WASHINGTON, D.C. – On week after signing the most reckless budget in state history, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy received an “F” rating from the libertarian Cato Institute for his taxing and spending policies.
In its biennial Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors, Murphy was one of seven U.S. governors to receive the report’s lowest rating. The failing governors were all Democrats and included Ralph Northam (Virginia), Andrew Cuomo (New York), Gretchen Whitmer (Michigan), J.B. Pritzker (Illinois), Kate Brown (Oregon), and Jay Inslee (Washington).
–
Four Republican governors scored an “A” grade: Chris Sununu (New Hampshire), Kim Reynolds (Iowa), Pete Ricketts (Nebraska), and Mark Gordon (Wyoming).
According to the report’s authors, “it uses statistical data to grade the governors on their tax and spending records—governors who have restrained taxes and spending receive higher grades, while those who have substantially increased taxes and spending receive lower grades.”
Murphy’s FY 2021 budget includes $703 million in tax hikes and billions in borrowing.
Click here to read the full Cato report card.
–
