From the Star Ledger:
N.J. taxes second-worst in U.S., Forbes says
New Jerseyans already know it to be true, but a Forbes analysis of state-by-state tax burdens places the Garden State near the top of its “Worst States for Taxes” list.
New Jersey lands in second place, behind New York, in the comparison of state and local taxes.
Connecticut, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Pennsylvania round out the top 10, according to the Forbes report.
The analysis compares local taxes and the effective tax rate for single people with $50,000 in reportable income, a figure Forbes said it based on the $53,046 median U.S. Household income from 2009 to 2013.
In New Jersey, which has one of the most progressive tax structures in the country, that income tax rate is 2.54 percent, which Forbes combined with local taxes to establish a 12.3 percent state and local tax burden.
…
While the report doesn’t specify which local taxes are included (some states have local income taxes or local sales taxes), presumably New Jersey’s steep property taxes had a hand in the state’s ranking. Last year, the average property tax bill here was $8,161, while nationally only 0.2 percent of U.S. homeowners paid more than $8,000.New Jersey’s income taxes start at 1.4 percent on earnings less than $20,000 and the top marginal tax rate hits 8.97 percent on income over $500,000.
Even the wealthy are running away… From the Record:
Mary J. Blige, Patrick Ewing list Bergen County homes on market
Two Bergen County celebrities — singer Mary J. Blige and basketball great Patrick Ewing — have put their multi-million-dollar homes on the market.
Blige is asking $13 million for her eight-bedroom, 13,000-square-foot chateau at 119 E. Saddle River Road in Saddle River. She bought the estate as new construction in 2008 for $12.3 million. It is held through a trust.
The stone and stucco French-style manor includes a sauna, indoor basketball court, home theater, wine cellar and tasting room, and a pool and pool house. It also has two dining rooms, two living rooms and a six-car garage. It was built on 4.2 acres, where two small ranch houses previously stood. Taxes top $98,000 a year, according to public records.
…
It’s not the priciest house on the market in Saddle River; two other homes are currently listed at around $14.9 million. It’s also not the only celebrity house for sale in town. Rosie O’Donnell recently listed her house at 115 East Allendale Road at $6.975 million. O’Donnell bought that house in October 2013 for $6.375 million.
…
Ewing, the former star of the New York Knicks, is asking $6.99 million for his seven-bedroom, 10,500-square-foot home at 174 Vaccaro Drive in the Tamcrest Estates section of Cresskill. The home is on 1.8 acres and includes a library, elevator, four-car garage and pool. As you might expect, there’s also a basketball court out back.
Ewing bought the house as new construction in 2007 for $6.35 million, in the name of a trust. Taxes top $100,000 a year. Listing agent Michele Kolsky-Assatly of Coldwell Banker in Fort Lee said Ewing is selling because he now works in North Carolina as a coach for the Charlotte Hornets and rarely spends time in the Cresskill home.
New York! Wins!
Gee, what do you know. These are all the top locations to make money. Of course, after these individuals have made their money, if they are not tied down by family, they will leave. This article misses the whole point behind the high taxes and so do 90% of the people living in these areas.
“New Jersey lands in second place, behind New York, in the comparison of state and local taxes.
Connecticut, California, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Maryland, Rhode Island, Vermont and Pennsylvania round out the top 10, according to the Forbes report.”
Blige is divorced and bankrupt, Rosie just divorced too and is off the View, Ewing is living down south for good, he is trying to lease the Cresskill house for 25k a month.
lefty, rags, fast eddie types- I do not think it is right for you guys to complain about teacher salaries or any individuals salaries out there. You are a hypocrite if you do. You have no problem supporting the 1% by stating it’s a capitalist society and they earned it. So exactly how did teachers or cops get their pay? They freaking earned it by coming together in a capitalist society and making the system work for themselves. It’s capitalism 101. How is any different from what the 1% are doing? It’s amazing how human perspective is so clouded. No problem with the billionaire doing the exact same thing as the teacher, but because the billionaire is in private sector, it’s no problem. HYPOCRITES.
Yes, they stopped making big money and now are moving on. Just like everyone else that lives in this area.
Juice Box says:
November 3, 2015 at 7:42 am
Blige is divorced and bankrupt, Rosie just divorced too and is off the View, Ewing is living down south for good, he is trying to lease the Cresskill house for 25k a month.
Thanks Obama.
I’m still waiting for my bama phone. I never received it. Can I claim bias or something?
5- Complain about the guy making 100,000, but leave the guy alone making 20 million. You are on the hook for that 20 million, whether you realize it or not. We are ALL a part of the same economic engine, but you are unable to realize this. You only are capable of acknowledging govt employees because you pay taxes, but are unable to understand how you help pay that 20 million dollar salary in the private sector.
Sell your house and quit your job if you want one. Not really an option, huh? It’s so good to be eligible for an obama phone, your life is so great if you get one. I wonder if the person with obama phone would be willing to trade your job for their phone?
Fast Eddie says:
November 3, 2015 at 7:55 am
I’m still waiting for my bama phone. I never received it. Can I claim bias or something?
The dagger in the heart for rags. Want to make sure he understands this. Big GOVT IS RUN BY CAPITALISTS, THE SAME PEOPLE HE THINKS HAVE THE ANSWER TO IT ALL. LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL GOVT THEY HIJACKED AND TOOK FOR THEMSELVES. PRAISE THE CAPITALISTS!
“Or, capitalism has helped kill hundreds of millions all by itself. Who supported Hitler in his rise to power? Why, big companies! Could he have managed to do what he did without them? Of course not. Who did he fight — and lose to? Communists, every bit as much as us. Don’t get me wrong — I think that Communism is moderately stupid — it is yet another mythology, the notion that optimal economics and social order is SIMPLE. I also think that unrestrained Capitalism is moderately stupid. Obviously you’ve missed out on most of the economic history of the United States, so things like depressions and the company store and the negative consequences of supermonopolies on things like human freedom escape you, but do try to bear in mind that sufficiently large corporate structures become shadow governments in their own right. Power goes with money, and power AND money’s first duty to itself is to defend itself at all costs. Without a strong government to keep the “capitalism” playing field level and the most powerful players in check, we’d have, well, we’d have the Fed.
