Why I left New Jersey and went to S.C.

If you want to have nightmares about the future, take a peek at New Jersey’s politics.

Corruption and mismanagement abound. Property taxes are highest in the nation with no tangible relief in sight. The baby boomers are going to start cashing in their promised pensions (and our ex-politicians will be cashing in on their state-funded multiple pension checks) and people are moving out of the state in record droves.

Our state is headed towards bankruptcy. Impossible you say? Nothing is more unfathomable, and yet nothing is more probable when you consider NJ’s unique financial position.

The structural deficit deepens every year, and every year the governor is left scrambling for a last minute fix to balance the budget. Remember when our government shut down a few years ago? That isn’t a normal occurrence. The state constitution says that the budget must be balanced, and the governor could not balance the budget without raising taxes. You can only raise taxes so high.

The state’s heavy tax burden is already stifling its residents. In 2006, they had the third-highest tax burden in the nation and that figure is only expected to rise.

American colonists who were outraged at Great Britain’s 2 percent tax would be flabbergasted to learn that NJ’s state and local taxes cost residents 20 percent of their income.

Federally, NJ is at the very bottom in terms of restored funds. For every dollar that NJ gave to the federal government in 2004, they received 55 cents back. Forty-nine other states had a higher ratio that year.

The scariest part is that nobody is offering any solid, long term solutions.

Florio tried a sales-tax hike and was nearly chased out of office. Whitman borrowed to spend and drained the treasury, and a fund that was set aside for the baby-boomer pensions we should be worried about. McGreevy resigned amid criminal allegations and subsequent constructed scandal. Corzine’s budget cuts kicked state colleges in the groin and his short-term solution of selling state assets is like putting a small plastic bandage over a large gaping laceration.

NJ voters are showing their hopelessness and helplessness by packing up and leaving the state. People are exiting in numbers larger than ever before, NJ risks losing a seat in the House of Representatives in 2010.

For the people that stay here, there is hope. New Jersey is a beautiful diverse state.

For those who love New Jersey, but hate its broken political system, you need to realize that this is your state. This is your New Jersey. Your income supports it, and if you’re not getting what you are paying for, then you need to make it known. It’s time to shrug off the apathy and roll up your sleeves. There’s work to be done—It won’t be easy, and it needs to happen now, and not later.

Activism coupled with knowledge is the only solution. We need to look critically at New Jersey’s political structure and demand drastic change.

NJ’s career politicians will not be able to ignore the voices of the people if those voices are loud and unrelenting. It’s not enough for voters to grumble complaints and run away. New Jersey residents, this is your state, your political system, your monster, and it’s time to regain control.

For one thing, we need to help each other realize that voting and being politically active is a civic responsibility and not something to shrug off. Too many people are clueless about the forces that most directly effect their lives.

You wouldn’t pay $2000 for a product that you knew nothing about—yet every year, citizens pay thousands in taxes without having any idea where that money will go.

Another thing, is we need to make New Jersey’s local government more efficient by consolidating its municipalities, as was proposed by Alan Karcher. There are 566 municipalities in our state, each with its own system of local government. NJ’s boroughs, cities, towns, villages, townships, all levy taxes to provide services like police stations, firehouses, garbage collection, medical facilities, road maintenance and such.

Fifty-four of these municipalities are less than 2 square miles of actual land mass. Have you ever heard of Tavistock Borough? In 1996 it had a population of 12 people.

If NJ could consolidate its municipalities, we’d see a drastic drop in the cost of overhead. Of course, this means that some people would lose their jobs, but who needs a pensioned, salaried health inspector for a township with 200 residents?

One person can only make small differences. But many people working together can fix New Jersey.