our state budgets in such bad shape

[baddest434]

that my only chance to get out of this hell hole life has been put on hold!


“Due to the State budget impasse, the New Jersey Lottery has ceased normal operations. The Lottery has directed all agents to cease all ticket sales, effective
7:55 pm, Saturday, July 1, 2006. All lottery terminals will be shut down after the July 1 drawing at 7:55 pm. There will be no ticket sales (including instant tickets), winning ticket validation, claim payments or any activity on the “Green Machine” terminals after 7:55 pm Saturday.

“Due to advanced ticket sales, the Lottery will direct essential staff to conduct the regularly scheduled drawings for these tickets at Lottery headquarters under the observation of Mercadien PC, Certified Public Accountants. Drawing results will be available on the Lottery's website, www.njlottery.net . Payment of claims, however, is not authorized until a new budget is in place.

“Once authorized through a new State budget, the New Jersey Lottery will resume regular operations.”

[bad64chevelle]

its all crazy, I cant believe this BS. My GFs father is out of a job at the moment, and many other people I know are too.

[JL8Jeff]

Who votes for these morons! In Ewing we have become a "distressed city" so we could get federal financial help because the dam idiots kept voting the same morons into office and all they did was go on roadtrips paid by us. Now this idiot buys himself the governorship and he thinks all he needs to do is raise the sales tax to make budget problems go away! Duh, if it was that easy everyon before you would have done it! And to make matters worse, DMV is now shut down until the budget is settled so I can't even get the 70 SS396 on the road! First the flood shut down the office in Trenton for 2 days and now the budget! I love this state! :???:

[foff667]

yeah im home indefinitly until this **** is over...funny how I deposit pretty much every dime dot makes yet I was deemed unessential, oh well. Its F'd up though cuz ~36000 workers were deemed essential if i remember correctly, mostly cops, prison guards & **** but even they arent guaranteed to get paid even for working. I may or may not get paid either all depends what happens after the fact. The state has issues right now & theres no one quick fix. Between the pension shortfall & property taxes pretty much out of control a 1% increase in sales tax is only part of it...it will probably take 10 years of similar tactics as well as harder bargaining with the unions to get this state out of the financial troubles its in today. Oh well

[BonzoHansen]

Good Job Corzine. Great, a rich tax & spend democrat. So he wants to raise the sales tax, which hurts business & normal people instead of income tax.

Also great: He says we need to raise tax to increase revenue, then pushes this shutdown, which in essence kills all the of income producing stuff, like Atlantic City & the horse tracks! Great thinking. Idiot.

[foff667]

Also great: He says we need to raise tax to increase revenue, then pushes this shutdown, which in essence kills all the of income producing stuff, like Atlantic City & the horse tracks! Great thinking. Idiot.

He didnt push the shutdown per say...they couldnt come to an agreement on the budget period. This in turn causes issues because without a budget the state has no legal right to write any checks basically. Blame him, blame the democratic party, blame state govt. in general...they are all to blame for the shutdown in one way or another. He's just standing firm in what he feels is the best way to get things started in the right direction...the democratic party for the most part doesnt want to raise sales tax because they know what happened in the florio debacle. So the democratic party is also standing firm on not wanting to raise sales tax...thats teh main impasse that I know of at this point. But yes i think your right in that this shutdown does kill the income producing stuff...by shutting down casino's that makes us loose 1-2 mil per day alone, not to mention all the other govt agencies not depositing any incoming monies which in turn pay for projects...none of those monies will have the chance to earn interest, etc. Anywayz

lata
Bill

[Tsar]

all state parks will be closing shortly... no more camping.

[baddest434]

i'd bet that almost everyone one here knows someone who has had it with n.j. and packed up and move down south to the carolinas. i know 5 people who have done it. if i didn't have grandkids i want to watch grow up i would have split n.j. along time ago. "N.J. i used to love this state" should have been their new motto. thats all:p

[NJSPEEDER]

this is just one more example of what happens when people don't educate themselves to politcis and then get out and vote. NJ is consistantly among the lowest in eligable voter turn out.

