Five things NJ should fear far more than the dreaded Joro spider

I don’t know how these things happen where all at once something takes over our collective consciousness and it’s all we talk about for a few days. Recently in New Jersey, there were a few of those days when everyone I know was talking about, and worrying about, this new type of spider that is heading here.

It’s called a Joro spider and it can be as big as four inches. Perhaps you’ve heard how it can fly. Perhaps you’ve heard how it’s venomous.

That alone is enough to get people talking. But can we tell you there are far more things to be scared of in New Jersey than this Joro spider?

First of all, they can’t quite actually fly, although it appears they can. What this spider which is slowly migrating ever closer to New Jersey does is it spins an intricate web many feet wide that can act as a parachute and get picked up by wind and carry them great distances. It’s part of how they’re spreading so quickly to new parts of the country.

While it might appear to be flying down at you, that's just unfortunate timing as their web loses the wind. They’re not actually flying at all.

And while the Joro spider is technically venomous, it does not contain nearly enough venom to do any serious harm to a human being. For most people, the worst it’s ever going to be is a bit of a sting that should take care of itself in just a few days.

So while it’s been getting a lot of talk, the Joro spider isn’t something to be all that afraid of.

Do you know what is? Off the top of my head here are five things that New Jersey ought to fear far more than the Joro spider.

Electric vehicle mandates

In my opinion, you had better hope a more conservative governor takes over in 2026. Murphy will be term-limited for the 2025 election, but if a progressive with the same mindset as him is inaugurated the following January then look out.

The electric vehicle mandates that Murphy set for us are impractical and irresponsible. Car dealers already have EVs on their lots that they can’t sell because those who already wanted one, for the most part, have gotten one.

You can’t force people to buy into your ideology by simply telling them what they must drive. The electric grid can barely handle the usage we already have. Mandating electric vehicles before the power grid problem is fixed will bring it to its knees.

Not to mention the infrastructure for charging stations is nowhere near ready. I’ll take a Joro spider over this nonsensical mandate any day.

Property taxes

It’s been happening for years. It’s as if New Jerseyans are living in one house yet paying for two.

That’s how higher property taxes are. It’s like a whole other mortgage. We have the highest property taxes in the nation at an average now of $9803.

Until the school funding formula is revamped and property taxes get under control. We will never be the state we could be.

Other drivers

In one way it’s impressive. New Jersey drivers seem to be able to bend the very laws of physics and fit an 18-foot car into an 11-foot gap in front of you at 80 mph and still leave room for an amoeba between their rear bumper and your headlight.

It’s not that we don’t know how to drive. We’re just extremely aggressive and for most states, it’s just a drive home from work where here it’s a war zone.

Scams

On an old show called “X-Files” the lead character’s mantra was “Trust no one.”

Perhaps it’s time we made that the state motto. New Jersey ranks 3rd worst state overall for scams according to Forbes.com.

New Jersey had 11,230 frauds reported just in the first quarter of last year alone. We suffered $44.8 million in fraud losses.

Retirement

It’s not that New Jersey doesn’t have a lot of quality things to offer. It’s that it’s impossibly expensive.

Wallethub put out a ranking of the best and worst states to retire in for 2024. The Garden State came in next to last.

Mississippi even outdid us. In quality of life, we ranked 35th. That’s bad enough. But in affordability, we ranked 49th.

So we need to make sure we stop trying to slaughter each other on the highways, fix our fiscal house, and get tough on criminals again before we have the luxury of worrying about a little Joro spider.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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