If an organization should be judged by how well it’s living up to its mission statement, Save Jerseyans, then the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce under President Tom Bracken may be the least effective chamber in the United States.
On the N.J. Chamber website, Bracken promises prospective members that his organization’s “mission is to fight for a better business climate in New Jersey and a stronger economy on which you can build your business.”
I’ve seen no evidence of that.
Study after study continues to find the Garden State suffering from the worst overall business climate in the region and the worst business tax climate in the country. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) recently published a study comparing how all 50 states performed during Covid-19 and, to the surprise of no one who lived through it, New Jersey finished at the bottom of the barrel.
“Gov. Phil Murphy didn’t save lives, but he did savage the economy and punish students as he followed the teachers union demands on school closures to rank 41st on education,” opined The Wall Street Journal in its report on NBER’s findings.
What has Bracken done to fight back on behalf of the New Jersey business community?
We got an illustrative example of Bracken’s uselessness at April’s ReNew Jersey Business Summit in Atlantic City. In his opening remarks, Bracken had a moment of accidental honesty, reportedly telling the attendees that Governor Murphy and the state legislature hadn’t undertaken any action “of substance” to help New Jersey businesses. Bracken then inexplicably walked back his comments which he described as “overly aggressive and inaccurate.”
Confused? Don’t overthink it.
Bracken’s bootlicking behavior may be shocking to anyone not familiar with his history but it’s hardly out of character.
Under his “leadership,” the NJ Chamber backed the massive 2016 gas tax hike that’s certainly come back to haunt Garden State motorists. They rolled over on Murphy’s minimum wage adventure, and he’s backed ruinous borrowing measures which inevitably lead to higher taxes. There’s not evidence of a “fight” being mounted by the NJ Chamber to improve New Jersey’s business climate; time after time, Bracken and his crew dutifully serve as leading apologists for the politicians working to transform New Jersey into California East.
Our state desperately needs a business advocacy group that – I can’t believe I actually need to type this, folks – advocates for the business community! In Bracken, the NJ Chamber is floundering with an empty suit at the helm who, like so many others in Trenton, is primarily motivated by protecting his spot with the “in crowd.”
Bracken should be true to himself, quit the Chamber, get an “I love Phil” tattoo in a discrete location and beg for a job working for one of the Murphy family’s new pacs. New Jersey businesses deserve better. Bracken doesn’t after one of the most shameful performances in Trenton history.