Gee, somehow Big Government in the US seems to actually be RUN by those same Capitalists you admire so much.”
How about you trade your multi thousand dollar federal mortgage and property tax deduction for one.
Fast Eddie says:
November 3, 2015 at 7:55 am
I’m still waiting for my bama phone. I never received it. Can I claim bias or something?
Must be an election today. People are acting nuts and Pumpkin is nuttier than usual.
Meanwhile, in the soc1alist utopia of Venezuela:
@Mark_J_Perry: Thanks to soc1alist and Big Government, Venezuela is in its worst recession in more than 70 years https://t.co/BUcQkse19X
It’s election day? Who are we voting for?
Who cares what type of system they run when you are an enemy of the U.S.? Love how people blame a “social!st big government” like they are not living in one.
D-FENS says:
November 3, 2015 at 8:26 am
Meanwhile, in the soc1alist utopia of Venezuela:
@Mark_J_Perry: Thanks to soc1alist and Big Government, Venezuela is in its worst recession in more than 70 years https://t.co/BUcQkse19X
13-
Pumps is POed that NJ is not #1 in highest property taxes.
Just looked at the old 401K.
Your Personal Rate of Return from 01/01/2015 – 11/02/2015
5.38%. Really, not too bad. I see that those in the target funds have all done anywhere from 5% to 8% worse (return of 0% to -3%).
I wonder how the state pension did (not that it really matters since I have to make up their shortfall)?
How about you trade your multi thousand dollar federal mortgage and property tax deduction for one.
I can’t even I wanted, I don’t have he correct last name or skin tone. But I get it; someone needs to pay for the last 5000 years of injustice to mankind and the weaklings that make up your kind are just not up to the task.
I can’t wait until my mom comes up in December to watch the kids. I think even more so than the vacation, I look forward to hearing her opinions on Obama’s latest anti-incarceration initiatives.
#18…well since Ackman’s hedge fund is down 19% YTD…and of course the state is using these brilliant managers versus an index fund..I believe Christie is paid out %500 million last year in fees…
Index funds are the reason I just bought a house in Upper Bergen County.
#22…no sh1t..can you spend 10 minutes with the Treasurer so we can get the pension fund back on track?!
One of my investment clubs is up 4% YTD, the other 9%. I guarantee the pension return is negative.
As usual, 10 random people with zero professional investment experience and little more than two hours a month of time spent, can dominate the performance of the experts.
I wonder if the person with obama phone would be willing to trade your job for their phone?
My job wasn’t handed to me. The path was long and often very difficult. It still is.
Great “check the box” move by Booker and Menendez.
Senators demand answers on New Jersey zombie foreclosure crisis
In a letter sent last week to the heads of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and others, Sens. Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Robert Menendez, D-NJ, say that the prevalence of zombie foreclosures in the state is seriously impacting the state’s residents and its economy, and they want to know what the federal regulators are going to do about it.
To that end, Menendez and Booker present five questions that they want answered:
1. In 2012, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System issued supervisory guidance regarding a lender’s decision to discontinue foreclosure proceedings. This guidance requires entities to take several key actions when they decide to end foreclosure proceedings, including providing notification to borrowers, notification to local authorities, and obtaining up-to-date property values on the property. In addition to the guidance from the Federal Reserve, what regulatory, supervisory, or enforcement provisions are in place to address this issue?
2. Do existing regulations and guidance on this issue require servicers to inform borrowers that they remain responsible for property taxes?
3. Is additional statutory authority needed to require mortgage servicers to make proper notifications to homeowners and localities and to require servicers to obtain updated property valuations?
4. In addition to requiring banks and mortgage services to notify borrowers and localities of their intent to discontinue the foreclosure process, what other steps can be taken to address the current backlog of abandoned foreclosures and prevent future abandoned foreclosures?
5. Where appropriate, are your agencies coordinating regulatory, supervisory, and enforcement efforts on this issue?
“Zombie Halloween costumes may cause a scare, but what we really should be frightened about is the growing zombie foreclosure crisis haunting our communities,” said Menendez.
http://www.housingwire.com/articles/35512-new-jerseys-senators-demand-answers-on-states-zombie-foreclosure-crisis
How many people are screaming about 500 million being flushed down the drain? Almost none, they don’t care, they only care when they see a govt worker making more than them. People are lost.
1987 Condo says:
November 3, 2015 at 9:41 am
#18…well since Ackman’s hedge fund is down 19% YTD…and of course the state is using these brilliant managers versus an index fund..I believe Christie is paid out %500 million last year in fees…
re: # 21 -$500 million in Fees? Standard 2% and 20% fee structure?
So exactly how did teachers or cops get their pay? They freaking earned it by coming together in a capitalist society and making the system work for themselves.
Can someone please translate this into a language I understand?
Today’s Privileged News: Have $500 million to toss around and having a separate account at a major money mgmt co is how you do it.
George Soros’s Firm Pulls $500 Million Investment With Bill Gross
When George Soros agreed last November to invest $500 million of his firm’s money with Bill Gross, the hedge-fund billionaire gave the former “bond king” a vital endorsement in his first few weeks in a new job. It took less than a year for Mr. Soros to take it all back.
Soros Fund Management has pulled its entire investment from an account managed by Mr. Gross at Janus Capital Group Inc. JNS -0.79 % because of poor returns, people familiar with the matter said.
The move is a blow to Mr. Gross, who has struggled to engineer a comeback after his abrupt departure last year from his longtime firm, Pacific Investment Management Co. His Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund has suffered from volatile performance and hasn’t gained traction with investors.
The money invested by Soros Fund Management was held in a separate, institutional account that followed a similar strategy as Mr. Gross’s mutual fund. Unlike a traditional bond fund, the strategy allows him to buy bonds of all kinds and bet against certain kinds of debt.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/soros-firm-pulls-500-million-investment-with-bill-gross-1446481968
What’s $100 million..I was close:
“The state spent about $600 million on management fees, expenses and performance bonuses in 2014, according to a State Investment Council annual report.
