Republican Governor DeSantis in Florida is fighting to end real estate taxes. But only on “homesteads” owned by year-round residents who vote. That means higher taxes on identical second-homes and business properties. This reminds of New Jersey in 1960s. Voters got fooled into thinking a new state sales tax and then a state income tax would give them lower property taxes.
Meanwhile socialist Democrats in New York and California are promising to raise taxes on “the rich.” Most Americans, Republicans and Democrats agree: “Cut my taxes. Keep my benefits. Cut benefits for everybody else and raise their taxes!”
This is why taxes are out of control. 1. You fight to elect politicians who give you benefits paid by “somebody else”. That “somebody else” does the same thing to you. 2. Politicians make government spending complicated so that most voters believe their benefits are paid for by “somebody else.” That is why so many local projects, even paving local streets, are paid by state and federal governments instead of local taxes. It is harder for taxpayers to notice waste and fraud in big governments far away. That is why very few people complain about it. They just want more federal and state grants for their towns. Vilfredo Pareto wrote about this in 1906. He called it “political economy.” Rush Limbaugh said in 2012, “You can’t beat Santa Claus.” We wrote about it last week. Click here for the link: “Political Economy” Replaces “Liberty and Prosperity” in Atlantic City. – Liberty and Prosperity
Here are some recent examples:
Above Image: Press of Atlantic City June 13, 2026.
- South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) pays for an environmental education exhibit” on the third floor of Atlantic City Aquarium. The SJTA gets its money from tolls on the Atlantic City Expressway running from $6.30 with EZ Pass to $13.60 via Toll-by-Plate. It also charges fees for planes using the Atlantic City Airport in Egg Harbor Township and $12 per day for outdoor parking. How much is it spending on its “environmental education exhibit” at the Atlantic City Aquarium? The SJTA also funds a “Roadway Environmental Advancement Initiative (READI) with a “projects manager and exhibits curator.”
Above Image: Press of Atlantic City. June 9, 2026.
2. $1.33 million was given by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to install a “new gray synthetic turf field, lighting, fencing, scoreboards, goal posts and other improvements” to a football field in Atlantic City. It will be used by the Dolphins football team for middle school age boys. The money comes from recent increases in the New Jersey’s Corporate Business Tax (CBT), and is paid through the state’s “Green Acres Program. New Jersey’s increased Corporate Business Tax is also paying the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) $5 million to run “free” bus shuttles along four routes in South Jersey. New “Free” Bus Shuttles Cost $5 Million. Expose Total Failure of Socialist NJ Transit. – Liberty and Prosperity
Is New Jersey’s high Corporate Business Tax another reason why so many big corporations have left New Jersey during the past 20 years?
Above Image: Full Page Advertisement. Press of Atlantic City May 19, 2026.
3. The CRDA (Casino Reinvestment Development Authority) taxes casinos 1.25% of their “Gross Gaming Revenue”. The money was supposed to pay for new investment in Atlantic City. In 2024, the CRDA collected $68 million from this tax. However, much of this money is spent by the CRDA and its VisitAtlanticCity agency for “free” concerts, airshows, and other entertainment. The CRDA paid for expensive advertising in local newspapers and radio for its 2026 “Soar & Shore Airshow.” Was this to attract out-of-town visitors? Or to discourage local media from reporting how much these events costs and whether or not they are worth it.
4. $3.58 million for Atlantic City “scholarships” paid with Coronavirus relief money: For the past four years, Mayor Marty Small and City Council in Atlantic City gave away 358 “scholarships” of $10,000 each. There were no requirements of academic achievement, talent or need. Recipient simply had to live in Atlantic City, attend any college or trade school, and write a two-page essay. As Vilfredo Pareto noted, nobody opposed this program. What should anyone make an enemy over something that costs hm or her nothing? The program cost $3.58 million dollars, but none of it was paid for with local taxes. The money was given to Atlantic City as part of the $1.9 trillion borrowed by the federal government under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for “COVID Relief.” The “scholarships” obviously have nothing to with COVID or COVID relief. But who cares?
Click here for link to last week’s post with more details: “Political Economy” Replaces “Liberty and Prosperity” in Atlantic City. – Liberty and Prosperity
5. Why fight to cut waste and fraud in government if you can get politicians to give you tax breaks by raising taxes on somebody else?
6. Other Examples: June 11, 2026: Ocean County to ask voters to raise real estate taxes for “Open Space.” In the past, government bought land for parks and playgrounds that were needed for “public use.” Land bought for “Open Space” is often used for nothing. Very often government uses “Open Space” money to bail out political friends who made bad real estate deals by giving them top dollar for their property. “Open Space” projects hurt taxpayers in three ways. 1. Raises taxes to buy the land. 2. Raises property taxes by removing “Open Space” land from tax rolls. 3. Raises land prices by making building lots scarce. If politicians really wanted lower taxes, more affordable homes and more undeveloped areas, they would deport New Jersey’s 800,000 illegal aliens and reduce legal immigration to 1965 levels.
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