[Frosty]

Good Job Corzine. Great, a rich tax & spend democrat. So he wants to raise the sales tax, which hurts business & normal people instead of income tax.

Also great: He says we need to raise tax to increase revenue, then pushes this shutdown, which in essence kills all the of income producing stuff, like Atlantic City & the horse tracks! Great thinking. Idiot.

DING! I posted a similar thing on another board. When the **** are you NJ people going to wake up and get someone in there that isn't a special interest, tax & spend Democrat? Granted you can only vote on who's running but Jesus H Christ...the state is in such shambles it's not even funny.

I want to move back but taxes(property tax, i'm gonna be ready buy a house soon) and car insurance are ridiculous.

[Frosty]

It's already been stated the casinos aren't shutting down. At least that's the word right now.

[NJSPEEDER]

frosty, car insurance in NJ is high because of outdated laws and the fact that we have the highest percentage of fraudulant claims in the whole country. we are paying for the thousands of NJ residents who drive without insurance or who get claims infated and pocket the change.

[Frosty]

Oh I know why you guys pay so much...it doesn't make it any easier :lol:

I'm happy paying $150/month for full coverage($500 ded.) on the Z, liability on the Corsica and $15K in renters insurance :D:D:D

Listen to this ****. My brother bought my mom's '02 6-banger Mustang(she bought an '06). She put him on her policy with full coverage....

His insurance is $5100/year LMFAO!!!! Granted he's 19 but no accidents or tickets etc. What a ****ing joke. Two years of car insurance will surpass the value of the vehicle.

[88jerseyiroc]

New Jersey has a 6% state sales tax. This is split as 3% for the State, and 3% for the municipality. Several municipalities, such as Elizabeth, Jersey City, and Mount Holly do not collect the city portion of the sales tax (as an incentive to lure shoppers), resulting in an effective 3% sales tax rate.

Also, in an effort to spur commercial and residental growth, Salem County and Cumberland County are the only counties in the state in which all areas institute the 3% sales tax rate throughout.

New Jersey does not charge sales tax on food or clothing.

That is from Wiki.

There is a difference from Floiros reign and now. When florio was in charge the state was crap, nothing was here bascially except the jersey shore and then he wanted to raise the tax which drove people away, from what i remember. Now it is a whole different ball game. Look at all the commerace that we generate now with the people from NJ, NY, and Conn. Look at all the real estate that has been bought up because of NYC and people not wanting to live in manhattan. Granted I hate most of hte politicians in office in any government in the US but Corzine had a point. Raising it 1 penny would have helped the state budget, granted it would have not gotten rid of the defiect completely. We have to cut spending somewhere but i dont know the budget for the state of NJ so i cant give an example.

The problem lies with the laws and governement itself. This country is over 200 years old and not once have we revised the consitution or basic laws. All we do is add to them making it more confusing as hell. The whole consitution is full condritictions and dead ends. Soon it is going to be time where we have to come to that decision or the great country of a america will fall. The world has changed, yet we, as people, lack the ability to adapt when it comes to government. Everybody wants things down thier way and no one wants to listen to each other and make a comprimise. that is the reason why NJ governement shut down, the lacking ability to listen. It is just sad.

[Frosty]

I don't care that he wants/wanted to raise the sales tax. He said throughout his entire campaign that he would NOT raise taxes, PERIOD.

[Squirrel]

i know once im done school my parents are gone lol

[foff667]

running for office & being in office are two different things...also something has to be done about our deficit, 5 or 10 billion dollars isnt going to majically drop into the bucket it needs to get their somehow at some point.

[foff667]

i know once im done school my parents are gone lol

i don't think it'll be much longer for me either, thankfully my house is nearly paid off & theres always suckers out there willing to rent.

[Frosty]

running for office & being in office are two different things...also something has to be done about our deficit, 5 or 10 billion dollars isnt going to majically drop into the bucket it needs to get their somehow at some point.

I agree but you're ok with him lying about it?

