02-01-06 Press Release: Two NJPP Publications Help Put State's Situation in Perspective

TRENTON-New Jersey has many opportunities to chant, "We're number one!" But is that good or bad? Having the highest median household income in the nation is nice. Having the most hazardous waste sites-not so nice.

From the pages of the newly published New Jersey Snapshots 2006 comes the information that New Jersey also leads the nation in these categories (you can decide if they're good or not so good):

These are just a bit of what can be found in Snapshots 2006, the third edition of New Jersey Policy Perspective's acclaimed booklet that compares New Jersey to all the other states in significant statistical categories.

Snapshots can be especially useful in covering state budget issues because it has many comparisons of state spending, taxes and debt that help to show where New Jersey's burdens are higher or lower than other places.

The 800-Page Gorilla: An Advocate's Guide to the Budget offers an easy-to-follow tutorial on the state budget process. Written by NJPP Research Director Mary E. Forsberg and produced for The Association for Children of New Jersey, the guide updates a previous volume NJPP published in 2001.

This year, Snapshots has been expanded to 105 easy-to-read tables, each listing New Jersey and the 49 other states in the areas of: Economic Life; Taxes & Government Finance; Housing; Criminal Justice; Health & Human Services; Transportation; Education; Environment; and State Government.

"Geographically, New Jersey starts out at sea level and rises, for the most part gradually, with the highest elevations to be found in the northwest corner of the state," writes NJPP President Jon Shure in the Introduction. "But statistically speaking, New Jersey's story is one of rather pronounced peaks and valleys."

As in the past, Snapshots points out that New Jersey relies more on burdensome local property taxes than any state-and shows by the numbers that there is room for the state to make its overall tax system more fair by increasing the use of broad-based state levies. For example, almost every state that has an income tax gets a higher percentage of total revenue from it than does New Jersey.

But Snapshots is about more than taxes. It is intended to put New Jersey in context as an aid to anyone who cares about a range of public policy issues that confront the state. Snapshots is a comprehensive resource for educators, researchers, lawmakers, advocates, journalists and anyone else striving to understand the complexities, cost of living and common concerns of New Jersey.

Bottom line: it is clear that New Jersey is neither as "good" nor as "bad" a place as some might think. But it is a place where there is much work to be done. When the question comes up, "how does New Jersey compare... " the pages of Snapshots have the answers. Unlike NJPP's other work, Snapshots contains no policy recommendations or commentary.

NJPP is interested in making the general public aware of these two publications. Copies of Snapshots 2006 can be purchased for $15 each, shipping included; there is no charge for The 800-Page Gorilla. Checks should be made out to "NJPP" and mailed to 137 W. Hanover St., Trenton, NJ 08618. Discounts are available for multiple orders. The publications also can be ordered online at www.njpp.org.

New Jersey Policy Perspective is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization established in 1997 with the mission of promoting broad, vigorous debate about important issues facing the people of New Jersey. Its goal is a state where everyone can achieve to his or her full potential in an economy that offers a widely shared, rising standard of living.