Hey, Murphy: It's OUR Money; You Took It From US!

 

NJ GOP: Give The Taxpayers Their Money Back!

The Republican members of the New Jersey State Senate Budget & Appropriations Committee called on Governor Phil Murphy and legislative leaders to commit to expanding tax relief in light of the Administration admitting to a total of more than $9 billion of tax overcollections in the current year and almost $7.8 billion more in revenue available for the upcoming budget year than projected just two months ago.

The Republican members of the Senate Budget Committee called on the Governor and legislative leaders to commit to expanding tax relief in light of the Administration admitting to a total of almost $7.8 billion more in tax revenue available for the upcoming budget year than projected just two months ago. (©iStock)

“The Murphy Administration finally admitted the obvious – that they are collecting $9 billion more out of the pockets of taxpayers than budgeted for the current year,” said Senate Republican Leader Steven Oroho (R-24). “New Jersey families are struggling with soaring prices and inflation, and Republicans have proposed $1,500 rebates to be returned to more than 4 million families this Spring. The Murphy Administration must commit to giving back at least this $1,500 to 4 million families this Spring.”

Senate Republicans have proposed a pair of “Give It Back” tax rebates that would return $1,500 of overcollections to New Jersey families as an added income tax refund returnable this Spring.  The rebate would be automatically sent out to every income tax filer without the need for applications, bureaucracy, or delays.

“My Republican colleagues and I can’t support a budget unless 4 million families receive $1,500 of direct relief this spring to help combat the pain caused by over taxation, soaring gas prices, and inflation,” said Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-13), the Republican Budget Officer. “Since announcing yesterday that there was more than $9 billion of tax overcollections in the current year, all we have heard from the Administration and Democrat leaders is that maybe – if people are good boys and girls – they might return a little more through the Governor’s newly renamed, and woefully inadequate Anchor Rebate Program.”

The main “Give It Back” tax rebate proposed by Senate Republicans would return $1,000 back to New Jersey families as soon as it is enacted.

A second bill, the “Gas Price and Inflation Tax Credit Act,” would provide another $500 tax rebate when this spring to provide families with additional relief to counter record-high gas prices and the highest inflation in four decades.

In contrast to the Republican tax rebates that would provide relief immediately, the underwhelming Anchor program proposed by Governor Murphy would not deliver any relief until May of next year, and to less than half the families provided relief under the “Give it Back proposal.”

Further, the governor’s Anchor proposal would actually reduce rebates for hundreds of thousands of renters and homeowners already receiving rebates from existing programs the Governor has proposed to eliminate.

“It’s staggering that Governor Murphy finally admitted yesterday to taking $9 billion more from taxpayers than budgeted,” said Senator Michael Testa (R-1). “And yet he still has refused to give any of it back – even as his Deputy Treasurer admitted yesterday that the proposed consolidation of existing rebate programs into a newly named Anchor Rebate will actually cut rebates for hundreds of thousands of renters and homeowners.”

In addition to not returning tax overpayments, the Governor’s Administration admitted in budget hearings that they will increase the following taxes this year: income taxes for this calendar year due to unchecked bracket creep; employer payroll taxes beginning July 1; a regressive employee payroll tax increase beginning Jan. 1, toll increases beginning Jan. 1, and a $600 million health insurance tax, with a date to be determined.  Republicans have also called for these other unnecessary tax increases to be halted.

“It’s clear we’ll have the resources to provide the immediate tax rebates that we’ve already proposed, and protections against five tax and toll increases the Governor is hell-bent on collecting despite an embarrassing $9 billion over-collection of taxes this year,” Senator Sam Thompson (R-12) concluded. “It’s way past time that tax relief is made a priority — and not an afterthought with whatever nickels are left over.”

Freshman NJ Legislator Slams Murphy Power Grabs

From our friends at Save Jersey:

(Reprinted with permission)

The New Jersey Assembly passed a party-line Murphy-backed borrowing and property tax surcharge bill on Thursday; meanwhile, Governor Phil Murphy once again unilaterally extended his emergency powers for an additional 30 days. The Democrat legislature – known for being sometimes antagonist towards Murphy – has done nothing to curb the governor’s powers.

Freshman Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-25) was one of the few voices willing to criticize the legislature for letting Murphy continue to run roughshod over the state constitution, taxpayers, business community and the other branches of state government.


“Assembly Democrats seem pretty confident in the state’s ability to pay back a nine-billion dollar loan in three years. I think they’re delusional,” said Bergen. “We have not made a full pension payment since 1995 and have never fully funded the school funding formula. To think that the state would magically become fiscally responsible enough to handle our obligations is unrealistic.”

“The governor has no incentive not to extend the State of Emergency. He has complete power to rule by executive order. I have introduced a bill, A4147, which would put a check on this power, but Speaker Coughlin refuses to put it up for a vote,” Bergen added.

