From the Asbury Park Press:
New Jersey’s high property taxes aren’t the only thing that should keep state leaders awake at night. The economy is pretty much flat, with the state actually losing 2,200 jobs last month. Business owners aren’t confident enough to add workers. And companies aren’t comfortable enough to expand or relocate here.
The reason: the high cost of almost everything in New Jersey and a less than friendly business environment. Doing something about property taxes — lowering them, not just containing their growth — can help. But there are still the high corporate taxes, the regulatory hurdles and the lack of incentives that other states use to lure new businesses. Priming the economic pump must become a state priority.
…
“The business community is in a show-me type of mood,” Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association, said of the economic development plan unveiled by Gov. Corzine in September. They want to see action on lowering health care and energy costs and proof of an improved attitude toward business, he said.The same obstacles — high taxes and an unfriendly business climate — were evident in a recent report by the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council that ranked New Jersey dead last as a favorable place to run a small business. Its Survival Index cited the state’s high ranking in the tax rate for personal income (fifth), capital gains (third) and corporate taxes (sixth). Property taxes didn’t escape their notice, with the state first in the average property tax bill and second in property taxes as a percentage of personal income.
“Business owners aren’t confident enough to add workers. And companies aren’t comfortable enough to expand or relocate here.”
We can talk all we want about prices. This is as big of an issue, at least for me. What James Hughes, Rutgers, has to say may be my final arbiter.
It does not matter, we are close to NYC, just keep repeating that.
Bergen Co. its close to NYC, and Hudson and Essex too.
Passaic Co, its close to NYC. From Ringwood to Clifton, just repeat its close to NYC.
Middlesex Co Its close to NYC from New Brunswick to any Brunswick will do and Edison too,its close to NYC.
Monmouth Co, its close to NYC, from Red Bank to Spring Lake and Pt Pleasant too, its close to NYC.
Ocean Co, and Atlantic too, there is no gamble here;its close to NYC.
And lets not forget Morris and Somerset, and Hunterdon, and of course Warren too, it does not matter, its close to NYC.
We do not need jobs, in NJ, we just need to be close to NYC, and that will solve all of our problems. Wny? Becasue we are close to NYC.
We do not need jobs, in NJ, we just need to be close to NYC, and that will solve all of our problems. Wny? Becasue we are close to NYC.
Umm NO
75% of True Jerzians do not want to work in NYC, .
The ONLY reason I stay in NJ is
A: family
B: I grew up here and this is my home
You think that NJ will be the next NYC? LOL thats a damn good one. I mean WOW we are close proximty to NYC OMG when did this happen well becuse we are so close to NYC and apparantly everyone and there brother just figured that out prices in NJ will continue to rise.
I mean I understand people have a right to think what they want, but do some of you people actually hear yourselves.
I mean yes I can understand certain towns being expensive like Bergern/Hudson/Essex becuase of the close proximity to NYC. Anything over 45 minutes is NOT CLOSE OR EASY commute to NYC.
Now maybe people enjoy the Hour and 30 min to 2 hour ride on a bus everyday into the city. I dont know, but just becuase we are a state away does not mean we are close. Yes proximty we are not far but from a commuting stand point we are not close. I guess people buy into the Scam of easy access or commute to NYC even though its a 2 hour bus ride, but hey what could be more fun than that. Lets get up at 5am
Get on the bus at 5:45 and get into the city at 7:45. Now we hop the subaway and get into our desk at 8:30am. Now works ends at 5:30 and we can catch the bus at 6pm We now get to the bus stop at 8pm and it takes 15min to get home
8:15pm Make and eat dinner, done by 9pm.
Get in shower 30 min 9:30 maybe spend time with kids or wife. Until about 10-10:30 since I have to get up at 5am the next day.
Gee thats sounds like such a fantastic life…where do I sign up? I mean the realtor told me it was such an easy commute and gosh darn she was right I now dont see my family and I have no life.
So I guess thats how great it would be to be a commuter liviing Outside of Bergen, Hudson, Essex counties
The economy is pretty much flat, with the state actually losing 2,200 jobs last month.
Well…Not that anyone is counting, but the state actually lost 2,400 private sector jobs and picked up 200 government jobs, for a net loss of 2,200 jobs.
This means that there are 2,400 fewer “paying customers” that will now need to pick up the tab for 200 more government workers.
From NJBiz:
The State’s Large Payroll Has Shrunk a Little
The day Gov. Jon Corzine took office in late January, many public workers could be seen leaving the Statehouse carrying cardboard boxes and potted plants.
They were some of the 300 political appointees workers who have been laid off by Corzine.
Among those public workers were political aides, public information officers and assistants whose jobs were not covered under union contracts and who work at the pleasure of the governor.
Corzine had said during his campaign for governor that, considering the budget crunch New Jersey faced, 70,000 state employees were too many and he pledged to do something about it.
“He wanted to reduce political appointees by 50 percent,” said Brendan Gilfillan, spokesman for the governor.
While Corzine hasn’t reached that goal yet, he has managed to shave off 1,000 of 6,000 political appointees for a savings of $67 million, according to Tom Vincz, spokesman for the state treasurer’s office.
