involved other than supply and demand?
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