A4147 (S-2482 is the Senate companion bill) boast 28 total sponsors; if it became law, the bill would require Murphy (and future governors) to seek legislative approval for any emergency powers beyond 14 days.

Bergen says Senate President Steve Sweeney promised to post the bill but only if Speaker Craig Coughlin does the same in his own chamber.

“The Assembly Democrats want to borrow money because of a shortage in revenue. We can fix our revenue problem and ignite our economy now by allowing our businesses to get back to work. Borrowing money and mortgaging our future is a cop-out,” said Bergen.

Murphy has take very few steps to reopen the Garden State economy despite evidence that the COVID-19 curve has actually bent.

Scharfenberger Slams NJ Added Tax Plan

What we have here is, failure for New Jersey to operate - yet again, according to Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth) who decries another inexcusable course of action, fresh off of the recent toll hikes pursued by the Murphy Administration as New Jersey’s Legislature will decide on bill A-4175 Thursday (June 4th) which would allow the State to bond for $5 Billion and force New Jersey taxpayers to pay the price through Property Tax Surcharges and Sales Tax Increases over the coming years:
“Just when you thought you heard everything, we have bill A-4175 scheduled for a vote this Thursday, which would allow the state to borrow five billion dollars without voter approval,” exclaimed Scharfenberger. “This, on top of the recent toll hikes, is a double kick in the gut to every single New Jersey resident!”
This costly bill comes as New Jersey residents and business owners are overwhelmingly still reeling due to lock downs and closures with little to no incomes from COVID-19 measures implemented by the Governor and New Jersey Department of Health:
“After mandating people to give up their businesses and their jobs, this bill adds insult to injury by making them pay for the loss of revenue that resulted from the government imposed lockdown,” Scharfenberger continued. “Raising the sales tax, and adding a surcharge to New Jersey's already highest in the nation property taxes, will be a devastating and quite frankly, a financial death blow to countless people and families.”
Legal concerns are now rising as to whether this course of action is permitted under law since the Legislature is bypassing voter approval which is mandated under New Jersey’s Constitution:
“To make matters worse, the voters don't even get the opportunity to exercise their legal right to vote on the issue before it becomes law and are instead forced to tread water in Trenton’s wake yet again,” said Scharfenberger. “This is usurping our state’s Constitution. What good are our laws when those who are writing and supposed to be safeguarding them are the same unceremoniously bypassing them?!”
The Legislature will vote on bill A-4175 on Thursday, June 4th at 11:00am during their virtual session.

Last Week, THEY Upped Your Gas Tax AGAIN!

Last week, New Jersey's gas tax went up again.

And now, you're paying more at the pump with one of the highest gas taxes in the country.

Listed below (and highlighted in yellow) are members of the New Jersey State Senate and the State Assembly who voted YES to increase your gas tax by 23 cents per gallon, with automatic increases (such as last week's) in subsequent years. Remember these scoundrels!

State Assembly:

Andrzejczak, Bob - No    Auth, Robert - No    Barclay, Arthur - Yes

Benson, Daniel R. - Yes    Bramnick, Jon M. - Yes    Brown, Chris A. - No

Bucco, Anthony M. - No    Burzichelli, John J. - Yes    Caputo, Ralph R. - Yes

Caride, Marlene - Yes    Carroll, Michael Patrick - No    Chaparro, Annette - Yes

Chiaravalloti, Nicholas - Yes    Ciattarelli, Jack M. - No    Clifton, Robert D. - No

Conaway, Herb, Jr. - Yes    Coughlin, Craig J. - Yes    Dancer, Ronald S. - No

Danielsen, Joe - Yes    DeAngelo, Wayne P. - Yes    DeCroce, BettyLou - Yes

DiMaio, John - No    Downey, Joann - No    Egan, Joseph V. - Yes

Eustace, Tim - Yes    Giblin, Thomas P. - Yes    Gove, DiAnne C. - No

Green, Jerry - No    Greenwald, Louis D. - Yes    Gusciora, Reed - Yes

Handlin, Amy H. - No    Holley, Jamel C. - Not Voting    Houghtaling, Eric - No

Howarth, Joe - Yes    Jasey, Mila M. - Yes J   imenez, Angelica M. - Yes

Johnson, Gordon M. - Yes    Jones, Patricia Egan - Yes    Karabinchak, Robert J. - Yes

Kean, Sean T. - Yes    Kennedy, James J. - Yes    Lagana, Joseph A. - Yes

Lampitt, Pamela R. - Not Voting    Land, R. Bruce - No    Mazzeo, Vincent - No

McGuckin, Gregory P. - No    McKeon, John F. - Yes    McKnight, Angela V. - Yes

Moriarty, Paul D. - Yes    Mosquera, Gabriela M. - Yes    Mukherji, Raj - Yes

Munoz, Nancy F. - Not Voting    Muoio, Elizabeth Maher - Yes    O'Scanlon, Declan J., Jr. - Yes

