By Charles P. Eberson
A Senior’s Observations,
Opinions and Rantings
New Jersey is “the Garden State.” It’s a slogan that sounds so inviting, so bucolic with visions of verdant farmlands flush with fruits and vegetables. It sure beats the slogan of New Hampshire, “Live Free or Die.”
I have traveled extensively throughout the state, from the hills and rivers of the Skylands in the northwest, Bergen County in the northeast with its views of New York City and of course, southern New Jersey, with its beaches and bays. I found New Jersey offers a varied and enjoyable landscape.
The reputation, however, is not so stellar. We face some of the highest real estate taxes in the nation, high auto insurance, state income tax and then you have the tolls on our highways and bridges. Visitors that come from out of state, especially those from the Midwest, are shocked by the fact that almost wherever we go, we must pay a road toll or a bridge toll.
Livibility.com is a website that ranked the top 100 cities in America. I was surprised to see that New Jersey even made the list. The New Jersey city that it cited was Jersey City. I’ve been to Jersey City and can safely say I will not be moving there any time soon.
Despite all the negatives, I love that I live amidst the ocean, beaches, bays and wetlands. Sure, the summers are congested and at times bring out “the Jersey” in me, but the rest of the year it is easy to find a special spot to have some alone time. I planted my flag in the New Jersey sand decades ago and do not see a permanent move anytime soon.
But now, New Jersey has committed the most egregious act to me and my family. Our son is taking his wife, three children and moving out of state; in fact, out of the Northeast. The aforementioned factors absolutely played a minor role, but what triggered the decision was what is going to be taught to his children in the schools.
Our oldest grandchild is only 9 years old and has already been exposed to CRT (Critical Race Theory) and I am sure sexual orientation is not far behind.
My wife and I raised our children to show respect and to honor people from all walks of life, and they have demonstrated that quality admirably. It is not the responsibility of the schools to put forth this agenda when the time should be better spent giving them a better-quality education of the basics and improving test scores.
According to one website, NJ.com, “Students statewide continued to struggle, with fewer than 64 percent scoring proficient on each of the tests given in grades 3-10.” There are students in middle school who can hardly read. Parents should parent and educators should educate.
I applaud my son and his wife for putting their children first. They are leaving everything that is familiar and giving their children the best chance of success. My wife and I are happy for them, even though we are going to miss them dearly.
But New Jersey is not done with them yet. On their way out the door, New Jersey will give them one final boot by levying what has come to be called an Exit Tax, which is actually a state tax on the sale of your house based on the profit. Thank you for playing, “Living in New Jersey.” Here is your parting gift.
For those of you too young to remember, New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, in the 1980s, used the slogan, “New Jersey and You: Perfect Together.” Not so much.
In 2005, the New Jersey tourism board deemed the slogan outdated. I would have to agree.
Charles Eberson has been in the newspaper business for over 25 years. He has worked as a writer, advertising executive, circulation manager and photographer. His photography can be viewed at www.charles-eberson.fineartamerica.com
