Paul Mulshine sums it up perfectly
This article in the City Journal titled "The Big-Spending, High-Taxing, Lousy-Services Paradigm" is about California. But the author's conclusions apply equally to New Jersey.
William Voegeli makes the same point that I have been making for years: Don't believe politicians when they get up on their hind legs and tell you your state has high taxes because it provides a high level of services.
Those services don't exist. Every time I hear a Trenton pol tell me that I'm getting a high level of services in return for the extortionate level of taxes I pay, I ask that pol to name a single service provided today that wasn't provided before this state got an income tax in 1976.
I've yet to get an answer. The roads, libraries, schools, police services, fire services, etc. are all about the same as they were back then. And when I went to Rutgers in the early '70s, I paid about a tenth the tuition that it now costs to send my daughter there.
So where's the big improvement?
I don't see it. I'm sure you don't either. The improvement is enjoyed entirely by public employees, not the public. They have good salaries and great retirement benefits, and some can retire in their '40s. Meanwhile the rest of us will be working into our 80s to pay their pensions.
And it's the same in California, as Voegeli writes in comparing that state to Texas, which has much lower taxes but an equal level of service:
"What is surprising is the growing evidence that the low-benefit, low-tax alternative succeeds not only on its own terms but also according to the criteria used by defenders of high benefits and high taxes. Whatever theoretical claims are made for imposing high taxes to provide generous government benefits, the practical reality is that these public goods are, increasingly, neither public nor good: their beneficiaries are mostly the service providers themselves, and their quality is poor."
This is the problem here in Jersey, and as Voegeli notes, it is almost impossible to fix. Creating commissions to study efficiency and consolidation, as Chris Christie proposes, was tried in California and failed miserably. It won't work here either.
Anyway, read Voegeli's entire article if you wish to comment.
Live like Paul Volker
1 hour ago
People like you are the problem with NJ. You have a crappy attitude and are miserable in your life and you look for things about NJ to blame. Much of what you blame NJ for has a premise, but even more of it is your own fabrication.
ReplyDeletePeople like you should get the hell out. What are you waiting for? Usually you people don't move because you can't seem to part with that high NJ salary. Funny, you never whine about that.
NJ is a high tax state with high benefits. Not all the benefits are directly government-issued benefits. NJ is desirable and the proof of this is in the high housing costs that people are willing to pay (even in a down real estate market).
Just leave, ASAP, and take your whining with you, you spoiled brat.
There's no whining here, just pointing out facts. New Jersey was once a decent place to live, but that has changed over the past several decades.
ReplyDeleteI do know that a dollar in NJ buys you far less than a dollar in many other states, and that's factoring in the intangibles.
It all boils down to a matter of opinion though. You might think that close proximity to Atlantic City or NYC is an amazing thing and I might not. Or perhaps you love the culture and pace of life here, and I might again disagree.
I also consider the environment, and NJ fails in that regard, miserably, having achieved an 'F' from the American Lung Association for air quality for the last seven years or so.
We could go back and forth on this, but it just boils down to what each of us prioritize. Neither of us are alone in our opinion, as many people choose to stay in NJ, but many (and an increasing number at that) are choosing to leave.
This blog's purpose is to facilitate that discussion, about whether or not to leave. And yes, it will also point out NJ's many flaws.
And yet, Mulshine wants the Party to keep on running the state forevermore. One definition of insanity.
ReplyDelete2X2L-
ReplyDeleteWell, if the problems in NJ were ever addressed, what would he write about?
"We could go back and forth on this, but it just boils down to what each of us prioritize. Neither of us are alone in our opinion, as many people choose to stay in NJ, but many (and an increasing number at that) are choosing to leave."
ReplyDeleteMy point is that what we both can agree on is that NJ is a very expensive state in which to live - it is the most or one of the most expensive - and the reason for it is being so close to NYC, Philly, and the Shore.
