Today I paid my property taxes. Here in New Jersey we enjoy the highest property tax rates in our great nation. Sitting at my desk, thoughtfully writing the checks, was not the most pleasant of tasks.
Among other things, I contemplated the state of our schools, the cost of which is a large portion of our property taxes. We have, what, some 640 school districts in the state? Each is run by its own highly-compensated set of administrators. The NJEA is an all-powerful union hell-bent on perpetuating its bloated self, keeping things fragmented, weak. They’re gathering for their annual convention this week. More days off for the kids. (Don’t let me get going on how Sports is King while STEM languishes with little-to-no funding!) No, with a setup like this there’s absolutely no hope of such proven concepts like ‘economy of scale’ ever taking root here!
Tomorrow my wife and I will ride our motorcycles to the polls. The cost to register a motorcycle more than doubled this year, similarly to many other motor vehicle fees. (I’ll spare you my whining about motor vehicle insurance here in the Garden State. You’re welcome. No, really.)
Tomorrow’s vote will choose our next governor. The way I see it, we will choose between a proven incompetent and a crook. Or we can simply throw a vote away. Tough choice.
Our municipal government is no better.
My family and I have already made the decision to leave New Jersey. It’s not a new decision, either. Enough is enough. We’re definitely joining what’s become a mass exodus, folding our cards, liquidating assets, adiós. Gettin’ out while the gettin’ is good. (Or at least before it gets unbearably worse.) Yeah, that decision is done, the only question remaining is when.
Will we be following the plans, the projects underway, to their logical conclusions? Or something less?
It’s actually kind of comforting to know that, by a bit later than this time tomorrow, we’ll know how we’ll be focusing our efforts.