[foff667]

haha, its comical...ok if you've got 3 other guys sitting next to you all saying "We're not going to raise taxes" & he's saying "Yes I am but its for your own good" most will vote for one of the three saying were not going to raise taxes...its a loose loose situation...also he very well might not have known how bad it really was going on...obviously he had some clue, but who knows. If you have a problem with him vote him out I dunno what to tell ya, but they are all crooks for the most part...if he gets us out of debt does it mean he was a bad governor? He aint goin no where anytime soon so give him a chance...he cant do much worse then recent government.

[V]

yeah this is crazy that why in 1-2 years...my new state of residence will be PA or NC...enough is enough

[johnjzjz]

For those of us who are independant in thinking and voting both sides are at blame but the dems have owned jersey forever and all thats going on is going to go on till the younger people wake up and see just what they are doing to you 30 year olds and down are humped buy these guys how many who are married / single have their own house that they worked for ??????? if you dont vote dont bitch stop doing nothing look at S/S its not going to be their for you hope you like dog food its all you can afford in the future if you let them continue to take from you get involved its your future the Liberals are Fu%^ing with ( YOURS ) jz

[camarokev]

all I can say about this whole situation is this: anyone who voted for Corzine= idiot. No offense to anyone who did, but seriously- the man was a complete jerk from day number one. And, before this, to have elected a man into the position like that idiot before him (no name needed)- just goes to show you how many f'd up voters we have in this state. Oh well... I didn't vote for either of them- so I get to sit back and go, "told ya so".

[jimmyboy8301]

i am currently working for free

[maroman88]

no vote for corzine from me, i havent even heard one good thing about him or that hes done since taking office

[project89]

Who votes for these morons! In Ewing we have become a "distressed city" so we could get federal financial help because the dam idiots kept voting the same morons into office and all they did was go on roadtrips paid by us. Now this idiot buys himself the governorship and he thinks all he needs to do is raise the sales tax to make budget problems go away! Duh, if it was that easy everyon before you would have done it! And to make matters worse, DMV is now shut down until the budget is settled so I can't even get the 70 SS396 on the road! First the flood shut down the office in Trenton for 2 days and now the budget! I love this state! :???:
wtf how can they close dmv,this blows the registration on the rs ran out on friday,how the **** am i supposed to re register my daily driver

[BigAls87Z28]

To be dead honest, I forgot that he was even voted in till very recently. The state has been hitting people forever, so its not just the dems or the republicans, it just that this state is so effed up that no matter whos in it will end up getting left with tons of ****. I remember when the state started to charge 1.50 for every tire sold. Not as a waste charge, not as a disposal charge, it was a 1.50 fee that you have to pay when you buy tires anywhere, even on new cars.

[project89]

2. The renewal date of any New Jersey registration certificate, including any temporary registration certificate, that was due to expire June 30, 2006, but which was not renewed before July 1, 2006, is hereby extended until July 31, 2006. The renewal date of any New Jersey registration certificate, including any temporary registration certificate, that is due to expire July 31, 2006, but which is not renewed prior to August 1, 2006, is hereby extended until August 31, 2006. This provision of this Administrative Order shall not apply to extend the expiration date of any non-resident temporary registration issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-4b and N.J.A.C. 13:21-15.10.

few i almost had a heart atack,quess my old registration is still good

[enRo]

What about inspection? Does this affect private inspectors at all? :confused: Not like it matters.... this is why I voted for forester... and they say bald people are smart :laugh:

[project89]

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER 2006-01

I, Sharon A. Harrington, Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, as authorized pursuant to The Motor Vehicle Security and Customer Service Act, N.J.S.A. 39:2A-1, et seq., by N.J.S.A. 39:2-3, by N.J.S.A. 39:3-4, and by N.J.S.A. 39:3-10f, and for good cause shown, do hereby order that in the event of an interruption in state government services, the renewal dates of drivers’ licenses, vehicle registrations and vehicle inspections shall be extended as set forth below:

1. Any person who is the holder of a valid New Jersey license to drive a motor vehicle that was due to expire June 30, 2006, but which was not renewed before July 1, 2006, may continue to exercise the privilege(s) therein conferred until July 31, 2006. Any person who is the holder of a valid New Jersey license to drive a motor vehicle which is due to expire July 31, 2006, but which is not renewed prior to August 1, 2006, may continue to exercise the privilege(s) therein conferred until August 31, 2006.

