Runner’s diary, Thursday

I ran this morning for the first time this week, though it felt like the first time in years. Given the way things have gone this week — the painful situation with my now-departed dog, the late night in NYC and the head cold that seems to be brewing — I probably should be glad I managed three miles on the treadmill and did it in 26:08..

iPod: The Gutter Twins

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Random thoughts on local taxes

I pulled out my tax bills for the last six years the other day to do get a sense of the changes that have occured in our own cost of living as we get closer to the end of our automobile lease. I figured I’d share.

First, consider the 2003/2004 bill, the one issued during the summer that year. The total tax load for 2003 was $4,760.46 — $699.99 for the county, $723.58 to the township, $62.92 for county open space, $64.49 for municipal open space, $3,105.10 for the schools and $94.38 for the Kendall Park fire district.

The most recent bill — 2008/2009: $6,222.79 total — $862 to the county, $983.13 to the township, $102.25 for county open space, $62.92 or local open space, $4,097.67 for the schools and $114.83 for fire.

During the last five years, as you can see, my tax bill — and by extension everyone’s tax bill — has gone up 30.7 percent, with the bulk of the dollar increase coming from the schools.

But that’s overly simple. The school increase, in percentage terms, is actually smaller than the increase in municipal taxes — 32 percent for the schools vs. 35.9 percent.

More significantly, the $6,222 is more than we should be paying for services in New Jersey, though not necessarily because we are spending too much. On the contrary, the state is not doing its part to pay for services, creating an unequal playing field that aids suburban towns with large corporate or commercial tax bases and leaves low-income communities in a hole.

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Done a bad, bad thing

Scott Kazmir takes the mound tonight for the Tampa Rays to open up the 2008 World Series, reopening a wound for Mets fans that runs pretty deep — Kazmir was supposed to take the hill for the Mets under the big lights.

I hope Kazmir does well. The kid has nasty stuff, even if his durability remains a question mark.

That said, the Kazmir trade ranks among the worst ever made by the organization. Where? I’m not sure. But it appears to be rather high — at least on a par with most of these awful transactions:

  • Tom Seaver to the Reds for Pat Zachary, Steve Henderson, Dan Norman and Doug Flynn. Seaver was “The Franchise” and still in his prime. Just awful.
  • Nolan Ryan and a bit player to the Angels for Jim Fregosi. Fregosi was a decent shortstop on the decline that the Mets converted into a terrible third-baseman. Ryan got his chance in the rotation and became a force on the mound (if a bit overrated).
  • A young and unheralded Amos Otis to the Royals for third-baseman Joe Foy. One in a long line of bad trades for bad third-basemen.
  • Jeff Kent and Jose Viscaino to the Indians for Carlos Baerga. (The Indians then turned around and moved Kent for Matt Williams, who bolted for Arizona.)
  • Rusty Staub to the Tigers for an over-the-hill Mickey Lolich.

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