In all, 300 workers were laid off, 300 unfilled positions were eliminated and the balance of the jobs were lost through a process of attrition.
…
That leaves more than 69,000 employees on the state payroll, a figure that critics say is way too high. “It’s hard to believe that 70,000 employees are necessary,” says Philip Kirschner, president of the New Jersey Business & Industry Association in Trenton. “It’s hard to believe you can’t cut another 6,500 more without much trouble.”
Many state workers are covered by contracts that expire early next year, and labor negotiations with the unions are currently in the early stages.
“The bottom line is, more employees and more benefits paid equals higher taxes,” says Kirschner. “In any business, including government, the cost of your staff and associated benefits make up the lion’s share of your budget.”
The members of Kirschner’s organization, which represents more than 23,000 companies across the state, say they want the government to work more like a business. “If you are serious about cutting spending, you have to look at reducing staff and determining if each and every position is essential, and whether certain services—while preferable—are really necessary,” says Kirschner. “Those are the kind of decisions the private sector makes everyday.”
From NJBiz:
A Sharp Loss of Jobs in October
By James W. Hughes, Nancy H. Mantell, and Joseph J. Seneca
For New Jersey, October brought yet another month of disappointing employment news. The loss of 2,200 jobs for the month came on top of a downward revision that lowered September’s gains from an originally reported 3,000 jobs to 2,200. Taken together, the October job loss and the September revision erased all the state’s job gains since May. The slow employment growth earlier this year has thus given way to a five-month no-growth plateau.
So far this year, New Jersey has added only 17,000 jobs, which translates into an annual gain of just 20,400 jobs. By contrast, in 2005 the state added 46,000 jobs. New Jersey seems particularly weak this year because national employment growth has proceeded at a rate of 1.1 percent, compared with just 0.4 percent here.
Among the better pieces of news is that small employment gains were made in professional and business services (2,500 jobs), education and health services (1,100 jobs), financial activities (300 jobs), government (200 jobs) and information (100 jobs). Employment losses were led by the trade, transportation and utilities sector (-3,300 jobs), followed by manufacturing (-1,700 jobs), construction (-600 jobs), leisure and hospitality (-400 jobs) and other services (-400 jobs).
The November unemployment rate provides a rosier picture. In New Jersey, the rate fell from 5.2 percent in September to 4.4 percent in October, matching the national rate for the first time since February. This marks an amazing decline of 0.8 percentage points for the state. However, there is a strong probability that the drop was the result of a statistical anomaly, or of underreporting of the number of unemployed state residents. Let’s see what next month’s report shows.
From NJBiz:
This Economic Train Is Stuck in the Station
Economic growth in New Jersey is slowly grinding to a halt, according to a seasonal study put out by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) that points to an easing of job growth and a slackening of home sales.
New Jersey’s employment growth dwindled in the first half of 2006, reaching only 0.9 percent in the second quarter, according to FDIC figures. This lagged the nation’s 1.4 percent job-growth average. During the summer, New Jersey’s job growth rate hovered at 0.7 percent. The state’s job slowdown is most acute in the north, a fact the FDIC attributed to losses in manufacturing positions and job weakness in the health, telecommunications and pharmaceutical sectors.
On the real estate side, New Jersey sales of existing single-family homes, condos and co-ops declined for the third consecutive quarter, according to the FDIC. Home sales dropped roughly16 percent in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, the sharpest single-quarter decline since 1991. Although still higher than the U.S. average, New Jersey’s rate of home-price appreciation fell 12.4 percent in the second quarter to reach its lowest level in two years.
The slowdown in home sales may be carrying over to the job market. Jobs connected to residential and commercial real estate are now contributing less to overall job growth, generating only 16 percent of the state’s net new jobs between the second quarter of 2002 and the same period this year. By contrast, the real estate sector accounts for 20 percent of the net new jobs nationally.
There’s also bad new for homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages and for less-creditworthy homebuyers in general. The FDIC say such borrowers may suffer “payment shock” if their mortgages are reset to higher interest rates. The foreclosure rate on New Jersey’s sub-prime adjustable-rate mortgages is rising, climbing to 1.78 percent in the second quarter from 1.19 percent in the second quarter last year, according to the Mortgage Banker Association.
Homwe I agree with you totally, I have been trying to tell people this for the last 3 years.
I was trying to be humorous/sarcastic.
If Northern NJ has a flat to contracting economy during a national economic expansion, what is supposed to happen when a downturn in the business cycle happens?
Sorry bergenbubbleburst its just people actually think like that and it just amazes me. I mean if people actually buy that mumbo jumbo why not move to the Carolinas and commute by plane to the city everyday. I mean the cost of living down there is so much chaeper and its just s 2-2.5 hour flight. I mean with the money you save down there with the cost of living you’d make out better than living in NJ and just think of all the frequent flyer miles you would get. Sad thing is if people could get a good deal on flights they would probably do it. LOL
Homer,
It’s not far fetched. I know a few people that live out of state, work in the city 4 days and 1 at home. They live in Md,NC&NH
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