2. The renewal date of any New Jersey registration certificate, including any temporary registration certificate, that was due to expire June 30, 2006, but which was not renewed before July 1, 2006, is hereby extended until July 31, 2006. The renewal date of any New Jersey registration certificate, including any temporary registration certificate, that is due to expire July 31, 2006, but which is not renewed prior to August 1, 2006, is hereby extended until August 31, 2006. This provision of this Administrative Order shall not apply to extend the expiration date of any non-resident temporary registration issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-4b and N.J.A.C. 13:21-15.10.

3. The inspection date or re-inspection date for any vehicle that was due to expire on June 30, 2006, but which was not inspected or re-inspected before July 1, 2006, is hereby extended until July 31, 2006. The inspection date or re-inspection date of any vehicle that is due to expire on July 31, 2006, but which is not inspected or re-inspected prior to August 1, 2006, is hereby extended until August 31, 2006.

4. Nothing in this Administrative Order shall be construed as restoring the driving and/or registration privilege of any person subject to a valid Order of Suspension as of the date of this Order or any such suspension order subsequently imposed, and nothing in this Administrative Order shall be construed as permitting the operation of a motor vehicle without the automobile insurance required by law.

5. Nothing in this Order shall be construed as reducing the fees required to be paid upon renewal of a driver’s license, vehicle registration or upon inspection of a vehicle entitled to extension under the terms of this Order.
This Order shall only take effect in the event of an interruption in state government services which results in the closure of Motor Vehicle Commission offices and agencies for any period of time.

'''
Date: June 28, 2006 Sharon A. Harrington
Chief Administrator

[JL8Jeff]

I'm still screwed trying to get the 70 registered and titled. And they better not give me crap about registering it within 2 weeks of purchase. My brother's out of work, 4 other relatives are out of work. Not that any of them work around the 4th of July anyway but this is stupid. My other cousin just had his property taxes go up $5000 a year thanks to a reassessment. How the hell do you budget for an unexpected $1250 quarterly increase! We get raped on taxes and insurance yet the state is way over budget! WTF!

[enRo]

Well, with the money I have in savings for a house, Im seriously looking into Upstate NY/NJ border or PA within the next 2 years. This state is ********, we got a ****ing Propecia canidate abusing NJ.

[Dark_Knight7096]

You know what they say, "A little revolution from time to time is a good thing." I didn't say that of course, nor am I advocating anything, it's just a saying i've heard. This problem with the budget has happened 4 times in the past 5 years, and this is the FIRST time government was shut down. It's Corzine's fault, he signed the executive order to shut down the state government, he coulda left it open and used it to his advantage by saying that he is keeping everything open whereas the legislature is not working with him and he looks like the "hero". How much longer are we stuck with this a-hole?

[foff667]

You know what they say, "A little revolution from time to time is a good thing." I didn't say that of course, nor am I advocating anything, it's just a saying i've heard. This problem with the budget has happened 4 times in the past 5 years, and this is the FIRST time government was shut down. It's Corzine's fault, he signed the executive order to shut down the state government, he coulda left it open and used it to his advantage by saying that he is keeping everything open whereas the legislature is not working with him and he looks like the "hero". How much longer are we stuck with this a-hole?

Someone correct me if im wrong but if he signed an executive order for me to work without a budget in place I wouldnt necessarily get paid as far as I know. Seems obvious that I would but if the state is without a budget its not guaranteed that I'd get paid even if I worked. Look at jimmyboy & cbrrmike both of them are working without pay as far as they know...yes they "probably" will get paid but again its not guaranteed. I sure as hell would rather be home not getting paid then working & not getting paid, but thats my stance on that.

[88jerseyiroc]

Either way, if you voted for either Forester or Corzine, we would be stuck in the current situation regardless. Yes This budget thing happened 4 times in 5 years and nothing shut down but also nothing got solved either. So by shutting it down he is saying he look we have a problem here and we arent going to open the government until something is done, we hope. Just putting it aside so someone else can handle it is not the answer. As it is proven inthe past. At least he has balls enough to stand up and say I am shutting it down because there is a problem.

