Liberal Think Tank Attacks Christie Econ Strategy, Eliciting NJGOP Protest
By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog
In case you forgot that this is an election cycle, Save Jerseyans, New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP) issued a report today critiquing the Christie Administration’s efforts to improve the state’s business climate with corporate tax breaks.
Click here to read the full report. In short, NJPP concluded that the tax breaks don’t work very well.
You might’ve guessed that the Republican Party disagrees. New NJGOP Spokesman Ben Sparks fired back a press release taking aim at the 501(c)(3) organization’s liberal orientation and Democrat affiliations:
Given their work for Jon Corzine, it’s not surprising that a group led by his former employees would be advocating taking us backward to the failed policies of his Administration. The Corzine agenda of big…
…government, massive tax hikes, and excessive spending would kill jobs and crush our economy. The NJPP has looked at the data, so they’re well aware that Governor Christie and our Republican leadership have overseen record growth of more than 100,000 private-sector jobs by making New Jersey a business friendly environment with aggressive incentive and job-retention programs that have passed with bi-partisan support.”
NJPP President Gordon MacInnes issued a statement that sought to put the report’s conclusions in context:
We are not advocating that New Jersey get out of the business. I don’t think you could do that short of all the states coming together and agreeing to stop raiding each other,” he says. “But you can’t just rely on that and say you’re doing the job of addressing the unemployment problem.”
My two cents?
Of course tax breaks aren’t an ideal way to grow the economy! You don’t need a study to confirm common sense, Save Jerseyans. Look at the Revel situation. Tax cuts and regulatory reforms are superior strategies, from both a practical and moral point of view. But how is that going to happen with a solidly Democratic legislature entrenched in the Statehouse? Should we wait for redistricting in 2021 for relief?
I’ll criticize Chris Christie when he deserves it folks, but I won’t criticize him for doing the best he can with insufficient tools.
how about abolishing the state income and sales tax? seems to be a good way to attract businesses. ask florida, tennessee, nevada, and delaware
or you can grant Revel a ridiculous amount of tax breaks and watch them go belly up in 6 months