So those features of NJ are what people are payin for when the live here. If people do not like those features of NJ enough to pay for them, then they are paying a lot of money for something they don't appreciate; they are overpaying.
An intelligent person would find a better product for himself at a lower price and buy it - in other words, an intelligent person would move. An intelligent person would also not complain about NJ being what it is.
It's like someone walking into a Lexus dealership and buying a Lexus and then complaining, "Oh, I got ripped off!!!" They charged me $30,000 for their most stripped down model, but it's got power windows and power locks and an alarm and CD player and I don't need that stuff!!! All I need was a 4 cylinder econobox and they ripped me off!!!" No, they didn't rip him off, he's just a stupid moronic jackass because he paid extra money for a car with much more in it than he wanted. He's an idiot to complain about the CHOICE he made.
Same goes for you idiots who stay in Jersey and whine. You admit you are staying here and overpaying, but here you still are, the moronic, whining, braying jackasses you people are, CHOOSING to stay here.
You are idiots, every last one of you. And those of you who DO leave and bash NJ as you leave or after you leave are the biggest jackasses of all, because your bitterness shows the truth, that you love NJ but can't admit it because the reality was that you couldn't afford it.
Just leave and stop whining already you stupid ass.
"My point is that what we both can agree on is that NJ is a very expensive state in which to live - it is the most or one of the most expensive - and the reason for it is being so close to NYC, Philly, and the Shore."
ReplyDeleteLocation is part of the reason, certainly. It is a desirable place to live for many reasons. But another part of the reason why it's so expensive is due to corrupt and inefficient government.
"So those features of NJ are what people are payin for when the live here. If people do not like those features of NJ enough to pay for them, then they are paying a lot of money for something they don't appreciate; they are
overpaying."
Absolutely. However, the issues of corruption and poorly managed government adding to the cost of living is what most people take issue with. At what point does one say that the ballooning costs just aren't worth it anymore?
That's something everyone has to figure out for themselves.
"An intelligent person would find a better product for himself at a lower price and buy it - in other words, an intelligent person would move. An intelligent person would also not complain about NJ being what it is."
Sure, in land of the robots it works that way. Humans are by nature emotional creatures. Emotions cloud judgment. Complaining is an emotional outlet, it has nothing to do with intelligence.
People have families, friends, history with and connections to their homeland. One of the purposes of this blog is to help folks work through their conflicting thoughts and feelings and to arrive at a decision whether to stay or to move.
"Same goes for you idiots who stay in Jersey and whine. You admit you are staying here and overpaying, but here you still are, the moronic, whining, braying jackasses you people are, CHOOSING to stay here."
Moving is not an easy decision nor process. For most people, while cost of living may be the deciding factor, it's by no means the only factor in their decision to move or stay. And, some folks may choose to stick it out, believing (or hoping) that the things that cause them to consider leaving, will be remedied or at least made more tolerable.
"You are idiots, every last one of you. And those of you who DO leave and bash NJ as you leave or after you leave are the biggest jackasses of all, because your bitterness shows the truth, that you love NJ but can't admit it
because the reality was that you couldn't afford it."
I do love NJ, but it's become a dysfunctional relationship. I have fond memories here. There is still much that I do love and enjoy about it. That said, I believe that the pro/con list has tilted well in favor of the cons. It's not all about affordability, though that's part of it in the sense that NJ no longer is a good value for the price. To extend upon your analogy of buying a car, it's like going to replace an older car with a new one of the same make/model, and finding that the quality of it has gone down and the price has gone up. But it goes so far beyond that; traffic, pollution, an ever growing nanny state to name just a few other issues.
"Just leave and stop whining already you stupid ass."
Love it or leave it! Yeah, that's a great attitude. Ignore the actual problems, don't discuss them, don't do anything about them. I guess I can't blame you for giving up, so little has been changed for the good over the past several decades in NJ.
Anonymous, you ought to practice what you preach and stop whining. You don't have to read this blog, especially if it upsets you this much.