Governor Murphy’s budget is more of the same: more taxes and more spending for his special-interest patrons. There may be other reasons why Governor Murphy supports these policies, but we know for certain that they align with the most powerful special interest in the state’s (the NJEA) priorities:
- Millionaires’ tax: this has long been a top NJEA goal, and Murphy has dutifully pushed it every year. This year is no different.
- Increased state education aid: framed as a relief for property taxpayers, it is also a key, perennial NJEA policy goal. Increased state aid means more money for local education budgets and NJEA-member salaries and benefits. But the increased funding does nothing to address the fundamental cause of high property taxes: a very expensive and unreformed public education system.
- More pension funding: NJ’s public pensions are the WORST funded in the nation, so increased funding is needed, but the overall pension and benefit system remains unreformed, so this is putting more good money into a bad system. Increased funding without reform is precisely the NJEA’s position.
The bottom line is that with these three key policies, Governor Murphy continues to do the bidding of the special-interest-dominated status quo that elected him. The status quo continues under a status quo governor.