Stuff in the ‘Taxes Economy and Outmigration’ Category
NJ101.5 Gets It Wrong About Healthcare Premium Hikes for Teachers: Property Taxpayers Will Pick Up the Tab
Posted On09/20/2022 byUnfortunately, a recent news story by NJ101.5 got it all wrong about an increase in teacher healthcare premiums. We have nothing against NJ101.5, which usually does a good job reporting, but they failed to do basic research here and have obscured rather than clarified the facts. The first sentence of the NJ101.5 piece reads: “New Jersey…Read More
The Recent Government Employee Healthcare Protests Explained: NJ Taxpayers Will Lose Again
Posted On09/15/2022 byGiven the protests in Trenton and the loud public outcry, Sunlight will weigh in on the health benefit premium hikes for New Jersey government employees, if only to clarify matters for our readers. There was a protest yesterday by state and municipal employees about the 20% rate hikes for their health insurance benefits. It was…Read More
CNBC Study: New Jersey’s Economy under Gov. Murphy Was Worst in the Nation Last Year
Posted On08/09/2022 byMoving 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…Read More
New Sweeney Center Report on NJ Budget Is a Valuable and Ominous Warning
Posted On06/17/2022 bySunlight wanted to comment on a recent report from former-Senate President Steve Sweeney’s Center for Public Policy at Rowan University. The report is the work of a bipartisan Multi-Year Budget Workgroup and constitutes a valuable contribution to the discussion about New Jersey’s fiscal future. As we approach the beginning of FY2023, it is imperative that…Read More
More Data Showing NJ Is Losing People and Wealth to Other States: Please Take Note, Tom Moran
Posted On06/06/2022 byThe Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran has been having a back-and-forth with Sunlight over whether New Jersey has an out-migration problem. We respect Moran and have found him to be a good-faith interlocutor and we have some data to add to the discussion. Here’s the argument in a nutshell. Moran contends that New Jersey’s outmigration problem is…Read More
New Healthcare Law Saves Millions for School Employees but Taxpayers Are Paying More
Posted On05/31/2022 byMary Ann Koruth of NorthJersey.com brings some needed focus on the reality of the much-heralded 2021 “Chapter 78 relief” law negotiated by then-Senate President Steve Sweeney and the NJEA. In “New state teacher health plan didn’t deliver promised savings, say school districts,” Koruth reports that out of the 158 school districts surveyed, 85% said that…Read More
Once Again, New Jersey Ranks Among the States with the Very Highest Property Taxes
Posted On05/10/2022 byThe Tax Foundation shared its property tax rankings today, and Sunlight thought it made sense to reconfirm what kind of property-tax burden New Jersey taxpayers are bearing. For 2022, New Jersey was 44th among the 50 states, and has been 44th or worse since 2019 (see chart below). The Tax Foundation evaluates state and local taxes…Read More
More Unpleasant Facts for the Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran: NJ’s Population Actually Declined in 2021
Posted On04/29/2022 byA couple of weeks ago, Sunlight pushed back on the Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran’s claim that New Jersey’s outmigration problem was a “fantasy. We pointed out that, yes, New Jersey’s population might have grown slightly, but the key metric was New Jersey’s massive net outmigration to other states not simply overall population growth. New Jersey’s population…Read More
ALEC’s “Rich States, Poor States”: NJ’s Economic Outlook Is 49th Out of 50 States While Our Governor Eyes the White House
Posted On04/26/2022 bySunlight recently published a research report entitled “Before You Go, Governor Murphy … There is Some Unfinished Business in the Garden State” where we remind our governor that before he leaves for the presidential campaign trail, there are four major problems he has not addressed: 1) student learning loss from pandemic school closures; 2) an…Read More
With All Due Respect, Tom Moran, the Exodus of People and Wealth from NJ Is Not a “Fantasy”
Posted On04/07/2022 byThe Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran recently wrote an op-ed entitled “Are Folks Leaving Jersey? Nah!” Moran dismisses the idea that New Jersey has an outmigration problem as “fantasy.” But it’s not fantasy, it’s real, and it’s a shame that the editor of New Jersey’s leading newspaper overlooks it. Moran cites data but not the right data….Read More