Stuff in the ‘Taxes Economy and Outmigration’ Category
Inconvenient Fact: NJ Unemployment Drop Due to Workers Leaving the Labor Force
Posted On10/28/2020 byNJ.com reports that the US Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that the NJ unemployment rate dropped from 11.1% to 6.7% in September. This looks like good news, but unfortunately, it’s not. Most people don’t realize that the unemployment rate only includes people who are out of work and who have been looking for a…Read More
NJ’s State Business Tax Climate the Worst in America – for the Seventh Straight Year
Posted On10/23/2020 byYou read that right. For seven years in a row, NJ has the worst business tax climate in America, according to the Tax Foundation’s annual ranking. In other words, NJ is a lousy place to do business and has been for a very long time. As the Tax Foundation researchers said: “The evidence shows that…Read More
Gov. Murphy: “Labor is at the table in New Jersey unlike any other state in America, and that will always continue to be the case.”
Posted On10/06/2020 byWell, there you have it from an excellent report by NJ101.5: a perfect, one-sentence description of NJ’s political status quo, delivered by our state’s top elected officer. Gov. Murphy was elected with the strenuous support of the public sector unions – a.k.a, our most powerful special interests – and continues to work hand-in-hand with them…Read More
Star-Ledger’s Moran: “More taxes, more spending, more borrowing! It’s party time in Trenton!”
Posted On09/28/2020 byThe Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran’s title succinctly captures NJ’s FY2021 COVID budget. Moran notes that despite the negative impact of COVID, spending will be increased 4%. NJ citizens and businesses are tightening their belts, but not our special-interest-friendly state government. Gov. Murphy and his legislative allies are also making a $4.7 billion pension payment – as…Read More
NJSpotlight Headline Says It All: “NJ lawmakers find millions for pet projects in budget that borrows billions, raises taxes”
Posted On09/24/2020 byJon Reitmeyer hits the nail on the head in his NJSpotlight article. Despite past words to the contrary, Gov. Murphy is acting as if nothing has changed with COVID. Government spending and payrolls certainly haven’t changed. A record $4.7 billion is pouring into an unreformed and broken public pension system. Throwing (our) good money…Read More
NJ Debt Worst in America (Again), but Gov. Murphy Is Borrowing $4.5 billion More
Posted On09/23/2020 byTruth in Accounting came out with its “Financial State of the States 2020,” an annual report on how much debt-per-taxpayer each state owes. New Jersey once again ranked DEAD LAST in the nation for the SEVENTH STRAIGHT YEAR. Each NJ taxpayer owes a jaw-dropping $57,900 – which is $5,900 more than broke Illinois, the state…Read More
NJ to Borrow $4.5 billion to Make $4.7 billion Pension Payment: NJ Taxpayers on the Hook
Posted On09/22/2020 byAccording to the Star-Ledger, New Jersey’s FY2021 budget will borrow $4.5 billion in bonds. That’s more than 10% of the entire budget. Where is NJ going to get the money to plug the budget gap next year? I guess we should hope that economy does really well – despite the additional taxes on millionaires, corporations…Read More
New Jersey Governance in the Middle of a Pandemic: Run by and for Special Interests
Posted On09/16/2020 byThe NJEA’s investments are paying off. New Jersey’s most powerful special interest has had a great recent run with Governor Murphy. As is well known, the NJEA was “all-in” for Phil Murphy when he ran for governor and strongly boosted his candidacy. Since Murphy’s election, the NJEA and its public-sector union allies have pumped…Read More
Municipal Bond Market Study: NJ Ranks 49th in Nation in Creditworthiness
Posted On09/08/2020 byBarron’s published a study by mutual fund manager Eaton Vance that ranked the states by creditworthiness (in other words how risky it is to lend money to NJ) and New Jersey was 49th out of 50 states, trailing only broke Illinois. This is no surprise, given that NJ also has the second-lowest bond rating of…Read More
NJBIA’s Siekerka Is on Target: Gov. Murphy’s $4.9 billion for Pensions Is Throwing Good Money after Bad
Posted On09/04/2020 byNew Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA) president Michelle Siekerka penned an op-ed in NJ Spotlight today that made several excellent points. Among them: Cut the fiscal year 2021 public employee pension contribution: “we should remind ourselves that whatever dollar figure is settled on will still go toward a broken and unsustainable system, which will…Read More