NEW JERSEY IS NUMBER 3!

New Jersey is #3 on the list of “The States Doing The Most To Spread The Wealth”, as per a study by 247WALLST.COM.

“24/7 Wall St. examined government spending by state in a number of categories to identify those that give the most and least in money and benefits to their residents. Our analysis has found that states that provide the most services and benefits have high income inequality. In order to finance these programs, the states that offer the most to their residents also have among the highest tax burdens in the country. While all income levels benefit from government assistance, the poor and the dispossessed benefit the most, in the form of welfare, medicare, and unemployment insurance.”

Regarding the Garden State the study found (highlight is mine)  -

“New Jersey residents have access to exceptional amounts of health care benefits. Medicaid beneficiaries receive the fourth largest amount in the country. And those who receive Medicare benefits, which is solely the fiscal responsibility of the federal government, receive the third largest amount. New Jersey also spends the second largest amount on education on a per student basis. Only 4% of New Jersey’s education budget derives from the federal government, with revenues split evenly between state and local governments. Unfortunately, New Jersey residents possess the largest tax burden in the country — nearly twice that of Alaska.”

One reason why NJ residents have “access to exceptional amounts of health care benefits” is that a great many work for state and local government, which provides great free health insurance to employees.  And NJ “spends the second largest amount on education” because the NJEA is the largest contributor to local and state campaign coffers, and local Superintendents of Schools receive hundreds of thousands in pay for unlimited “unused” sick pay upon retirement.  Superintendents of Schools are never sick – they just occasionally “work from home”!