In 2013, the state reported less than $400 million in fees and expenses and $25 million in commissions. Labor unions have questioned the continuing shift into alternative investments, growing management costs and changing terminology.”
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/nj_pension_fund_investment_managers_defend_private.html
Okay. They earned their circumstances by working the system. No different than the 1% dodging taxes or buying out the govt. So why do you not complain about the 1% making millions, but bash union workers making only a 100,000? I don’t get it.
The govt workers busted their a$$ to form a union and VOTE for what they want. They did nothing illegal. They did the American dream. Worked hard for what they wanted. It didn’t just come to them, they spent lots of time fighting for their rights. Don’t sit here and be jealous now. You could have done the same thing. Isn’t that what you tell me about the 1%?
Fast Eddie says:
November 3, 2015 at 9:58 am
So exactly how did teachers or cops get their pay? They freaking earned it by coming together in a capitalist society and making the system work for themselves.
Can someone please translate this into a language I understand?
Nothing to see here. This isn’t a form of redistribution, or like you guys like to say “theft”? They are redistributing the workers retirements into fat cats pockets on wall st and then claiming the system is not capable of being solvent, so we must use these same individuals to fix it. Yes, it must be privatized and setup in a way so that these crooks can rob the worker even more.
Lock them up and throw away the key.
Man, I miss the days when the wealthy of America actually created something. These days, the majority make bank robbers look like saints.
1987 Condo says:
November 3, 2015 at 10:07 am
What’s $100 million..I was close:
“The state spent about $600 million on management fees, expenses and performance bonuses in 2014, according to a State Investment Council annual report.
In 2013, the state reported less than $400 million in fees and expenses and $25 million in commissions. Labor unions have questioned the continuing shift into alternative investments, growing management costs and changing terminology.”
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/05/nj_pension_fund_investment_managers_defend_private.html
Last fiscal year through 6/30/2015
State pension return – 4.16
Mad Loot Investment Club – 4.6
Nationwide Investment Club – 13.4
Supposedly, the state’s benchmark, a composite of various indexes, yielded 2.93 percent.
Like I would trust the firm who came up with that number.
Yeah Ha ha. What an idiot right? I mean the guy only has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics…what does he know?
The Great Pumpkin says:
November 3, 2015 at 8:54 am
Who cares what type of system they run when you are an enemy of the U.S.? Love how people blame a “social!st big government” like they are not living in one.
D-FENS says:
November 3, 2015 at 8:26 am
Meanwhile, in the soc1alist utopia of Venezuela:
#13 HAHA!!
Well then, why did he make such an ignorant statement? Venezuela is a joke, and I don’t even know why you would use them as an example of social!sm. Go use Canada or some European country not in a trade war with the U.S.
D-FENS says:
November 3, 2015 at 10:27 am
Yeah Ha ha. What an idiot right? I mean the guy only has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics…what does he know?
So friend now is selling my house to by a foreclosure. He basically will take the profit from my house and save it. This is fine w/ me. However here is the strange part. When I was selling my house I needed a whole new septic. Did the engineering but friend said don’t worry take it as is. So he hired Juba team and says to Juba im not doing the septic. Juba says to him, don’t worry about it, I will get my guy to pass it and bring a buyer. Now the town has a new plan on file and it has no d box and needs a septic. So either the friend is bullshitting me, or Juba the realtor is bullshitting him. Either way lets hope some poor soul does not buy this house w/ the bad septic.
Only difference, you didn’t get 600 million in fees from worker’s retirement. Insanity! That 600 million could have been reinvested in the pension account, instead it’s stolen.
Libturd in Union says:
November 3, 2015 at 10:24 am
Last fiscal year through 6/30/2015
State pension return – 4.16
Mad Loot Investment Club – 4.6
Nationwide Investment Club – 13.4
Sparta has a house for sale guy paid 1,100,000 in 2004. He is trying to sell it for 685,000. Sparta has over 300 houses for sale , NW NJ is in such a state of mess . I think actually NW NJ is worse than South NJ. At least South NJ probably has much lower taxes. NW NJ is no bargain. Its a mess.
When the crown jewel of Sussex county is going down, image what the rest is like. Do you think NW NJ will ever come back?
“These are all the top locations to make money. Of course, after these individuals have made their money, if they are not tied down by family, they will leave”
Now there’s the definition of a healthy community, LOL.
“Today’s Privileged News: Have $500 million to toss around and having a separate account at a major money mgmt co”
Hahaha. Let me get this straight. In some egalitarian world you think it is “privilege” that 500 *million* dollars buys you special attention in a situation specifically related to money?
LOL, you’re probably the guy that gets all ripsh1t when his “privilege” is violated because a Gold United flyer steps in the Platinum line…..
You guys really do live in a (hypocritcal) parallel universe. Yeah, you’re right. If the dude with $500m doesn’t take his turn in line at the ATM and wait it’s “privilege”. Dunce.
21 .Condo
Do you think those returns are an accident, bad luck, mismanagement, or the intentional act of a diabolical person?
I wonder what the world be like if someone invents a 100% accurate lie detector…..
#18…well since Ackman’s hedge fund is down 19% YTD…and of course the state is using these brilliant managers versus an index fund..I believe Christie is paid out %500 million last year in fees…
Gourd [16];
Love how people blame a “social!st big government” like they are not living in one.
You can’t POSSIBLY be that dense. The people complaining know how far down the soci@list road we’ve gone, and want to reverse the trend.
Why do you think 7 years into Obama there’s been no real recovery? Where are the jobs? Why are they continuing to go overseas? You think — just maybe — it might be because of O’care? $15/hr fast food workers? We don’t pay paramedics $15/hr. And those fast food workers are being replaced by a kiosk. RECOVERY!
On the bright side your social welfare programs get many more “clients”. I don’t know who came up with that one, but where I come from, a client is someone who pays. If they don’t you don’t keep them around as clients for long. But I digress… Those “clients” are all to happy to vote for those who ‘spread the wealth around’.
