Opinion

Jaded in Jersey

New Jerseyites can’t wait to get out.

This is the gist of a new PublicMind survey from Fairleigh Dickenson University, which found that more than half of the state’s residents plan to vamoose when they retire.

“Future retirees are obviously looking for places where they can stretch their dollars, and New Jersey isn’t looking too affordable these days,” Krista Jenkins, director of PublicMind and a political science professor, said in a news release.

Of those who say they plan to spend their golden years in some other state, 57 percent cited the high cost of living as a reason driving them out.

Even if only half of these people follow through, that would mean a quarter of the population will leave as soon as they practically can. That’s a prescription for disaster in so many ways: for tax revenues, for housing prices, for any hope of solving the state’s looming public-pension crisis.

So what are the pols doing to keep people in Jersey by making the state more attractive?

The answer is business as usual. In Trenton, they are debating a millionaire’s tax, which should be called the Send More New Jerseyans To Florida Act.

“It’s hard to beat a warmer climate and lower taxes, especially after the winter we just had and sluggish economic growth,” Jenkins said. “Finding a way to deal with New Jersey’s high property taxes would go a long way toward convincing many to stick around in their golden years.”

Point is, if the Garden State’s pols don’t get their act together and start cutting taxes, regulation and spending, all signs point to a future where New Jersey’s leading export will be its own citizens.