New Jersey is facing historic, worst-in-the-nation financial challenges as Chris Christie leaves office, folks. Ones Christie didn’t create but certainly failed to fully remediate during his eight years in Trenton.
It’s against this backdrop that N.J. Chamber of Commerce President Tom Bracken — a reliable ally for Democrat candidates and causes including the gas tax increase — says Governor-elect Phil Murphy’s choice for state treasurer (formally announced today) is an appropriately solid move.
“We believe Assemblywoman Muoio’s experience in economic development and her knowledge of the state’s finances combined with her strong business background will serve her well in this new capacity,” said Bracken in a statement.
Unsurprisingly for regular readers of this site, I’m less convinced than Mr. Bracken in Elizabeth Muoio’s credentials for the monumental task at hand.
The career Mercer County politician (former freeholder/councilwoman) and Pennington resident’s aforementioned “business background” consists, from what I could find online, of serving as Mercer County’s director of Economic Development and Sustainability. So she’s not exactly a private sector dynamo with vast experience managing payroll and combating red tape.
She’s a member of “the club.” Been touched by scandal, too. Maybe a nice person? I have no idea; it’s not exactly the point, is it?
In the legislature? Arriving in 2015, she’s been a reliable vote for the same Democrat caucus that raised our taxes well over 100 times in the years immediately preceding Chris Christie’s administration; Muoio has voted to raise taxes, increase spending, increase borrowing, hike the minimum wage (a tact opposed by the N.J. small business community), expand welfare benefits at the expense of taxpayers, and prioritize radical causes over practical economic reforms.
The Assemblywoman is also pro-public sector union.
It’s entirely unclear to me how a ho hum Leftist with an extensive public sector resume can be counted upon to bring fresh ideas and thinking to the table at a time when our pension system is America’s least stable? And her boss, the incoming governor, needs to find a way to finance $75 billion in campaign promises within the confines of a $35 billion budget framework held together by scotch tape?
We’ve seen no evidence to date that she’s open to new ideas, big reform or, critically, bucking powerful interests.
But what do I know? I’m only a taxpayer, like you, who’s expected to foot the bill whenever liberals like Phil Murphy and Elizabeth Muoio treat our hard-earned cash like Monopoly money.
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