I wonder how all of those newly freed incarcerated will vote?
Chris Christie’s broken property-tax promises won’t help Republicans at the polls today | Mulshine
http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/11/chris_christies_broken_property-tax_promises_wont.html
The problem with the state’s property-tax relief program has been obvious for almost 40 years. We instituted an income tax with the promise of property-tax relief.
That worked for a few years. But the income tax was raised and then raised again. The promised property-tax relief never followed.
That’s because the state Supreme Court kept demanding that more and more school funding be sent to the urban Democratic machines to pay for the “wasteful spending and bloated government” cited in that flyer.
The mailer being sent out by Republicans: Did anyone send the governor a copy?
Campaign mailer
The obvious Republican response would be to remake the court so that it would stop meddling with the school-funding formula. And that’s exactly what Christie promised in his 2009 primary against two conservatives.
Once safely in office, however, he reappointed Corzine’s handpicked chief justice, Stuart Rabner, to a position Rabner will hold till 2029.
That means any future attempts to redo the school-funding formula will likely be batted down by the court just like the prior efforts.
The only other way to achieve property-tax reform would be to do what the Californians did with Proposition 13 in 1978. They passed a referendum that cut property taxes and permanently froze them.
Looking for a venue in North Jersey for a 50-60 person lunch buffet type affair next Spring. It is a double graduation (College/HS) plus son moving out west for job. Any thoughts?
Marilyn, Sparta is a nice town but when the economic situation in NW NJ is problematic so home prices suffer and the general state of things is poor. Jobs in commutable area from Sussex are sparse and have been under pressure, wages are not increasing and are actually dropping in real terms. The property tax situation is a problem as well, high taxes in places with weak economies tend to see issues with property values and the ability to move in desirable people.
Condo…where in North Jersey and what style of food if you prefer an ethnicity.
Wow, you are just like lefty, you have it all backwards. The United States has drifted away from Social!sm. I would say the peak was the 1940’s and 1950’s. The late 1970’s was when they started to go after the free market propaganda and try to lessen the regulations and the services. Are people getting the same value services today? Are they getting job programs to help create jobs? We will always be a social!st state, just like every single other country in the world, but please don’t paint the picture that we are heading towards extreme social!sm when that clearly is not the case.
Anon E. Møøse, Who never bit anyone’s sister says:
November 3, 2015 at 10:52 am
Gourd [16];
Love how people blame a “social!st big government” like they are not living in one.
You can’t POSSIBLY be that dense. The people complaining know how far down the soci@list road we’ve gone, and want to reverse the trend.
Why do you think 7 years into Obama there’s been no real recovery? Where are the jobs? Why are they continuing to go overseas? You think — just maybe — it might be because of O’care? $15/hr fast food workers? We don’t pay paramedics $15/hr. And those fast food workers are being replaced by a kiosk. RECOVERY!
On the bright side your social welfare programs get many more “clients”. I don’t know who came up with that one, but where I come from, a client is someone who pays. If they don’t you don’t keep them around as clients for long. But I digress… Those “clients” are all to happy to vote for those who ‘spread the wealth around’.
re: # 40 – re: stolen?
Pumps are you sure you are an FA? You like working for free?
Theses funds are mostly collecting the standard 2% fee. The hurdle rate is 6% for the 20% percent bonus.
#50, I am ok with West Orange and North, though not crazy about a high traffic area. I am assuming basic buffet style…”American”..some of this, some of that
I wonder how all of those newly freed incarcerated will vote?
They’re shown a button on their new Bama phone. It’s the one with the money symbol. It says “Romey s.uck” after they cast their vote.
I gotta call pumps out on this one. Any investor in this country Billionare, pension or individual person has the exact same access to the markets, they can buy and sell anytime from any market. The difference is what you do for a living FA Plumpkin! Research and expertise, that has to cost something no? Should you be working for $15 an hour as an FA?
You think the teachers Union can do better? Send em a check and lets call it a day and dismantle run State Investment Council and State run funds. Even better send the money back today to each and every city, town and School board and let them sort it out with the Unions.
Let’s get the liabilities for contracts and pensions off the State Taxpayers back after all they aren’t the ones negotiating the contracts it is the towns that mostly do that.
Juice,
Financial analyst doesn’t mean what you think it means. It’s basically an entry level accounting job that someone gets hired into with a four year degree. People who still have that title when they are over 30 are basically “low potential” unmotivated types. Would at least try to be called a “senior financial analyst” if they weren’t able to get a management job in the finance/accounting dept by then. See description below.
This is why punkin gets defensive about not bothering to advance his education or skills or level in whatever loser company employs him, while pursuing his “renaissance man” education by becoming a halfwit-pseudo-expert on a great number of leftist causes by browsing articles and comments to same at leftist websites and USA Today.
http://www.accountingjobstoday.com/cm/Job-Descriptions/financial-analyst.html
What the hell kind of work are they doing? Lib is doing 2 hrs a month of research with his group and they are beating the state pension returns. You can not sit here and justify the money they are receiving. You can put the funds in an index and get the same returns, yet better, you aren’t stuck paying crazy fees. 2% is highway robbery. Glad you support people that do nothing all day and get paid millions.
Juice Box says:
November 3, 2015 at 11:21 am
re: # 40 – re: stolen?
Pumps are you sure you are an FA? You like working for free?
Theses funds are mostly collecting the standard 2% fee. The hurdle rate is 6% for the 20% percent bonus.
I have little doubt that NJ Pensions are being mismanaged much like the state’s road construction contracts. Very likely overpaying for weak-performing but connected investment managers. Bad incentive systems.
re: # 58 – “mismanaged” Here are the folks that make all the decisions.
I would take investment advise from Jim Kramer before I took it from any of these people.
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/doinvest/pdf/Sicreg/sic_members_list.pdf
Marilyn,
I seriously doubt any legitimate, experienced, home inspector is going to pass a bad septic system or Real Estate agent try to close the deal with it that way.
I sold three houses in Rockaway Township that had functioning cesspools (rock lined caldrons that I had pumped out on a regular basis) but had to update to a modern systems or the deals were off.
