NJSpotlight.com’s John Reitmeyer reports on the latest report in GSI’s series on the true cost of New Jersey’s government and opportunities for savings: Adding It All Up: New Jersey’s Opportunity to Reduce $200 Million in School Transportation Costs:

“taxpayers could see annual savings of as much as $146 million with better use of technology and more consolidation of student bus services, according to a new report that analyzes everything from how the state’s school districts hire bus drivers to how they design daily routes.“

How can New Jersey save $200 million of the $1.2 billion currently spent on student transportation?

That’s the question we answer in Adding It All Up: New Jersey’s Opportunity to Reduce $200 Million in School Transportation Costs the second in a five-part series focusing on the true size of New Jersey’s expansive government, how much is being spent in specific categories and, most importantly, identifying opportunities where it can be made more efficient.

January’s state revenue report did not paint a pretty picture for the state with revenue collections far below projections from the state Treasurer.

“An avalanche of data has emerged that high tax states are experiencing a significant out-migration of high-income taxpayers,” said Garden State Initiative president Regina M. Egea. “The argument that out-migration from high-tax northern states is a result of weather falls flat in the face of data indicating that California, the high tax capital of the West Coast, is facing similar outmigration threats.“

For New Jersey, this is not a new phenomenon.

In every Super Bowl, there are winners and losers. This year, New Jersey has lost before the game even started.

When tens of millions of Americans tune in to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday, very few will recognize that they are also looking at a symbol of decades of failed economic policies in New Jersey.

Yet it will be staring them right in the face.

The first in a five-part series focusing on the true size of New Jersey’s expansive government, how much is being spent in specific categories and, most importantly, identifying opportunities where it can be made more efficient.

NJSpotlight.com’s John Reitmeyer took a deep-dive into Garden State Initiative’s new research report - Adding It All Up: An Impartial Look at New Jersey’s $117 Billion Government:

The irony was not lost on many people when Governor Phil Murphy bragged during his recent State of the State address that “In 2018, New Jersey saw the lowest increase in statewide average property taxes on record.”  Republican legislators and many Democrats were quick to point out that the slowed rate of growth is a direct result of a policies that predated Murphy.

John Reitmeyer of NJ Spotlight writes on last week’s state revenue report which showed tax revenue coming in well below projections and cites analysis offered by GSI:

“But an analysis of the same tax-collection data by the Garden State Initiative, a right-leaning think tank based in Morristown, suggested only 2.1 percent growth in tax collections through the first half of the fiscal year is a cause for real concern. The pace of growth will have to “accelerate geometrically” through the final six months of the fiscal year to meet the year-end goal of 7.5 percent, the group’s analysis said. “