[MaynardMeek]

yes we do :-)

[Lightning]

McGreevy had no choice but to draft that bit of legislation. He of all people know the dangers of letting an alien hit him in the rear.

[MaynardMeek]

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!! HE JUST GOT SERVED!!

[klugman]

I could never live in NJ. So much corruption and wasteful spending on idiotic programs like the free car insurance for illegals.

Not to mention soaring property taxes and an ever increasing state income tax.

I guess the Democrats in that state want to wipe out the middle class.

[MaynardMeek]

exactly.. and they are doing a very good job at it. My town of Rutherford.. a large majority of people that have lived in the town for over 20 years are being taxed out.. companies are taking the houses and making them into 2 family apartments... its really really sad.

The only good thing when it comes to the car insurance.. if you get your ass rammed from behind and it isn't your fault.. your car will get fixed with no money from your pocket...

[andhen2003]

Maynard - you got a few facts wrong my friend. First off, this is just Corzine's budget proposal. The legislature is likely to kill alot of the sales tax increases. They are responsible under the constitution for actually developing the budget, the Gov just makes recommendations.

Second, there is no expansion of the tax to food or clothes under Corzine's budget. It's items like club fees (yes, gym fees), carpet installation, limos, chartered flights, etc. In case ya can't tell I work in this area for a living. You're right that the rate would go to 7%.

BTW I love this state, and feel it has a lot to offer. The rough part is how expensive it is, and I'm not sure anyone's specifically to blame for that. If we don't get property taxes down, we are going to lose a lot of people in the years to come. I grew up in the "country" in NW NJ and wish more people could see the really nice parts of NJ, not just the stretch of the NJ Turnpike through Newark and Elizabeth,.

PS Corzine didnt use taxpayer money to bail out that woman, it was out of his own very deep pocket. PPS Klug the only time since the early 90's that the income tax has increased in NJ was 2 years ago and it was only on people making more than $500,000 a year. The Republicans had more than 10 years in power to deal with the property tax issue and they did nothing about it.

Guess I'm one of the few Democrats on here, anyway comments above are w all due respect bros.

[karategirl]

I went to school in NJ, and there are some things that I miss like the easy access to international foods, and things being open all night.
I chose to move to MN, not for the weather but because I would be able to afford to live and enjoy myself rather than spend all of my money on property tax and car insurance.
If the cost of living was comparible, I would probably go back to the east coast.

[MaynardMeek]

all the info posted came from NJ's web site lol if i got it wrong.. they have it wrong.. and raising taxes has never helped a state or government economy. Everyone in power in NJ has tried to do something for the state.. but the problem are the people in power.. no matter what party. The state, and corzine is one of them, are too in debt with their own little people to make happy.. their own interest groups.

i miss codey!

[andhen2003]

It looks like it was from Treasury's web site, and it must be old because the sales tax was 7% in the early 90's; it's 6% now. Note that that info also says food and clothing are exempt. The only point I was trying to make is that no one's going to extend the sales tax to those things - it's just services that may get hit. It would be political suicide to tax food or clothing. Just ask Jim Florio.

Anyway, no offense intended, just being conversational-like.

PS Codey's still around, he's just Senate President now. He's a good guy. I miss having him as Gov too.

[MaynardMeek]

i still have my Florio Free in 93 bumper sticker... as well as my Dump Whitman ( that non republican!) lol


I forget exactly where i copied that tax info.. it was a .gov site.. trying to find it

[andhen2003]

NJ sites end in .us, not .gov
Maybe a federal govt site?

[MaynardMeek]

no.. www.nj.gov

it has a pic of the 70s porn star saying.. "I am going to hike taxes THIIIIIS much"


* you will get the joke when you see the picture ;-)

[hamper19]

From what I understand Corzines budget/tax proposal if passed would cost "the average family" an additional $212 a year

that isn't really a whole lot

h19

[MaynardMeek]

212 could buy lots of stuff from Custom ;-)

[hamper19]

Good point...i just spent almost that much just now!..

[klugman]

Originally Posted by hamper19

From what I understand Corzines budget/tax proposal if passed would cost "the average family" an additional $212 a year

that isn't really a whole lot

h19

It is a whole lot when you consider property taxes ALWAYS go up, gas will increase which means food and goods will increase as well.

The middle class just can't catch a break in NJ!!!

[Nullifidian]

One of the biggest problems in NJ is on the local level. It has to do with the schools. Most school systems in NJ are town by town instead of regional. Regional schools save TONS of money due to less administrative overhead per student. Not to mention the fact that since NJ is so densely populated, it's not as if school buses would have to travel that far.

Instead, because you have local schools, you have towns like New Providence, where the taxes on a $500,000 house (which is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom 1000 square foot house if your lucky), are upwards of $15000 a year.

I know people whose property taxes are higher than their mortgage payments. That's just simply disgusting.

[hamper19]

that is insane....

[Nullifidian]

My girlfriend's (very soon to be fiance ) parents bought their townhouse for $500,000 over in Long Hill township about 3 years ago.

When they moved in, the property taxes were $4800 per year.

This year they were $11000. That's well more than 100% increase in just 3 years. Can you say "WTF"?