Governors Budget Address No Relief for the Middle Class

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, State Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) offered the following appraisal of Governor Phil Murphy’s 2020 budget address:

“Governor Murphy is trying to manage the budget with phantom numbers. This isn’t monopoly money. Governor: get your hands out of our pockets. Taxpayers have had enough and state spending is out of control.

“New Jersey has the worst business climate and the highest property taxes in the nation and these new taxes will push even more job creators out of state. Last year, Governor Murphy’s proposed tax hikes were so egregious, that even his fellow Democrats couldn’t stomach them. Nothing has changed. Don’t be surprised if the government shuts down.

“To help taxpayers, we need to enact major reforms, like platinum-to-gold pension and health benefit reform, and our new Senate Republican School Funding Plan, which will finally give special education students and property taxpayers the support they deserve. It’s time to give the people of New Jersey what they want: a fiscally-responsible government and lower taxes.”

Senator Declan O’Scanlon’s (R-13) full statement: “This budget won’t lift up the middle class. It will leave generations of New Jersey residents with no hope for a prosperous future.

“Even if the Governor’s rosy projections – of both revenue and savings – are accurate, we are still only a fraction of the way out of the hole we’re in.

“We can’t tax our way out of this mess. Without major reforms, it is a very real possibility that young public workers won’t even have a pension by the time they retire.

“I urge Governor Murphy to come to the table and hammer out a compromise with us. There is no other option.

“The Governor’s incessant call for higher taxes is itself destructive, never mind whether the policy is enacted or not. Just last week, Warren Buffet warned business owners not to set up shop in states with unfunded pension liabilities, because they will eventually turn to job creators and high earners to fill government coffers. Governor Murphy’s rhetoric today will lead to a lower standard of living for our children. It’s devastating.

“We’ve already seen the impact of Governor Murphy’s first income tax hike last year. Revenues are actually down, but he’s back again with the same failed solution. It’s like a line one would expect in a Dr. Seuss story: ‘If some is bad, more must be better!’ You don’t need to take Republicans’ word for it. Even Governor Cuomo thinks a millionaire’s tax drives people out of state.