Moving away from the NJEA’s on-going attempts to push teachers into local political action – whether by advocating for radical education policies or running candidates for school board – Sunlight will highlight CNBC’s recent study “America’s Top States for Business.”  The news for New Jersey is not good.  We quote:

“The biggest decline [from last year] belongs to New Jersey, dropping 16 places to finish 42nd overall.  The Garden State falls to dead last [emphasis added] in the Economy category, including America’s least healthy pension systems …“

Recall that New Jersey also finished dead last in the Tax Foundation’s annual ranking of states’ tax climates for businesses.  But somehow this relationship escapes our Goldman Sachs-bred governor, who is apparently more interested in running for president than taking care of his state’s economy.

Here are the gruesome details of the study:

• 43rd for Cost of Doing Business, garnering a D+ grade.
• 34th for Infrastructure, a D+ grade.
• 50th for Economy, a F grade.
• 47th for Business Friendliness, a F grade.
• 40th for Cost of Living, a F grade.

That’s five D-plusses and Fs out of 10 categories.  New Jersey is a very expensive state and a terrible place to do business.  No wonder people are fleeing to Florida and Texas.

So in the first year of Governor Murphy’s second term, and in a key pandemic-recovery year, New Jersey dropped 16 places to 42nd among the states.  The fact is that under Governor Murphy, New Jersey’s economy had severely lagged the rest of the nation and its pension system is still in crisis (despite the billions and billions Murphy has dumped into it).  The CNBC numbers confirm it.

We ask again: Governor Murphy, before you go off running for president, will you focus on your state and the people who elected you?  Or is New Jersey just a stepping-stone for your political ambitions?