*One guy tried to sell me a house with a bad septic system. Had his buddy (a ‘honey dipper’/septic pumper) try to tell me it was OK (via written statement). Then, try to back out of the deal and keep my deposit. Had a certified septic engineer say it was no good ($300). Got a new system put in with NO reduction in price. Man, I made a killing on that house! (1998-2003).
As far as NWNJ. A few towns in Warren county are OK. Belvidere being one. It’s like Mayberry. Homogenous population, little crime and a great school system (I know all my kids teachers on a first name basis but then I’m an ‘involved’ parent). Also now know the Police, Firemen and Mayor, personally. No, it’s not perfect but it’s a great place for kids to grow up and we can walk to everything. Downside…NYC or Philly are LONG commutes if you have to work in either.
*Property taxes are LOW (compared to the rest of NJ). Heck, I’m only paying $5000 for a small Victorian.
*Once a week we walk over the Delaware (a few blocks away) to PA for dinner and drinks at the Riverton Hotel (owner is a character and the food great and reasonably priced).
Not all NWNJ is bad.
Juice,
Interesting that the chair of that committee is no other than Brendan Byrne’s son, who comes from Lehman. He did study law at Princeton though.
NJT….in Belvedere…being that close to the river…do you get flooding?
#60, good to see Warren is not doing bad. Sussex is in the dumps. Do you think NW NJ will come back? The Vernon area and surrounding towns?
I’m a senior financial analyst for a real estate trust. I take offense to your description of my job. You act like it’s a joke job. I’m a SENIOR financial analyst. I’m not in some entry level position. Yes, I’m an accountant for a corporation. I produce all their reports for the sec. I started off at a public accounting firm (pricewatercoopers). I was in audit and had to travel around the country. Worked my butt off and gained experience, because without experience, you are nothing in my field. Worked my way into my company, which is a real estate trust. Yes, you have to have a certain type of experience to work as a senior financial analyst at a real estate trust. They are not taking anyone off the street with an accounting degree at my company. They are highly selective, and a damn good company to work for. I have been there for 10 years. I make six figures (not including my bonus). So how exactly am I in a entry level position. My manager and vps do not talk down to me, they treat me with respect and as an equal. So how again am I in some entry level accountant job? I did my time, I am not in an entry level position, so stop throwing my profession in the mud.
Yes, I could have aimed to get a cpa at pricewater, but then I would have no life. Sure I would be making 500,000 at the minimum, but for me, it’s not worth it. I do not need that much money, I rather take the “time”. The time is more valuable to me. Remember, my wife is in the same field and we do well for ourselves, esp with investments. So why would I not be there for my kid and family in general? Work is not everything my friend, but family is. Everyone is different, but this is how I see it. So stop laying into me. I have my reasons for not moving up higher in my field.
Ragnar says:
November 3, 2015 at 11:31 am
Juice,
Financial analyst doesn’t mean what you think it means. It’s basically an entry level accounting job that someone gets hired into with a four year degree. People who still have that title when they are over 30 are basically “low potential” unmotivated types. Would at least try to be called a “senior financial analyst” if they weren’t able to get a management job in the finance/accounting dept by then. See description below.
This is why punkin gets defensive about not bothering to advance his education or skills or level in whatever loser company employs him, while pursuing his “renaissance man” education by becoming a halfwit-pseudo-expert on a great number of leftist causes by browsing articles and comments to same at leftist websites and USA Today.
http://www.accountingjobstoday.com/cm/Job-Descriptions/financial-analyst.html
Gourd [64];
What the hell kind of work are they doing? Lib is doing 2 hrs a month of research with his group and they are beating the state pension returns. You can not sit here and justify the money they are receiving. You can put the funds in an index and get the same returns, yet better, you aren’t stuck paying crazy fees. 2% is highway robbery. Glad you support people that do nothing all day and get paid millions.
You can’t possibly imagine how naive you sound. All due respect to Libtard, but when you have $50-500k to invest the process is slightly different than when you have $500 MM to invest. You can’t just find one sleeper stock a month with a half a day’s research, dump in $50 MM via E-Trade and call it a day.
I repair urinals.
Wall Street Journal
MARKETS
YOUR MONEY
JOURNAL REPORTS
The Hidden Reasons People Spend Too Much
You can get all the basics right and yet still break your budget. Researchers are beginning to discover why.
By CHARLIE WELLS
November 2, 2015
How can people get their spending under control?
• Ask most people, and you’ll get the same answers. They should set budgets. Cut back expenses to better match incomes. And monitor their purchases to keep themselves on the straight and narrow.
• Yet all too often when people try to take those steps, they fail. Before they know it, the bills pile up and they end up right back where they started.
• Why? What drives us to spend too much even when we seem to make all the right moves?
• Researchers are just beginning to understand—and the answers seem to lie in psychological impulses and blind spots that are tough for people to recognize, let alone overcome, in their day-to-day lives.
• People’s mental wiring, for instance, is great at forecasting future income but terrible at imagining future expenses, leading us to set unrealistic budgets. How we think about our emotional resources also matters: If people imagine willpower as something that’s limited, they feel the need to reward themselves with things like impulse purchases when they accomplish a goal. And sometimes people unconsciously place such a high value on seeming financially responsible that they end up making choices that cost more money—like making big purchases on credit instead of tapping savings.
Give future expenses enough weight
Here’s a look at what science is uncovering about our hidden impulses to spend and save, and how we can correct some of our worst mistakes.
One plank of a successful financial plan is an estimate of future income and expenses. The general goal, of course, is to spend no more than you bring in. But too often, the mind gets in the way.
The problem: For reasons researchers are still trying to understand, people are terrible at estimating outflows. According to a 2008 study in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, humans use overly simplistic reasoning patterns that focus too much on inflows to estimate everything from how much water might be in a tub to the volume of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
And that has big implications for how they make financial plans, says John Lynch, director of the Center for Research on Consumer Financial Decision Making at the University of Colorado, Boulder, whose team researched the phenomenon in a forthcoming study in the Journal of Marketing Research.
