Rutgers Report: New Jersey's Economy Lags Nation

“Open the newspaper or turn on the television, and you'll see and hear the same thing: The economy is growing and jobs are becoming increasingly plentiful as the nation continues its rebound from the economic downturn of 2000-2002.”

The same is not true for New Jersey’s rate of job growth. Our state is no longer one of the leaders in employment growth; instead, it lags the nation, according to a report published by Rutgers University.

The state’s leading job growth sector in 2004 was government. Government accounted for 32.4 percent of new jobs in 2004. This compares to only 6.7 percent for the nation as a whole. In the 2002–05 period, 43 percent of the state’s total growth in employment came through an increase in government jobs.

New Jersey is ranked 31st in the nation in the rate of growth of total employment and 41st in the rate of growth of private-sector employment. New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania all outranked New Jersey in private sector employment growth.

New Jersey’s economy appears to be improving “only because of unsustainable rapid public employment expansion at a time of deep statewide fiscal crisis and deficit financing.” “It's clear that corporate America is expanding, but not in New Jersey," said James W. Hughes, dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers and a co-author of the report.

The Rutgers report concluded: “Certainly, the evidence strongly suggests that a renewed and innovative emphasis on state economic development strategy and polices is warranted. New Jersey’s recent intense focus on income redistribution issues and policies should be rebalanced toward policies that focus on income growth and economic expansion.”

Hughes also suggested that "property tax reform, an idea that is growing in popularity among homeowners and many in the state Legislature, could help grow the economy".

To say there has been an intense focus on income redistribution in New Jersey over the past four years is an understatement. To compound the problem, Jon Corzine is running on an agenda that lays out a blue print for economic disaster – more transferring of income from taxpayers to tax receivers, more state spending and no real property tax reform. It is not possible to tax and spend the state into prosperity.

The state can not afford Jon Corzine as Governor of New Jersey. Doug Forrester has proposed plans to control state spending and for meaningful property tax reform - a constitutionally guaranteed 30 % reduction in property taxes. Forrester has taken a new-new-taxes pledge, a pledge Jon Corzine refuses make.