NJPP: Definitely smarter than a fifth grader.

Last year the fine folks at New Jersey Policy Perspective turned 10 years old, the same age many kids New Jersey turn when they are in the fifth grade. And Jon Shure and NJPP are definitely smarter than any fifth grader. And way ahead of the curve, too.

They said, regarding NJ’s income gap:

The numbers are in and the trend continues: the rich are indeed getting richer. The latest confirmation comes from the state's own Status of Income report on tax returns.

Furthermore,

“the New Jersey Treasury Department found that just about half the income in the state goes to those making more than $100,000 a year, and only about 25 percent goes to those making less than $50,000-even though there are far more of these people.

And finally, they cited Assemblyman Michael Patrick Carroll of Morris “saying the numbers mean the economy is creating opportunities for everyone.” Carroll warned against dealing with the income gap by raising the state income tax, arguing that ‘The politics of envy doesn't work. All you will do is scare people off to Florida or Pennsylvania. You want very productive people to stay here.’ "

Very forward thinking, NJPP. Thing is, you said that waaay back in 1999 in a press release, talking about the income gap back then ---when you were just a mere tot of 2 years old. Even at that age, you were smarter than most Republicans, and, of course, Mr. Carroll.

Unfortunately, things in NJ have not changed much since you were two.


More recently, at the end of March 2008, you guys were right on the money again:

“Nearly 1 in 5 New Jersey Families Struggles To Make Ends Meet despite Having a Working Adult”

“Despite being one of the nation's most affluent states, New Jersey is home to close to 200,000 families that have a working adult but still make too little in pay and benefits to adequately support themselves, a new study has found. According to a study by Rutgers Center for Women and Work and New Jersey Policy Perspective, Climbing the Ladder: How to Invest in New Jersey's Working Families,

“The number of low-income working families in the state has climbed by 16 percent since 2000, the study found. In all, these families include about 750,000 mothers, fathers and children.”

Some recommendations in the report include increasing the minimum wage, providing family leave insurance, increasing spending for adult education, and making higher education, particularly county colleges, more affordable and accessible to low-income working adults.

Keep up the good work, NJPP. Now and for the next ten years, too.

The New Jersey report is available at www.njpp.org or www.cww.rutgers.edu.