>SURVEY: New Jerseyans Can’t Afford to Escape!
January 5, 2010
Atlas Van Lines just released their 2009 migration survey (click here to view the report). Unsurprisingly, New Jerseyans are still running for the exits in large numbers. 2009 saw a slightly lower percentage of state residents leave than in 2008, but Assemblyman Alex DeCroce (R) notes that that is more a sign of economic distress than sustained recovery.
From the Assembly Republican Office:
“Assembly Republican Leader Alex DeCroce says a new report that found more households move out of New Jersey in 2009 than moved in shows just how crucial it is for the Legislature to work with incoming Gov. Chris Christie to lower taxes and make the state an affordable place for more families to live. “The only encouraging news in the report released by Atlas Van Lines is that New Jersey is not number one for a change,” said DeCroce, R-Morris and Passaic. “Connecticut was the hardest hit by outward migration in the Northeast. But there’s not much solace in the fact that New Jersey ran a close second.
“People are continuing to leave New Jersey because of high taxes and high unemployment. We must work together to stop this exodus otherwise the future of this state and our ability to resolve its monumental financial problems is grim.” According to a report in today’s edition of The Star-Ledger of Newark, Atlas determined 2,356 households moved out of New Jersey last year while only 1,480 moved in. While the number of people exiting New Jersey dropped 11 percent from the 2008 level, DeCroce said this is no reason to be optimistic. Atlas attributed the drop in moves to the nation’s economic woes.
“Essentially, fewer people moved out because fewer people could afford to make the move,” DeCroce observed. “The only sensible way to keep people in New Jersey is to lower their tax burden and improve New Jersey’s business climate. What the people need are more jobs and more money in their pockets.”
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