When planning future finances, his study found, people think about income (inflows) but don’t really focus on rising expenses (outflows) so they end up thinking they can afford things they can’t. “This is how people end up buying a house or a car that they ultimately can’t afford,” says Mr. Lynch. “They estimate how much their incomes will rise and they know theoretically that they will have more expenses, things like insurance, the mortgage payments, gas, the repair costs. But they still ignore those costs when making the decision.”
Mr. Lynch uses the hypothetical example of a professional with an income of $48,000. She lives in a smaller city where a one-bedroom apartment costs $1,150 a month and dinner out for two costs $54. The professional is given the opportunity to earn $68,000 at a job in New York City. She realizes that it is more expensive to live in New York than the smaller city—an apartment will run $3,000 and dinners out $80. In spite of this, she feels that she is substantially better off financially in the new job, because she weighs her perception of her increased income far more substantially than her perception of her increased expenses.
Mr. Lynch and his team are looking into behavioral solutions for this dilemma, but he believes a crucial component is to create an explicit budget. When people rely on subjective impressions of their finances and it looks possible that they can fit everything in, they spend. When they keep an explicit budget, it is much more likely that they will decide to cut out some desirable but unaffordable expense.
Know the true cost of feeling sound
For many people, a financial plan involves focusing on one goal: keeping—and building—a certain amount of savings. It’s a worthwhile aim. But some recent studies suggest that it can backfire and lead people to spend more than they otherwise would.
Abigail Sussman, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, had a theory: Saving money makes people feel financially responsible. But that desire to feel responsible could be so strong that it might lead people to borrow money at expensive interest rates, to keep savings high and feel good about themselves.
To test her idea, Ms. Sussman and a co-author conducted online surveys. In one, she recruited 185 people to answer questions about how they would pay for a $1,000 emergency expense. They were asked whether they would spend money from savings or use a credit card at 10 different interest rates, from 0% to 30%.
In a forthcoming study in the Journal of Marketing Research, Ms. Sussman found that even though people were theoretically earning 1% interest from their savings, they were willing to borrow money at much higher rates to keep their savings at a certain level.
“I’m not at all saying people shouldn’t save,” says Ms. Sussman. “But even people with an appropriate liquidity cushion want to keep more money in their savings accounts because it makes them feel responsible, even though it might lead them to do these behaviors that are potentially economically costly.”
Ms. Sussman says consumers should focus on the big picture and not view every decision through the single lens of preserving their savings. For instance, people who have a solid cash safety net should come up with a financial plan that includes spending extra savings to avoid debt. The plan should include provisions that still make the person feel financially responsible, even if they spend savings, such as replenishing those savings at each pay period. As simple as that seems, she says, it’s surprising how many people don’t follow it.
“The lesson here is to be a little bit thoughtful about your spending, where the money is coming from and the costs associated with that, rather than taking a rule given to you and using it for everything,” she says.
Stop spending to reward yourself
Many people go awry in their spending because of the way they view willpower—and what they feel they deserve for using it.
Studies have found that some people imagine willpower as something that is a limited resource and is fairly easily depleted, while others see it as something abundant that doesn’t run out. That leads to very different behavior in times of stress. People who think willpower is limited think they deserve to reward themselves for showing some willpower, while people who think it’s unlimited think no reward is needed or deserved.
For people in the former category—those who think willpower is limited—the rewards they give themselves are often unhealthy, like eating junk food, procrastination and overspending. That’s according to a 2015 studyby a team of Stanford University and University of Zurich researchers published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The study surveyed 176 undergraduates at Stanford University and divided them into two groups: those who thought willpower was finite and those who thought it was abundant. During stressful periods, people who believed willpower was finite reported more impulsive behaviors, including overspending.
Changing how a person thinks about the availability of willpower would probably require a long-term intervention, says Veronika Job of the University of Zurich, a co-author of the study. In the short term, she recommends that people with these habits find ways to rest or reward themselves after hard work that don’t include spending or other unproductive behaviors—such as engaging in sports, going out into nature or meditating, she says.
Further, she suggests that people who tend to want to reward themselves after stress should try to avoid putting themselves in situations where they could be tempted to lose control. “If you know you’ve had a bad day and you’re prone to go shopping to reward yourself, you might want to avoid heading in the direction of the stores on that day,” she says.
ENLARGE
Mind your mood when spending
Other research has begun to explore the tangled relationship between moods and money habits. When people are sad, their habits are worse. When they are happy, their habits are better. Even if money can’t buy happiness, it seems that happiness can buy money.
According to a 2012 study of 4,500 Dutch consumers in the Journal of Economic Psychology, unhappy people save less, spend more and have a higher propensity to consume. They have less control over their expenses and envision higher inflation in the future.
Happy people exhibit the opposite characteristics. They are more future-oriented and pursue goals that will serve them better in the long run. They believe there will be less inflation over time, and so save more money to benefit from cheaper prices in the long run and spend less in the immediate term.
“Especially while making decisions about consumption and savings, this study tells us that our psychological conditions really matter in terms of making good or bad choices,” says Cahit Guven, a senior lecturer in economics at Deakin University in Australia who conducted the research.
Mr. Guven suggests that people wait until they are in better moods to make financial decisions. It might seem hard to know if you have the perspective to make the right decision, but Mr. Guven says that in study after study, individuals have shown that they are actually good judges of their personal states when asked to report their well being.
He also recommends that people give their financial plans another look if they seem to be focused too much on the short term and get perspective by involving more than one person in household financial planning.
Don’t let your home equity tempt you
Finally, people display a blind spot when it comes to their homes. Many people spend more when the value of their assets—particularly their property—goes up, even though in reality those assets often won’t add to their spending power in the future. In fact, for each $1 increase in the market value of a home, certain households increased their consumption by six cents to 18 cents, according to a 2013 study in the Review of Economics and Statistics.
There are several possible explanations. First, as researchers have long noted, the more a house is worth, the more people feel they have extra money to spend. Second, the more a house is worth, the more a homeowner can borrow against it.