Plus the voters are dumb enough to actually believe a politician and his campaign trail, are exactly that DUMB. All they want is your vote and say what you want to hear, making them really good salesman for whoever wins. Then whine and complain when things arent going the voters way. Say then say oh i wish i voted for the other guy, and that is why government fails. These same people also cheer real fast when something to help them improve themselves. All in power are afriad to lose thier power even the most sincere of candidates.

it is time for people of this state to educated themselves and force these people in office either to get something done or get the hell out. it is time for a change, we cannnot be thinking like our fore fathers did back in original 13 colonies.

[baddest434]

Road construction projects and lottery sales were among the first casualties of the shutdown. Race tracks and casinos, which require state monitoring to remain open, will also be closed by Wednesday morning if no budget is enacted by then.If the shutdown drags on, services funded with state aid, such as prescription drug assistance and hospitals, will also be hit. State parks, beaches and historic sites will close Wednesday.A state appellate panel on Sunday ordered horse tracks closed at the end of business Tuesday.

Corzine proposed increasing the state sales tax from 6 percent to 7 percent to help overcome a $4.5 billion budget deficit.

i'm not really into politics so my question is this-is raising the tax rate 1% the answer to the situation or just part of a solution. i hate seeing people losing jobs or going to work not knowing if they are getting paid or not. soon we'll have nowhere to go and nothing to do!!

[Savage_Messiah]

just part

[shane27]

ahh, good ol democrats running our state, and look what happens. thanks :gheyfigh: gay mcgreevy and dumbass corzine, for effing up our state.

[Savage_Messiah]

ahh, good ol democrats running our state, and look what happens. thanks gay mcgreevy and dumbass corzine, for effing up our state.

right, dude the state was effed up LONG before. And you know, mcgreevy being gay was part of their gay plot to take over the world with gayness right? :rollseye:

[JL8Jeff]

I remember 17 years ago when I was interviewing for a job at Edison College in Trenton. It was the same situation where they couldn't hire anyone new until the budget passed. I decided right then and there that I wasn't getting a state job and having to deal with that every year. The state has hired way too many people who don't work enough hours and get 50 buzillion vacation and holidays off. They need to let people go, take away half the holidays and vacation days and make the pople work an honest 8 hour day! The "penny" tax is not the solution.

[shane27]

right, dude the state was effed up LONG before. And you know, mcgreevy being gay was part of their gay plot to take over the world with gayness right? :rollseye:how much was he paying his boyfriend :gheyfigh: a year to do a job he wasnt even certified for....i think it was 6 figures.

edit: i just read mcgreevys boyfriend :gheyfigh: was making roughly 150k a year towards the end of mcgreevys run.

[foff667]

The state has hired way too many people who don't work enough hours and get 50 buzillion vacation and holidays off. They need to let people go, take away half the holidays and vacation days and make the pople work an honest 8 hour day! The "penny" tax is not the solution.

Yes genius its people liek me that came from 37.5hr week jobs in the private sector making $30k/year coming to the state to work our 35/hr week job making $24k a year thats breaking the states back :rofl: I took a pay cut cuz the ONLY advantages were going to be more vacation days...when i worked at the bank they were taking 1-2 holidays a year from us, vacation days were basically the same...sick we get more with the state but everyone from the union reps to our actual bosses tell us not to use them & to save them which is retarded because at the end of your career you'd loose tens of thousands of dollars that way. Our unions do alot behind the scenes to help out the states situation, but the state makes it worse on themselves...1. they dont bargain hard enough come contract time(which im under contract for another year yet its amazing I might not get paid for the **** thats going on right now, I dont see private sector employees having to deal with that) 2. when the going was good a few years back they raided our pension fund & never replenished it so now they are trying to deal with that as well. Firing people would be thee most retarded thing you could do...because they'd end up firing people like me making minimal money just to save a few hundred thou which is a drop in the bucket.

