A recent study by Rutgers University shows residents of the Garden State are leaving in large numbers. More than 72,000 residents left New Jersey than arrived here just last year alone. As a result, tax revenue was reduced by nearly $700 million while New Jersey’s economy lost approximately $10 billion in personal income because of the exodus. The emigration is likely to continue and will only swell budget deficits in the years ahead. While Governor Corzine has stated that the exodus is the result of retirements and that is true to at least some extent, there is much more at play:
First, property taxes continue to skyrocket and are now the highest in the nation, pricing the elderly out of their homes and preventing young people from moving into the State. Second, housing prices in New Jersey are some of the nation's highest, discouraging people from moving into the State. Third, while New Jersey's social service system is still in the forefront of most, other states are beginning to make strides, reducing the gap in services between them and the Garden State. Fourth, traffic and congestion in New Jersey are only getting worse, causing air and water pollution and continual frustration to its commuters. Fifth, because of a rush for ratables, open space has dwindled as both residential and business developments have transformed this State’s once pristine landscape. Finally, residents have lost faith in the honesty and trustworthiness of the government running the State and are tired of seeing their hard-earned taxpayer dollars used to fund political corruption.
Each of these problems can be reduced, perhaps greatly, if our elected officials recognize that they exist and take the lead in helping to solve them. Such leadership must come from the top. Rather than simply dismiss the mass exodus of our residents as purely a result of retirements, Governor Corzine should urge that these other issues, which are impacting the number of people who are leaving New Jersey and the millions of residents still living in the State, be dealt with in an open, transparent, thoughtful and communicative process.
Michael M. Shapiro, founder of ShapTalk.com, is an attorney who resides in New Providence, New Jersey. He currently serves as the Chairman of the New Providence Democratic Party and as Editor of The Alternative Press Contact Mike at mike@shaptalk.com