Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Katelew who wrote (139962)	6/29/2010 5:05:43 PM
From: JohnM	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541957

OTOH, NJ is a high tax state. So where does the money go? How did such a stunningly high defict accrue? And I wonder if NJ does all it can on enforcement, i.e. collecting taxes. I'm guessing but I suspect we are high on property taxes but not so on income or sales tax. It would be interesting to see a comparison of total state taxes as a proportion of something like statewide income. Something that controlled for population, compared across states. As for where does it go, the cost of living is quite high so compensation needs to be higher. I don't think teachers are too highly paid in the aggregate, nor too highly pensioned in the aggregate, and don't know about healthcare costs compared to other states--probably greater. Police are extremely overpaid. They have a very effective state wide union lobby. Starting salaries for small towns like the one I live in are well up there. And it's a rare patrol person who doesn't earn over $100k. Here's the opening squib of a story in the same newspaper, The Record, which offers a table. In my own small town, over 80% of the force earns, base pay, over $100k. ----------------------------- Police salaries Friday, April 16, 2010 Last updated: Sunday April 18, 2010, 9:49 AM STAFF ANALYSIS BY DAVE SHEINGOLD The Record The average police officer's 2009 base pay was almost $104,000 in Bergen County and nearly $88,000 in Passaic County, with some of the highest pay in lower-crime areas and some of the lower salaries in higher-crime communities. Here are averages by municipality, along with crime rates and the percent of officers earning at least $100,000. Data covers patrolmen up through police chiefs. northjersey.com