New Jersey has an income tax – New Hampshire, none; New Jersey has a sales tax – New Hampshire, none. Yet, despite an enormous gap in revenue sources, there is no evidence that the people of New Jersey enjoy an overall standard of living which is notably better than that of its neighbors up north.
But the vast income gulf between the two states begs the question: Why? Well, for one thing, pick up any newspaper in the Granite State, and you will not find story after nauseating story of governance malfeasance and legally endorsed fiscal abuse, as you regularly will in the pages of the Courier News, the Star Ledger, etc.
Yet, except for regional quirks, language accents, local customs and habits, people of both states are the same. So why then, is New Jersey functionally bankrupt, while New Hampshire, which faces similar problems, is not?
I don’t believe that it takes a boatload of economists and psychiatrists to answer the question. Although the economic, social, and educational issues facing the State of New Jersey, its municipalities, and its school districts are complex, they can be reduced to one clarifying metaphor: Even a pig knows when to stop eating.
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