Daniel Cooper, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston who wrote the 2013 study, measured the relationship between consumption and housing wealth, focusing on how fluctuations in housing wealth impact households’ borrowing power. He found the spending increase occurred when higher housing prices allowed people who needed more credit to borrow more against the value of their homes.
“People get really excited when their house prices go up. They feel wealthier, like they have all this extra money,” he says. “But you have to step back and say, ‘Is this really the case?’ ”
Mr. Cooper explains that to realize actual wealth from an increase in a home’s value, a person would have to sell the house. A comparable house in the same market would likely cost just as much. So a person wouldn’t have that much extra cash available to spend, unless he or she downsized significantly.
In general, Mr. Cooper says that people need to think about their homes not as an investment, not even as a regular financial asset, but as a place to live. What’s more, people shouldn’t think about a home as a tool for borrowing more money. “If you max out your home-equity line of credit and then housing prices change, chances are you will find yourself financially constrained,” he says.
Honestly, I don’t think it will return to the heights we experienced in the early 2000’s. Unless they get a train, or new business is formed in that area, it’s not looking good. Said it on here before, but I was told the cutoff line for north jersey was 287. You do not want to be too far past 287. Supposedly, every piece of land will be developed inside the 287 corridor. The poor areas will turn into high rises and the rich will still get their suburban lifestyle. The landscape in north jersey is going to change dramatically in the next 50 years. Think of northeast nj as seriously becoming another borough.
Marilyn says:
November 3, 2015 at 12:47 pm
#60, good to see Warren is not doing bad. Sussex is in the dumps. Do you think NW NJ will come back? The Vernon area and surrounding towns?
Come on, why can’t you just put it in a couple of index funds and bonds? What am I missing?
Anon E. Møøse, Who never bit anyone’s sister says:
November 3, 2015 at 1:02 pm
Gourd [64];
What the hell kind of work are they doing? Lib is doing 2 hrs a month of research with his group and they are beating the state pension returns. You can not sit here and justify the money they are receiving. You can put the funds in an index and get the same returns, yet better, you aren’t stuck paying crazy fees. 2% is highway robbery. Glad you support people that do nothing all day and get paid millions.
You can’t possibly imagine how naive you sound. All due respect to Libtard, but when you have $50-500k to invest the process is slightly different than when you have $500 MM to invest. You can’t just find one sleeper stock a month with a half a day’s research, dump in $50 MM via E-Trade and call it a day.
Just out soaking in sun and 75 degree weather in November..if this is global warmimg, then bring it on!
Don’t know about you all but I am busier than I have been in years. And there’s a few goodies in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 that His O-ness just signed.
Good for me, not so good for the muppets.
Thanks Obama.
boom.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/03/pension-fix-by-congress-could-backfire.html
68, thank you little pumpkin!!
#62 – Only water street and only after a major hurricane. Anything on this side (south) of the Pequest river (a trib. to the Delaware that feeds in here and almost divides the town) is too high in elevation (along with ONE house on water street which is actually ON the Delaware – situated on a bluff – man, I want that house).
Ok Pumpkin,
You’re a senior financial analyst. That’s not too bad.
A self-hating senior financial analyst, I’d presume, given your hostility to non-coerced private sector decision making. My suggestion is to understand the importance of ROIC and positive NPV investment decisions, not just to a company, but the way this sort of capital allocation drives economies forward over decades. If you express the view that executives do nothing but extract value from the economy, then you are implicitly saying that capital allocation decisions, (and basically the whole accounting and finance department), create no value to a company or an economy.
State Worker Driving Protocols (jj Edition):
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/driver-sexting-moments-deadly-calif-car-crash-article-1.2421959
re: # 75 – Your forgot to capitalize SENIOR, it must look great sitting on his cubicle wall.
Every day there is an accident during my 8 miles of GSP driving. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Heading out now to make my 50 minute 12 mile commute home. I’m pretty sure smart phones are the cause.
re # 78 – Tard that is like saying guns kill people.
hahahaha
The Great Pumpkin says:
November 3, 2015 at 7:59 am
Sell your house and quit your job if you want one. Not really an option, huh? It’s so good to be eligible for an obama phone, your life is so great if you get one. I wonder if the person with obama phone would be willing to trade your job for their phone?
Fast Eddie says:
November 3, 2015 at 7:55 am
I’m still waiting for my bama phone. I never received it. Can I claim bias or something?
you aren’t angry and bitter as the right wingers in here. that’s a good sign
The Great Pumpkin says:
November 3, 2015 at 1:00 pm
I’m a senior financial analyst for a real estate trust. I take offense to your description of my job. You act like it’s a joke job. I’m a SENIOR financial analyst. I’m not in some entry level position. Yes, I’m an accountant for a corporation. I produce all their reports for the sec. I started off at a public accounting firm (pricewatercoopers). I was in audit and had to travel around the country. Worked my butt off and gained experience, because without experience, you are nothing in my field. Worked my way into my company, which is a real estate trust. Yes, you have to have a certain type of experience to work as a senior financial analyst at a real estate trust. They are not taking anyone off the street with an accounting degree at my company. They are highly selective, and a damn good company to work for. I have been there for 10 years. I make six figures (not including my bonus). So how exactly am I in a entry level position. My manager and vps do not talk down to me, they treat me with respect and as an equal. So how again am I in some entry level accountant job? I did my time, I am not in an entry level position, so stop throwing my profession in the mud.
nobody will drive in 20 years.
guaranteed
Libturd in Union says:
November 3, 2015 at 3:41 pm
Every day there is an accident during my 8 miles of GSP driving. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Heading out now to make my 50 minute 12 mile commute home. I’m pretty sure smart phones are the cause.
How do you not vote for this guy? He is the only honest politician out there. His track record speaks for itself. Over 30 years as a politician and only worth 300,000. He is a true civil servant who only wants what’s best for America. If you don’t want to see Hilary as our next president, switch from republican to democrat and make sure he wins our state in the democratic primary by voting.