Make me work an honest 8 hour day...make sure im paid for it though...dont expect me to be at the same dinky level of pay & want me to work an hour more each day so I can fall deeper into rush hour meaning I'd get home even later then I already do. We arent paid hourly it is a set pay basically so you add an extra 200 hours a year over top of what I work now & I'll be making more money then before which would put us further in debt ;) Add in the other 30000 people that are like me and that amount of money adds up very quickly.

Take away vacation & sick time & underpay people sure that'll be a great way to attract new workers in the next 10 years...I'd almost rather work at Bugger King if that were the case or at least that'll send many out of state for work & obviously out of state for everything else.

the penny tax isnt the end all Jeff but its the best start we've got...if the state wants to beat up its own workers let them do it at the next bargaining table...have them lower our huge 6% raise we got this year cuz we all know non of you got over that this year right? all of you were well below that im sure.

lata
Bill

[slugger27nj]

The problem with the state's pension system isn't because of state workers like Bill. It's because of the politically connected people with the higher paying (and sometimes even no-show) jobs, and of course our wonderful elected officials that have their own personal agendas and don't give a damn what the tax-paying public wants. This is just a modern form of "taxation without representation". Technically we do have representatives, but the problem is the selfish bastards only represent themselves and not the people. They're the ones with the out of control pensions, and sometimes hold multiple state jobs to pad them even further. They wash each other's backs because what comes around goes around, and they'll all need a favor sooner or later. Perfect example...last year, "Acting Gov" Codey's brother Robert Codey, a state prosecutor, made a deal with Union County to give him a salary boost to $140,000, elevating his pay above the average for his job title and bumping his pension sharply higher.

The salary is $49,000 more than the average pay for his position as a deputy attorney general and $20,000 more than his direct supervisor and 136 other deputies who outrank Codey.

This is the kind of BS that needs to stop. This is why the state is in shambles and we're paying for it big time. We have a friend that works in the tax office here in town, and there are people in this God-foresaken town paying over $40,000/year in property taxes! I don't care if a home is 15,000 square feet....there's not a house on any property in NJ worth that much a year in property taxes! We're all being robbed, plain and simple, and it's not the little guy doing it.

[foff667]

well said slugger, thanks.

[88jerseyiroc]

Also a huge problem is illegal immigration. they are taking away jobs that NJ should have. Hence in turn these people or on welfare/unemployment,whihc come directly from the state budget. Since there are million so of illegals in the state of NJ, look at all the money is lost because they dont pay no taxes, the people they work fro dont pay any taxes, in forms of work related issues. All the illegal immigrant work is costing us millions oof tax payers dollars, these immigrants dont buy much so right there we lose on the sales tax. they dont pay any state taxes when they get paid, so we lose money like that. What they do is horde the money, spent what they need and sent the money back home making us lose out. and unemployed US citizen who isnt working doesnt contribute to the economy.

Yes I also agree that this state has way too many employees and not enough were it counts. I believe if we do a little house cleaning in the government, we can get rid alot of jobs that are not necessary. That would help the budget. Yea it is ******** with all teh vacation and holiday they get, and should they with the state being effed as it is, they deserve absolutely no perks or vacation or holidays off, until they get things right and then it should be cut back, i want them to earn thier money, like the rest of us hard working stiffs, just to enjoy life a little bit.

[Tsar]

Also a huge problem is illegal immigration. they are taking away jobs that NJ should have. Hence in turn these people or on welfare/unemployment,whihc come directly from the state budget. Since there are million so of illegals in the state of NJ, look at all the money is lost because they dont pay no taxes, the people they work fro dont pay any taxes, in forms of work related issues. All the illegal immigrant work is costing us millions oof tax payers dollars, these immigrants dont buy much so right there we lose on the sales tax. they dont pay any state taxes when they get paid, so we lose money like that. What they do is horde the money, spent what they need and sent the money back home making us lose out. and unemployed US citizen who isnt working doesnt contribute to the economy.


newsflash, the real hardworking american, or any other kind for that matter, doesnt what the jobs that illegals get. and before you say anything to me show me a hard working american who would handbuild my driveway for a 100 bucks. Also why dont you drive thru some crappy areas, such as east orange, and look for signs for help - PLENTY of them. cant find a job my ass. Now drive thru Berkeley Heights and you wont find squat...

