“Enthusiasm about the drop in the state’s unemployment rate must be tempered by concern about the continued stagnation in our workforce size, which remains below 2008 levels,” stated Garden State Initiative president, Regina M. Egea. “Job growth in most sectors is an encouraging sign for our economy, however the Financial Activities sector, which has been flat for 2 months after New Jersey has led the nation in job losses, remains a cause for concern.”
GSI’s president Regina Egea speaks with Andrew Coen of The Bond Buyer Podcast on a diverse array of topics facing New Jersey including: Governor Murphy’ term in office, the debate over economic incentives, the millionaire’s tax, pension and benefit reform and the state’s economic outlook. Ms. Egea also addresses her time as Chief of Staff to Governor Chris Christie and Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff along with her corporate career at AT&T.
GSI’s president Regina M. Egea offered a mixed reaction to the budget that Governor Murphy signed on Sunday which averted a government shutdown, praising that the budget was enacted without additional or increased taxes, but urging that now the legislature must act to reduce spending.
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The editorial board of the Asbury Park Press takes Governor Phil Murphy to task for allowing the arbitration cap for uniformed services to expire and sees it as an example of his indifference to taxpayers and the state’s looming fiscal crisis:
“…Murphy not only has failed to provide significant tax relief, he has done nothing to address the state’s structural financial problems, made worse by his refusal to do what is necessary to rein in public employee pension and health benefits costs. We are one recession away from a fiscal disaster.”
In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal credits New Jersey’s legislative leaders, specifically Senate President Steve Sweeney, for resisting Governor Phil Murphy’s calls for a extended “millionaire’s tax”. The Journal’s editorial board wrote:
“For a second time, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has signed a state budget without the “millionaire’s tax” he has been pitching since his 2017 election. Weary New Jerseyites can’t yet breathe a sigh of relief. But their Legislature—unlike in Illinois or Connecticut—seems to realize that it’s possible to run out of other people’s money.“
With the Fiscal Year 2020 state budget barely in the rear-view mirror, NJ Spotlight’s John Reitmeyer takes a look at the lingering issues that will impact the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, including some ominous numbers regarding the state’s public employee pension payment obligations:
“High on the list of rising costs will be another big increase in funding for the public-worker pension system. A record $3.8 billion contribution was just written into the fiscal year 2020 budget.
The contribution for the FY2021 budget is scheduled to be around $4.5 billion, and at the moment there’s no plan in place to cover that hefty increase.”
On July 1st, New Jersey’s minimum wage rose to $10 per hour, part of the state’s incremental increase to $15 per hour. NJ Spotlight’s Colleen O’Dea, included GSI’s president Regina Egea’s analysis in her report:
“For many who operate on narrow profit margins, the employer has two realistic options: reduce staff hours and headcount, or raise prices,” she (Egea) said. “We will be watching with interest the state’s employment reports in coming months to analyze the jobs numbers in the industries that employ minimum wage workers, like retail, for example.”
In an ROI-NJ’ report, Anjalee Khemlani includes GSI’s president Regina Egea’s comments in a report on Governor Phil Murphy’s signing of the state’s FY2020 budget:
“Garden State Initiative President Regina Egea applauded the bipartisanship of the budget — avoiding a shutdown of state government.
“For the first time in recent memory, widespread and bipartisan agreement that our state taxes too much determined the content of our state budget,” she said.
“Approving a budget without tax increases with yet higher spending represents a meaningful step, but leaves unfinished business in order to restore our state as a place where both parents and their children can afford to live. This incremental success must spur more bipartisan action this year to address our state’s addiction to spending. A budget that held the line on taxes in 2020 should serve as an impetus to build a 2021 budget that actually reduces spending and passes on savings to taxpayers.””
In an NJSpotlight.com op-ed, former state controller & budget director Richard Keevey, writes how Governor Murphy's push for tax increases has hijacked the conversation away from what we should be talking about - Reforming the way NJ government does business to put the state on a firm financial footing.
Legislative leaders plan to introduce a budget proposal that omits every tax increase the Governor Murphy has been seeking according to a report on NJ.com from statehouse reporters Samantha Marcus and Brent Johnson. Specifically, the plan rejects Murphy’s so-called “Millionaire’s Tax” and “Corporate Responsibility Tax” along with an increase to fees on gun permits and the tax on ammunition.
In an opinion piece that appeared in the Asbury Park Press, the newspaper’s Opinion Editor Randy Bergman called on New Jersey residents frustrated by high taxes to make their voices hard by aggressively calling on state leaders to take action that will lead to real reforms in the state.
As Governor Phil Murphy aggressively lobby’s for another tax increase, this time an expansion of the so-called “Millionaire’s Tax”, a new analysis by Bloomberg News found that the Garden State is among the top 3 states in outmigration of wealth. Last year, New Jersey saw a net exodus of $3.4 billion in wealth, ranking only behind fellow high-tax states, New York and Illinois.
A new report from Moody’s finds that New Jersey is one of 2 states, the other being Illinois, ill-prepared financially for a future recession citing pension liabilities and budget reserves. John Reitmeyer of NJ Spotlight writes on the policy implications for New Jersey as the state enters the pivotal stage of budget negotiations for FY 2020.
