By Aaron Neuman. A recently published study shows that more people left New Jersey than any other state. The data collected in the annual National Movers Study showed that 66.8% of New Jersey moves were people relocating to other states, especially to western and southern states, such as Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona.
New Jersey has ignominiously been in the top 10 of states that residents are fleeing from for the past decade, and moved up from the #2 state people left last year to be crowned the shameful winner for 2018.
The data suggests that the primary reason for those leaving New Jersey was to move to states with better job opportunities, with more than a third citing their careers as their motivation to leave.
The numbers highlight a serious red flag regarding New Jersey’s business environment. For years, New Jersey has been ranked near the bottom in studies of the best states to conduct business in. Burdensome taxes and stifling regulations give pause to many wishing to start a new business or expand an existing one. Studies have shown that New Jersey has lost billions in potential revenue due to companies choosing to leave the state rather than deal with the business-intolerant environment of the New Jersey. Wealthy residents have been leaving New Jersey behind in search of greener pastures since the mid-90’s, and billions of dollars of job-creating, economy-spurring wealth has been lost to states with friendlier attitudes towards business owners and high-income residents.
The latest data backs this up. The National Movers Study revealed that some 42% of those leaving New Jersey had an annual income of over $150,000, strongly suggesting that their imperative to flee was due to the aforementioned sickly business environment.
If New Jersey wants to stem the flow of residents exiting the state, it first must make the necessary changes to it’s attitude. Slapping ever-increasing taxes on business owners is no way to bolster an economy. Having some of the most prohibitive income tax rates in the entire country is another way to convince residents to move out.
New Jersey’s politicians have to come to their senses, and understand what the cost of their policies and stances are. It not only is unfair, it is destroying the state, one departure at a time.
Key word: Business-intolerable. Couple that with stifling property taxes and it’s no wonder ppl are relocating in droves. As my children get older and more settled IY”H, I, too, would very seriously look into moving out. Just not sure what other town sells cholent Thurs night till the wee hours. And that’s. Like, L’Ikuvah !!
Lakewood seems to be bucking the trend. We are growing 10 percent a year! In a couple of years Meir Lichtenstein will win the governorship with the Lakewood vote alone! He will fix the state. Can’t wait!
Fleeing NJ? In this town we are seeing a string migration to NJ!
The Democrats are going to use this State to prove Socialism doesn’t work. After the private sector tax payers leave the state, the only ones left will be the Politicians and Government employees. No one left to pay for the Democrats dream society and it will collapse.
You can’t tax people that don’t live here!
The last one out please turn off the lights.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW, we are losers to the fact that we are overrun by Murphy’s law(s)!
That’s what you get when democrats run the state
We need a Republican governor with a Republican legislature
Vote Republican
It’s Taxes stupid. We are stuck. All the yeddin are stuck in high tax states
The major gas tax hike just occurred under a republican governor, so I don’t think it’s a Democrat vs Republican issue, rather a NJ issue.
why is everyone attacking taxes, taxes are used for the PUBLIC good, including to help our community’s most vulnerable, doesn’t the Torah say we should help the poor and needy and remember you too were a stranger?
david – why attack taxes? I would suggest reading the article. No businesses and people contributing to relatively high taxes means no taxes used for the public good either.
H’Maaser, Al Ye’aaser yoser M’chomesh. Add up all the taxes a person pays, Income (state and federal), Sales, Property, Telecom Tax (both wireless and landline), utilities etc. Then add to that the hidden fees charged to health insurance to subsidize others and the vast majority of taxpayers are likely paying over 50% of their income to taxes.
The end result of policies like this is to dis-incentivize people to work and the complete destruction of the middle class
When “Public Good” is defined by liberal career politicians instead of Torah it usually ends up being hurting everyone. The takers become more dependent on the handouts, the givers hate to give away so much of their hard earned money and try to run away.
David- as much as taxes are great for schools/ emergency services, but the state pension fund is a huge portion of taxes, and when the rich move out the poor are left to make up the difference.
My friend moved from Passaic to Raleigh NC area. Her 4 bed/ 2 full bath cost $225k, $1900/ year in taxes. It’s pretty comparable to NJ in expenses, so what are we doing wrong?
David:
Where my brother lives (PA), the school district raises taxes every year.
They sell these increases to the taxpayer as “necessary, to educate the children”, however:
When you look at where the money is going: administrative costs, salaries, pensions, and healthcare.
“The Children” come dead-last…
This is only 1 example – the issue is that our entire economic model is dependent on perpetual growth, which doesn’t last forever, since we live in a finite world, with finite resources, it becomes plain-as-day obvious that “something’s got to give”.
People on fixed income can only absorb a tax increase by cutting their spending on other things.
When the Social Security program was started under FDR, there were 42 contributors, for each beneficiary collecting from it. Today, that number is 3 payers to every 1 person collecting. That number will drop to 1:1, at some point.
What I’m getting at, is that we’re moving towards very turbulent times. We all know how social/political upheavals affect us; we are almost always blamed as the source of the problems.
Sorry to steer off-topic, but I felt this was something that needed to be said.
Passing the ever-increasing costs onto people who can afford it least does nothing to address the problem.
All it does is breed anger, resentment, and jealousy.
all of you don’t realize that jeff Bezos and his millionaire friends have plenty of money that can solve all these problems
David:
The .01% are not selfless people. Their so-called charities and foundations are nothing more than vehicles they use to avoid paying taxes on their wealth.
My young friend, you have a lot of learning to do.
It’s nice to help the poor and needy with someone else’s money. Do you think jeff bezos doesn’t pay taxes? Do you have any idea how much he pays? jeff bezos made his money by providing a service people choose to use. He didn’t take it from anyone else. Why penalize him by taking 70% or more of his income?
If there were fewer government handouts, charities would step in. In the Jewish community there are many food pantries and other chesed organizations to help the less fortunate. And this is on top of the confiscatory taxes.