[Z28 Heritage]

I've been reading this thread and was not going to reply but just couldn't help myself. The government fails to look on the revenue side of things (creating tax revenue by creating jobs) because its too difficult and not going to happen with the current economic conditions in NJ. When was the last time you heard of a corporation moving headquarters, creating headquarters, moving a plant or relocating a plant to NJ? Everything is moving out of NJ because of the high cost of living, stressful environment and disgruntled employees. The "quality of living" is poor,, meaning traffic, congestion and high cost. My job as a computer programmer is now gone to
either Bangalore India or Oak Ridge Tennesee. To get a job again as a programmer is extremely difficult due to the exodus out of NJ or the offshoring to Russia and India. Its far cheaper to run a datacenter in Tennesee than it is in NJ. The jobs that are being created are not family
sustaining jobs. They are low wage service sector jobs. The higher income
jobs are moving out of NJ. These are just facts. It's really not a fixable
situation. I saw a quote where one of the lawmakers said NJ is a Katrina
economy without the storms. So if I was a young person or a young family who needed a income to live i would definitely look to move out of NJ. And
also stay away from computer careers.

[JL8Jeff]

Bill, you haven't been there long enough to see where the real fat is. I know people who work for the state that make $60-75K a year, are lucky if they put in 35 hours a week, they have accumulated over 300 vacation days so they can "retire" early and still get 25-30 holidays a year. I've worked with these people in the past and the state has hired thousands more since I last worked there. It costs the state millions of dollars to carry these vacation days that people accumulate. It's also the jobs like Codey's brother that need to be stopped as well. But I'm baffled as to where all the money is going. The roads are crap, the services are lacking, our property taxes are out of control. So where the hell is this money going? So now Corzine wants to raise the sales tax yet he's going to also create property tax reform? I don't think so. And our standard increase is 3% if and only if our company makes a profit and there's enough left over after paying stockholders. Plain and simple, the state needs to be more efficient or start reducing costs.

[88jerseyiroc]

newsflash, the real hardworking american, or any other kind for that matter, doesnt what the jobs that illegals get. and before you say anything to me show me a hard working american who would handbuild my driveway for a 100 bucks. Also why dont you drive thru some crappy areas, such as east orange, and look for signs for help - PLENTY of them. cant find a job my ass. Now drive thru Berkeley Heights and you wont find squat...

yea a 100 off the books, hurting the state economy. You be surprised about how many jobs american lose to outsourcing or illegals. it isnt because we dont want to do them, it is just we cant do them. I am a perfect example. when i was in high school i had no problem getting summer jobs, same jobs as the illegals, and a few years after Hs, i was out of work and not even coming close to getting a job that i was skilled for because of the illegals.

it isnt our fault that these contruction, landscapers etc etc. dont want to pay taxes for an american worker. I lived in newark for 3 years, yea i saw it. travel through fairview, north bergen pal park and tell me that the illegals arent a damn problem to this state and country. i am a laborer and damn proud of it, and to hell if i am going to let a damn illegal take away my job, take away our people jobs that we should be getting because we are citizens of this damn country. Yes i am talking about the ones who want to work, the ones who want to contribute to society, not the lazy SOB's who think they should have everything handed to them by the government.

[foff667]

Bill, you haven't been there long enough to see where the real fat is. I know people who work for the state that make $60-75K a year, are lucky if they put in 35 hours a week, they have accumulated over 300 vacation days so they can "retire" early and still get 25-30 holidays a year. I've worked with these people in the past and the state has hired thousands more since I last worked there.

And our standard increase is 3% if and only if our company makes a profit and there's enough left over after paying stockholders.

the state needs to be more efficient

you cant accumulate vacation days..you can accru sick days but the max take home from that is $10k which is about 30 days worth for many workers...the rest they loose.

Depends on the times I guess...when I was working at home depot I was getting an average of 10% increases a year + whatever I was making on their stocks(cashed out making 500%)...yes times were good back then, but the 6% contract we have right now was signed some 4 years ago...if times were tough they shouldve negociated harder.

yes they need to be run more efficiently, I agree 100%, every day I feel like im in the movie office space.