The quote that is the title for this entry comes directly from our Governor – Chris Christie. What is he talking about, exactly? Well, if you’re up on New Jersey politics, then you know that the Governor introduced a 33 bill package to the Legislature earlier this week with specific provisions to help fix the problems in our state’s system that allow for outrageous property taxes. Specifically, this is what the Governor had to say:
People will know that their property taxes will increase no more than 2.5% a year unless they say otherwise.
For 30 years, ever since the supreme court decision in Robinson v. Cahill, people of the state of New Jersey have been subject to politicians trying to run the property tax system in New Jersey. I think we can now uniformly declare that a failure.
70% increase in property taxes of the last decade and an increase in property taxes that are driving people from their homes, whether they’re young couples trying to make ends meet, whether they’re seniors trying to remain in the homes that they raised their families in, or whether they’re middle class tax payers in New Jersey who are trying to save money to send their kids to school, to have a nice vacation, to be able to live a standard of living that they’re hard work should in fact get for them. Property taxes steals from those folks each and every day, and we need to put in their hands, these decisions.
I’m so glad that the Governor is tackling this issue in a way that actually fixes the problem. As a young New Jersey resident, I frequently look at possible homes to purchase so I can get out of the rentals that I’ve been living in and have some control over my living situation. On more than one occasion I’ve found homes that are perfect for me and that I could afford on a single guy’s salary. But the reason why I never buy a home is property taxes.
Over the years I’ve done the math and figured out that I could purchase specific properties that would result in a $1,400 or even $1,600 per month mortgage payment. That’s fine. I can afford that and still have money left over to pay my exorbitant student loans and live a good life. However, when you add an additional $400 – $500 (or more) each month in property taxes, it’s a deal breaker on impact.
So as a guy who wouldn’t mind buying a house in New Jersey (even though right across the border in Pennsylvania looks real good right now), I fully support Chris Christie’s attempts to fix our broken system. Enough is enough already.
Leave a Reply