By BettyLou DeCroce
I don’t believe increasing spending by another $2 billion and raising taxes and fees is going to help the hard-working, middle class families of this state; nor will Gov. Phil Murphy’s budget proposals create jobs or stem the flight of individuals and business from New Jersey.
The governor’s fiscal blueprint would give our state a $41 billion budget for fiscal year 2021, which is $6.2 billion higher than when he came to office less than three years ago. That represents spending growth of 6 percent per year.
Gov. Murphy is driving the state’s financial bus in the wrong direction. In a state screaming for tax relief, there was not one sentence in his address that called for cutting spending on anything. Sadly, his progressive agenda of more spending is simply unsustainable no matter how many rich people you tax.
The governor mentioned the middle class many times in his speech, but I cannot find one thing in his remarks that will lift the tax burden on middle class, working families, who are reaching their financial breaking point.
It is ironic that the governor, who says one of his top priorities is to attract business to the state, is promoting policies that add another tax on corporations – the corporate responsibility tax — and again lobbying for a tax on top earners who own businesses and create jobs. Increasing corporate taxes will not help New Jersey attract business investment.
New Jersey needs real, sustainable property tax relief and to get that, we will have to reform the way that government operates. We will have to reform our pension and benefits programs and begin the task of cutting spending, or before long, New Jersey will go bankrupt.
Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce, a Republican, represents parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties in the 26th Legislative District.