TRENTON, N.J. – On Thursday, the Assembly voted along party lines to approve Gov. Phil Murphy’s borrowing plan, which would allow the state to issue up to $5 billion in bonds and borrow as much as $9 billion in short-term loans from the federal government.
Assemblymen Gregory P. McGuckin and John Catalano, along with the entire Assembly minority voted against the measure which they believe would put an unnecessary tax burden on the people of New Jersey.
“We cannot spend our way out of this problem,” said McGuckin (R-Ocean). “This is a nightmare come true as our residents will be forced to foot the bill for this borrowing scheme. We will see more school districts suffer as property taxes are funneled to schools in other parts of the state. I predict this borrowing plan will be so detrimental to New Jersey’s future that even more residents will be forced to move to another part of the country.”
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Murphy and his administration pushed New Jersey further into debt with increased spending and higher taxes, increases to the minimum wage and the numerous benefits for undocumented immigrants such as financial aid and allowing drivers licenses. The 10th District legislators plan to fight this unconstitutional bill and want the voice of voters heard.
“The people of New Jersey are being trampled with tax debt and to add another unnecessary tax burden while we are recovering from a pandemic is ridiculous,” said Catalano (R-Ocean) “This is an unconstitutional move by the Democrats to push this legislation through without voter approval. In addition, their plan to pay for the borrowing will send our property taxes skyrocketing. This is an outrage to every single resident of this great state who has already suffered so much because of the pandemic.”