By Matt Rooney
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You probably should watch Phil Murphy’s first State of the State address today at 2pm EST, Save Jerseyans, if for no other reason because what he proposed for FY2019 is likely to impact the bottom lines of your family and business. Click here for an online streaming link.
I know. It won’t be easy viewing.
If you can’t stomach it? Or have something better to do this afternoon?
You can skip the speech: the state of OUR state is dying AND desperate. We don’t need Murphy to tell us the time of day.
Let’s review (some) of the major events of Phil Murphy’s first year as governor…
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(1) Non-property taxes on individual income and businesses rose by about $440 million.
(2) Property taxes rose by almost 2%
(3) N.J. solidified its ‘worst in the nation’ tax climate
(4) The gasoline tax rose another 4.3-cents per gallon
(5) New Jersey continues to experience the largest net outward migration of any U.S. state
(6) Jobs growth continues to lag the rest of the country
(7) Murphy’s inner circle broke its promise to reveal dark money donors
(8) No significant action on pension/benefits reforms, the costs most responsible for New Jersey’s ever-expanding debt load despite the fact that our benefits obligations were growing 4.3-times faster than our GDP as of July; in fact, he allowed the property tax growth-slowing arb cap to sunset!
(9) A string of scandals has led to a Democrat inquiry into Murphy’s hiring practices
(10) Besides hiring bigots and an ex-official who accepted bribes? Murphy’s administration can’t decide who hired an alleged rapist.
(11) To make matters worse, the current body of evidence strongly suggests Murphy ignored the plight of the alleged victim (Katie Brennan). For months.
(12) If you’re a liberal? No action on legal weed or a $15 minimum wage among other key Murphy “priorities,” raiding things he promised NOT to raid to plug budget holes
(13) What about the basics of governing? The uncontroversial stuff? #Fail. Murphy dined at a swanky restaurants as motorists (and school kids) were stranded for hours or even overnight on unplowed roads.
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I could go on, Save Jerseyans, and you’ll notice I didn’t even touch on things like Sanctuary Statehood and gun control — among the governor’s few “accomplishments” for 2018 — which are highly-controversial and tend to break down among party lines; it’s nevertheless worth mentioning that a new study suggests MS-13 is a likely beneficiary of Murphy’s sanctuary policies.
Let’s not forget how we got here. One-third of New Jerseyans voted for Phil Murphy; the other two-thirds of registered voters abstained, understandably concluding that their votes no longer made a difference (or it was cheaper/easier to move than stand and fight).
The number one justification I heard from casual Murphy voters for going with the Goldman Sachs socialist? He’s not Chris Christie.
Indeed he’s not, folks. He’s panning out to be 100-times worse.
The worst you could say about the big man is that he was (1) rude, (2) distracted, limiting his effectiveness, and (2) he might’ve lied about his role in a traffic jam.
No alleged rapist hiring scandal cover ups. No far-left social experiments including gender neutral birth certificates (???). No breakdown of law and order. No massive tax increases. Our state is dying (a matter of public record), people are desperate (and moving away), and yet Murphy is doubling down on reversing the few things Chris Christie actually did well. He’s creating a moribund economy, designed to fuel and serve the government’s prosperity and not the other way around, one in which only the corrupt, dependent, and mega-rich (like himself) can afford to live in New Jersey.
What you’re likely to hear today from Murphy? Social justice this, “more fairness” that, etc. and so on. Aspirational language aiming to prey on ignorance.
No one cares that you’re suffering. Not under the State House’s dome. And there certainly is no real plan or political will to pay for any of it or, ideally, reverse course and move forward.
Three more years like Phil Murphy’s first one and Venezuelans might start to feel bad for us! That’s not much of a start, Mr. Governor. Certainly nothing to be proud of.
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