Opinion: Numbers behind NJ ‘dollars exodus’ report don’t add up

Every dollar wasted on a tax cut is a dollar New Jersey can't invest in critical services for its residents or core investments that help grow the economy.

In the past I've posted numerous articles from New Jersey Policy Perspective, most of which i've highly agreed with. This opinion piece that was published the other day online at NorthJersey.com is no different.

Gordon MacInnes is president of New Jersey Policy Perspective, a non-partisan, non-profit organization devoted to independent research that promotes shared prosperity and widespread economic opportunity in the Garden State.  

Here is a small snippet of what Mr. MacInnes has to say about the myth of the New Jersey exodus. Continue on and read the remainder of his opinion piece, it's enlightening:

"... Start with the 2 million residents lost: If New Jersey had really "lost" 2 million residents in a decade, its population would have shrunk by almost a quarter. In other words, one of every four of your neighbors would have disappeared, with no one replacing them. Think back to your commute this morning and you'll quickly realize how unlikely that would be. In fact, New Jersey's population actually grew from 8.7 million in 2005 to 8.9 million in 2014. Those numbers come from the U.S. Census.

Critical facts missing

So what gives? Turns out the business group's screaming headline is missing essential facts. The data show that 2.1 million New Jerseyans departed over that time, and 2 million "New" New Jerseyans moved in — about 1.4 million from other states and about 600,000 immigrants from abroad. This is a drop of just 86,000 over the decade — not even 100,000, never mind a million. Add babies born who stay in New Jersey and you have the increase noted by the Census.

Now, let's look into the "disappearance" of $18 billion over a decade. The number lacks context and is seriously misleading...."