MECHANICAL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Why I Like New Jersey and Why I Can’t Wait to Leave

by KEITH KREHEL

After graduating high school back in 1975 (ouch!), I packed up my 1968 Firebird and drove across the country, visiting various state and national parks along the way and eventually making my way to Los Angeles, California. My buddy, who was an Eagle Scout, showed me “the art of camping” – pitching tents (at night in the rain) and sleeping on the ground. During the next four summers, I covered a lot of ground as I traveled and camped out west as well as in Florida several times. After seeing and living in a lot of states for months on end, I realized two things: how much New Jersey has to offer and how much I don’t like camping. Quite frankly, I prefer “Camp Marriott” and sleeping in a bed, as opposed to sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag. Now, roughing it to me is when the remote on the television doesn’t work or if my white wine isn’t chilled and I need to put ice cubes into it.

As far as New Jersey, my time spent on the road gave me a whole new appreciation for my home state. Yes, other states may have more impressive attractions such as Killington for skiing, but we have ski resorts within driving distance. Yes, California has more coastline, but New Jersey has better beaches that are much wider with nicer sand and easier access than the many beaches I saw in California, some of which required a great climb to access. Also, while in Los Angeles, I experienced a stagetwo smog alert and was in a bad way for several days and had to stay indoors with the air conditioner on. In short, New Jersey may not have the best of everything, but it has access to most everything due to its location.

The Pros

• There are many activities within the state or within driving distance: Good snow skiing, again with Killington not far away. • Lots of farms and “pick your own” apples, berries and other fruits and vegetables. We are the “Garden State.” • Abundant concert venues, cultural activities, museums and NYC not too far away, especially if you live in North Jersey. • Our beaches are amongst the best, and we also have many lakes, which means we have fishing, water skiing, wakeboarding, boating, swimming, etc.

The Cons

• Business climate – New Jersey consistently ranks last, or close to it, as far as being business friendly – a dubious honor. As I have witnessed, entrepreneurs in this state are often viewed as the enemy by many career politicians, most of whom have little-to-no private sector experience, instead of being viewed as the job and wealth creators that we actually are. New Jersey has gone from an attractive business location to a very expensive place to start and operate a business. Forced sick leave and high minimum wage have further compounded this problem.

• Taxes – Clearly the elephant in the room. A little over 50 years ago, New Jersey had the third highest property tax in the nation, but it had no sales tax, no income tax, no lottery or casinos, and business taxes were a fraction of what they are today. We now have all these taxes, and they are amongst the highest rates in the country, while our property taxes are still one of the highest in the nation. For example, years ago, my brother and I owned comparable homes, but his was in North Carolina, while mine was in Bergen County. I was paying over five times what he was paying in property taxes. High taxes haunt all employers as we have to pay substantially higher payrolls, so our employees can afford to pay all their taxes, including property taxes as well as others. Manufacturing has been chased out by the high cost of labor, migrating to less expensive states, or countries. An example is the recent Nabisco closure. Now, my Oreos are made south of the border in Mexico – not good. Simply stated, a prohibitive price of labor chases out jobs, while competitive Labor Rates retain jobs. Keep in mind: The less manufacturers pay in labor, the less they have to charge for the product.

• High cost of living - How often have you heard of someone moving to New Jersey to retire? A lot of retirees can’t even afford to stay in New Jersey on their fixed incomes. Many have paid off their homes but can’t afford the taxes.

As far as I am concerned, I feel my vote is wasted in the now “dysfunctional” state of New Jersey, and I intend to move to Florida in the future to avoid high property taxes and avoid paying a state income tax. The combination of these two will result in substantial savings. I also feel my vote will count in Florida. FYI, I believe the next “border wall” – not literally, but by penalty – will be built around the hopelessly liberal states that people like myself are leaving in droves.