Jersey Father sells children’s future
“Indentured servitude is a contract between two individuals, where one person worked not for money but to repay an indenture or loan.” … investopedia.com
In the wake of the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, millions of Afghans are jobless and on the verge of starvation. Desperate fathers have raised the money needed to feed their families by selling a young daughter into a Taliban marriage or a son into years of Taliban servitude.
I cannot imagine the anguish those parents must feel; sacrificing the future of one child, so their other children can live.
For the past 65 years, generations of New Jersey’s politicians borrowed money, and promised pensions to millions of people, with the full knowledge they would never enact the legislation necessary to repay the state’s debt. The practice persists today, and the debt has grown from $0.9 Billion to $200 billion (Approx. $33,000 per voter).
My wife and I spent the last forty years in New Jersey, building a successful business. Like nearly everyone else in the state, we ignored the state’s growing debt. We watched the same politicians being reelected year after year. We rarely voted, and we never held any elected officials accountable for their misspending. We suspected the state’s debt would one day be a problem, but we never imagined when that might be.
Last week, my wife and I decide it was time to retire; give the business to our children ;and like retired jersey politicians, move to Florida. We proudly announced our plans to our children; and were shocked to hear that none of them wanted to live in, or operate a business in, one of the highest taxed states in the country.
John, our eldest son said, “Dad, bankruptcy is not a legal option for New Jersey. Jersey-ans are stuck with the debt and the taxes. We will take over the business, but we are going to sell it and start fresh in a state with better long-term opportunities.”
I protested, “It’s not a good time to sell. The business is under-valued, and the tax rate is at an all-time high. The state will rob 25% of your legacy now, and only God knows how much they’ll try to seal when we die”.
“Someone has to pay the state’s debts” John said, “I’d rather lose 25% now, than 50% or more later”.
“By the way,” John said, “my friends in Florida, want you to leave your bad voting habits behind in NJ. They’ve got a good economy, and they don’t want you and your kind screwing it up.”
I wonder if my cousin in North Dakota would ever allow his children to become Indentured servants to the State.
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