“As mayor of Burlington, Sen. Sanders turned out to be a pragmatic and efficient administrator, one so fiscally conservative that some Republicans say he managed to “out-Republican the Republicans.” He just did it his way.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/31/social!st-even-conservative-could-love-burlington-mayor-sanders-was-able-out-republican-republicans/SCmh2TLifXxXRPFKC8NMjO/story.html
Like clot always says, privatize the profits and socialize the loses. I hope everyone realizes that when you eliminate the pensions of retirees, the cost becomes socialized to help these people survive. Just like obamacare, who really gives a crap, you were paying for these uninsured already. I much rather force them to get insurance and have some skin in the game. Trust me I don’t like obamacare, I want a single payer, but obamacare is better then having to pick up the cost for all the deadbeats that show up to an emergency room with no insurance for something as simple as a runny nose. Now if they can only figure out what to do with the illegals we have to pay for that show up with no social security card. I’m not anti-immigrant, but I sure as hell am anti-illegal-immigrant. Business owner gets the cheap labor and we get stuck with all the costs. Privatize the profits, socialize the loses.
“This is absurd. A corporation should never be able to bankrupt itself out of a pension plan. If it goes bankrupt then employees, management and shareholders should be on the hook to pay the plan. Let them go to court against pensioners and leave the rest of the country out of the mess.
Stop externalizing risk for corporations that are poorly managed. It is disgusting.”
Comrade Nom Deplume, screwing around at work says:
November 3, 2015 at 2:35 pm
boom.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/03/pension-fix-by-congress-could-backfire.html
Listen, maybe my days at pwc spent auditing companies made me have this resentment towards a lot of executives.
At my current company, the executives are worth every penny. They also are not absurdly paid like some of these other companies handing out money like it’s candy on Halloween. They pay their bread and butter workers well and do not try to take advantage of them. They know what workers with skills bring to the company.
Other companies sell out their workers for their terrible job managing the company. Not joking here, there are more bad managed companies than there are good ones.
So it annoys me that you think the private sector is any different than the public sector. You don’t think the public sector has watch dogs all over the place, you think the corruption is that easy?
So I really don’t think the answer to our problems is to privatize everything. Some of it needs to be socialized. It’s for the good of the country. Police, military, healthcare, public schools, and parks needs to be socialized. All of those things are the needs of everyone, and it’s best served by the govt if we want everyone to have access to it.
Private sector will play dirty, like they are in healthcare, if we privatize all these things. I can only imagine what they will charge me to call 911. You will be at their mercy of their cost, because you need “emergency service”.
Ragnar says:
November 3, 2015 at 3:06 pm
Ok Pumpkin,
You’re a senior financial analyst. That’s not too bad.
A self-hating senior financial analyst, I’d presume, given your hostility to non-coerced private sector decision making. My suggestion is to understand the importance of ROIC and positive NPV investment decisions, not just to a company, but the way this sort of capital allocation drives economies forward over decades. If you express the view that executives do nothing but extract value from the economy, then you are implicitly saying that capital allocation decisions, (and basically the whole accounting and finance department), create no value to a company or an economy.
“Not all of us can say that. But that doesn’t make us right, and him “unrealistic.” More than any other politician in recent memory, Bernie Sanders is focused on reality. It’s the rest of us who are lost.”
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-bernie-sanders-20151103#ixzz3qTncI7lu
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
“Successful politicians today on both sides of the aisle are sprawling celebrity franchises. They seem always to be making piles of money and hobnobbing with Beautiful People when they’re finished moving the status quo in some incremental direction, which some hack somewhere will always be willing to call change.
Whether it’s the Clintons with their foundations or Al Gore with his movies and his carbon-trading interests or the Bush/Cheney axis of hereditary politics and energy commerce, we expect the politicians who make it to the big time to cash in somewhere along the line because, hey, this is America. Donald Trump, if elected, would find a way to turn being the president into a moneymaking operation.
Sanders is a clear outlier in a generation that has forgotten what it means to be a public servant. The Times remarks upon his “grumpy demeanor.” But Bernie is grumpy because he’s thinking about vets who need surgeries, guest workers who’ve had their wages ripped off, kids without access to dentists or some other godforsaken problem that most of us normal people can care about for maybe a few minutes on a good day, but Bernie worries about more or less all the time.
I first met Bernie Sanders ten years ago, and I don’t believe there’s anything else he really thinks about. There’s no other endgame for him. He’s not looking for a book deal or a membership in a Martha’s Vineyard golf club or a cameo in a Guy Ritchie movie. This election isn’t a game to him; it’s not the awesomely repulsive dark joke it is to me and many others.
And the only reason this attention-averse, sometimes socially uncomfortable person is subjecting himself to this asinine process is because he genuinely believes the system is not beyond repair.”
Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-case-for-bernie-sanders-20151103#ixzz3qTobZrXs
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook
[84] gourd
I’m too tired and apathetic to unwind that snarl of a thought and see if it was even responsive to what I posted.
Joyce, you up for it?
You can knock Bernie for being too far left and you can knock Blumpkin for his undeniable devotion to him, but you can’t deny that Bernie is as close to a collective vote of non-approval of the status quo as we are probably going to get. He’s also as clean as a cat’s pecker. Unfortunately, without an economic pullback before next year’s election, it will end up being your mother running the country. But unlike your mother, this particular mom pathetically looked away as dad fcuked everything under the sun. I’m surprised Chelsea was even conceived.
On the bright side, and I’m proud of this. The Jews aren’t calling anyone who claims they are not in support of Bernie an anti-semite. I say this because calling people racist, who didn’t support Obama, was rampant back in 2008 and 2012. Just ask Anon.
Re#90 – re: race. Still waiting for the left to call Ben Carson Uncle Tom….
Re:# 89 – I ‘ll put up what I give to charity against Plumps that Hillary will win in the primary in NJ, if he does the same for Bernie. It is a no lose proposition for me, our keyboard warrior Plumps squeaks when he walks.
You just can’t make this stuff up.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/03/politics/same-sex-marriage-adoption-father-son-pennsylvania/index.html
What I want to know was where was law enforcement when all this incest was going on?