ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 3RD.  DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!!!

A few weeks ago I engaged in a most unenviable task.  My father called me into his office and began discussing the family finances with me, in preparation for the day when he will no longer be with us and such responsibilities will fall onto my shoulders.  We went over the usual things, bank accounts, assets, etc., and I was relieved to learn that he had paid off the mortgage on his house.  He owns it free and clear.  One less thing to worry about.   Or so I thought. 

And then I saw the property tax bill. 

Eighteen-thousand dollars per year.  That’s what New Jersey expects him to pay for the right to keep his own home, which he already paid for with money that was already taxed.  That for a house assessed at approximately $450,000, which means that over the course of a thirty year mortgage a prospective buyer would have to pay $570,000 in taxes.  In other words, in order to own a home in North Brunswick, you have to pay for two and a half homes. 

Two things then occurred to me.

First, I realized that when my father is no longer with us, my widowed mother will be evicted from the home in which she has lived for the past twenty-seven years, not because she owes the bank anything, but because she will not be able to pay the eighteen-thousand dollars per year of what is effectively rent to the government.  Yes, I said “rent.” And that brought me to my second realization: that if the government can evict you from your home because you are unable to pay such an excessive tax bill, then you don’t really own your home.  You’re just a tenant, and the government is your landlord.  Strange, I don’t remember the government buying that house, or earning it, or working for it; it was my father who did all those things.  But as it has been so rightly said, the power to tax is the power to destroy, and in this case, New Jersey has used that power to effectively remove from its citizens the right to own and keep their property. 

I think that’s immoral.  When someone reaches retirement age, and they’ve paid off their mortgage, they ought to be able to look at their house and know that they can retire without having to worry about whether they can afford it anymore.  They shouldn’t have to worry about their wives being evicted when they’re no longer around.  It used to be like that in America.  In most parts of the country, it still is. 

But not in New Jersey.  In New Jersey, the politicians think “affordable housing” means constructing tenement buildings where people who can no longer afford their homes because of the taxes can live in small apartments suitable for graduate students.  My idea of “affordable housing” is making it so that people can afford to keep their own homes. 

I hear the word “socialism” thrown around a lot these days.  I don’t really think that fits.  What’s happening in New Jersey reminds me more of the old system of medieval fiefdoms, where feudal lords would draw arbitrary lines on a map and simply declare that they owned everything within that perimeter, and everyone living inside it would either have to pay tribute or be evicted from their land.  No, New Jersey is not plagued with socialism.  New Jersey is a serfdom. 

The effects have been obvious and perilous.  Property values are plummeting, thanks in large part to the heavy tax burdens placed on the properties (remember, every dollar a buyer has to pay in taxes is a dollar less he can pay you for your house).  People are leaving the state in droves.  Unemployment in New Jersey is skyrocketing, and Governor Corzine’s plan is, as he said, “If you don’t like high unemployment, move to North Dakota.” Yes the economy is bad everywhere, but it is especially bad in New Jersey, Michigan, and California, three states that follow the same big government, huge taxes, enormous spending philosophy, a consistently disproven model that has failed everywhere it has been tried.  No nation, no state, no municipality has ever taxed itself into prosperity. 

What is happening in New Jersey right now represents a comprehensive failure of government on every level.  Go to a North Brunswick Town Council meeting and you’ll hear the Democrats there blame the Democrats in Trenton.  Go to Trenton and you’ll hear those Democrats blame the local Democrats.  They’re both right.  There’s plenty of blame to go around, but for once you can’t pin any of it on the Republicans because there simply aren’t any within sight, and there haven’t been for a while.  Unless, that is, you want to blame the ghost of Christie Whitman, last seen in these parts in the early days of 2001.  Since then the Democrats have had an absolute monopoly on all levels of government in this state, and a monopoly never benefits the consumer.

Look, my grandfather was a Democrat, my father was a Democrat, and I’ve voted for Democrats.  In fact, I owe much of my professional success to a number of Democrats who helped me when I was going through law school, and who continued to help me when I first came out.  This isn’t about partisanship for me.  It’s simply about facts, and the fact is that the American system requires checks and balances to function properly.  In New Jersey, we have no checks and balances; we have one party rule.  And as we can see, one party rule leads to absolute power, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

It’s time to break the monopoly.  It’s now or never.  

By Jordan B. Rickards

Click here for the North Brunswick Sentinel’s profiles of Mary Chyb, Jordan Rickards, and their democrat opponents.

Join us for our fall gala fundraiser, honoring NBRO Man of the Year Gene Morgan for his many years of dedicated service to the Republican Party.  STEVE LONEGAN is our confirmed guest.

The following article was originally published in the Home News, Saturday, October 17, 2009.  It can be accessed at the following link: http://mycentraljersey.com/article/20091017/OPINION02/910170312/1061

Break Dem stronghold in North Brunswick

As we approach the finish line of another election cycle where most of us are left disappointed by the candidates at the top of the ticket, I challenge my friends and neighbors to do something most will consider radical. How about this year, we concentrate on some local candidates and local issues?

I cannot find one person in North Brunswick who is not complaining about out-of-control taxes, road congestion, overcrowded neighborhoods and schools, due to illegal rental practices, etc.

We all agree that our town is not nearly as nice as it was 10 years ago, yet we cannot seem to vote for “change” in our municipal government.

For those who do not know, there are names near the bottom of the election ticket each and every year, and in my opinion, these people affect our daily lives more than the top of the ticket.

So here is my challenge to my community: Ask yourself if you are happy with automatic double-digit tax increases and reductions in services every year.

Think about whether or not you actually know who is living in your neighborhood.

Take a ride around town and ask yourself why so many retail and commercial buildings are empty.

Talk to your neighbors, and see if they are happy with the direction of our town. Ask your older kids if they plan to stay in North Brunswick and raise a family.

And then, do some reflection, some soul-searching, and some research, and ask yourself if another year of status quo with your local government is satisfactory. For me, the answer is no.

One-party rule in North Brunswick and Middlesex County has not benefited my neighbors, my community or me. The only way to address the issues that concern us is to bring some balance, some vision, and some opposition to town hall.

This year, North Brunswick has two very qualified, caring people looking to penetrate the iron wall of decade-long, one-party rule. Mary Chyb and Jordan Rickards are two people I have come to know as intelligent, knowledgeable, passionate and determined, promising assurance that our concerns will be addressed in an honest, open forum.

If you are looking for real “change” in local government, this is the ticket. I hope you consider every option.

DAVID BARNHARD

North Brunswick