Stuff in the ‘Taxes Economy and Outmigration’ Category
During the Pandemic, People Left NJ and Took a Record Amount of Wealth with Them, Mostly to Low-Tax, Non-Lockdown Florida
Posted On08/03/2023 byWhen it comes to domestic migration, how did New Jersey fare during the first year of the pandemic? Unfortunately, not well: New Jersey saw a net loss of over 12,000 taxpayers and $3.8 billion of gross income, the largest annual outflow of wealth in its history. This was despite the largest inflow of wealth from…Read More
FY2024 Budget: State Spending Up 56% Under Gov. Murphy. What Happens When the Revenue Windfalls Go Away?
Posted On07/07/2023 byOnce again under Gov. Murphy, when it comes to the budget, politics supersedes fiscal responsibility. Murphy and his pals in the legislature sure know how to take care of their friends in an election year. Adding to a continuous string of record budgets, Murphy signed a $54.3 billion FY2024 budget. That’s up over 7% from…Read More
Gov. Murphy’s FY2024 Budget: Nice Talking Points for a White House Run, But Not Much More
Posted On03/03/2023 byWith Gov. Murphy’s proposed budget in the news, Sunlight thought we should provide our brief take on it. We thought columnist Charlie Stile had it about right: Murphy’s budget is “less about New Jersey and more about polishing his White House appeal.” Just so. Record state government spending. Again. Murphy’s FY2024 (July 2023 to June…Read More
Most States Are Reducing Tax Rates; Gov. Murphy Raised Tax Rates to Increase Government Spending
Posted On02/03/2023 byThanks to Gov. Murphy and his accommodation of tax-thirsty government unions — who also happen to be his biggest political supporters — New Jersey continues to be a negative outlier when it comes to taxes. Last week Sunlight reported on New Jersey’s exceptionally high corporate tax rate and how a faux-coalition of government unions and…Read More
Don’t Be Fooled: “For the Many” Is Government Unions Pushing to Keep NJ Taxes the Highest in the Nation
Posted On01/25/2023 byTwo news items appeared in Sunlight’s inbox yesterday, and their juxtaposition tells you all you need to know about New Jersey’s special-interest-dominated status quo and the very high taxes that go with it. This malign status quo is why New Jersey was ranked dead last in the nation for its tax climate for businesses —…Read More
State of the State: What About Learning Loss, Public Pensions and Healthcare Costs, Governor Murphy?
Posted On01/12/2023 byGov. Murphy gave his State of the State speech and there was a lot of talk about New Jersey “leading the nation” in this or that, which tells you a lot about where Murphy’s head is. But it’s what Murphy left out of his speech that is really telling. There were three large gaps in…Read More
New Study: Gov. Murphy’s School Policies and Inaction Will Cause Long-Term Damage to NJ Kids and the State Economy
Posted On12/30/2022 byAt long last, and only after a great deal of public outcry, Gov. Murphy’s Department of Education finally released the full dataset from last spring’s state tests. This means that we now know the district-level results and community leaders, school administrators and parents know where and how much remediation is needed — and there is…Read More
Truth In Accounting 2022 Survey: New Jersey’s Financial Condition Is Dead Last in the Nation
Posted On12/21/2022 byDespite federal pandemic relief funds, record tax revenues and a lot of happy talk from Gov. Murphy, New Jersey’s long-term financial condition was ranked the worst in the nation. That’s according to Truth In Accounting (TIA), which just published its 13th annual review “Financial State of the States 2022.” While the Murphy touts New Jersey’s various…Read More
While Gov. Murphy Eyes a 2024 White House Run, NJ Had the Nation’s Worst Business Climate for Every Year He’s Been in Office
Posted On11/10/2022 byAs New jersey moves on from the midterms, we all need to be reminded that for the 8th year in a row, New Jersey came in dead last in the Tax Foundation‘s rankings of state tax climates for businesses. That means that New Jersey has been dead last for every single year of Gov. Murphy’s…Read More
Census Bureau: From 2011-2020, NJ Public School Enrollment Down -3%, Spending Up +27%
Posted On10/14/2022 bySeldom does one chart tell you so much about the influence of politically powerful special interests over New Jersey’s political system. In this case, it’s the influence of New Jersey’s largest teachers union and most powerful special interest, the NJEA, over Gov. Murphy. Sunlight just reviewed the US Census Bureau’s most recent surveys of public…Read More