Oliver, Sheila Y. - No    Peterson, Erik - No    Phoebus, Gail - No

Pinkin, Nancy J. - Yes    Pintor Marin, Eliana - Yes    Prieto, Vincent - Yes

Quijano, Annette - Not Voting    Rible, David P. - Yes    Rodriguez-Gregg, Maria - Yes

Rumana, Scott T. - Not Voting    Rumpf, Brian E. - No    Russo, David C. - Not Voting

Schaer, Gary S. - Yes    Schepisi, Holly - No    Singleton, Troy - Yes

Space, Parker - No    Sumter, Shavonda E. - Yes    Taliaferro, Adam J. - Not Voting

Tucker, Cleopatra G. - Not Voting    Vainieri Huttle, Valerie - Yes    Watson, Blonnie R. - Yes

Webber, Jay - No    Wimberly, Benjie E. - Yes    Wisniewski, John S. - No

Wolfe, David W. - No    Zwicker, Andrew - No

State Senate:

Addiego, Dawn Marie - Yes    Allen, Diane B. - No    Bateman, Christopher - No   

Beach, James - Yes    Beck, Jennifer - No    Bucco, Anthony R. - No   Cardinale, Gerald - No

Codey, Richard J. - Yes    Connors, Christopher J. - No   Cruz-Perez, Nilsa - Yes 

Cunningham, Sandra B. - Yes    Diegnan, Patrick J., Jr. - Yes   Doherty, Michael J. - No 

Gill, Nia H. - No    Gordon, Robert M. - Yes   Greenstein, Linda R. - Yes    

Holzapfel, James W. - No    Kean, Thomas H., Jr. - No   Kyrillos, Joseph M., Jr. - Yes 

Lesniak, Raymond J. - No    Madden, Fred H., Jr. - Yes   O'Toole, Kevin J. - Yes   

Oroho, Steven V. - Yes    Pennacchio, Joseph - No   Pou, Nellie - Yes    Rice, Ronald L. - Yes 

Ruiz, M. Teresa - Not Voting   Sacco, Nicholas J. - Yes    Sarlo, Paul A. - Yes    

Scutari, Nicholas P. - Yes   Singer, Robert W. - Yes    Smith, Bob - Yes    Stack, Brian P. - Yes

Sweeney, Stephen M. - Yes    Thompson, Samuel D. - Not Voting    Turner, Shirley K. - No

Van Drew, Jeff - No    Vitale, Joseph F. - Yes    Weinberg, Loretta - Not Voting  

Whelan, Jim - Yes

NJ Now Looks To Tax (Get Ready For It) Tap Water!

General Jack Ripper (D-N.J.)

And now, this from our friends at Save Jersey (reprinted with permission)

Hughes brought back the sales tax. Florio taxed toilet paper. 

Will Phil Murphy’s signature tax be one imposed upon… water?

State Sen. Bob Smith (D-Middlesex) wants a “user fee” of 10 cents assessed for every 1,000 gallons of water used, a move proponents say would bring approximately $150 million a year into the state’s coffers.

Save Jersey‘s Matt Rooney was back on the Chasing News A+ Panel this week to criticize this latest attempt to pick residents’ pockets.

“Once again, the most over-taxed people out of all 50 states in this country are being asked to dig a little bit deeper after Phil Murphy just raised our taxes by nearly $2 billion,” said Rooney. “At what point are we going to rise up and say listen, ‘Maybe the answer is[n’t] that we’re not paying enough.’ Maybe they should stop wasting our money on other things, and focus on things like roads, and infrastructure, and lead in the pipes that we elected them to take care of.”

Water tax backers say the real cost will only be $32 per year, per household.

Rooney countered that it’s a familiar story. 

“Well, if you’re a billionaire like Phil Murphy then yeah, it’s not a lot, but they told us the gas tax was only going to be a few hundred extra a year per family, now this is only going to be $30 a year; not only do they always lie about the amount, but after awhile it adds up,” he added. “So if you’ve got 5 kids, who all take turns getting showers, and drinking and eating you out of house and home, it adds up.”

Watch:

Hmmm . . . Could This Be What He Has In Mind Next?

The fifteen members of the Senate Republican caucus issued the following joint statement this morning:

Statement from the Senate Republican caucus on the State budget. (SenateNJ.com)

“The failures of the Governor and Democratic majorities in both houses of the Legislature have brought us back to Trenton after our constitutional deadline to approve a balanced budget has passed.

“To be clear, these are failures of Democrats alone.

“Even this morning, a day after Governor Murphy, Senate President Sweeney, and Assembly Speaker Coughlin stood together to announce an agreement on billions in spending and tax increases, they continue to argue over exactly how to raise taxes on New Jerseyans.

“Nothing, in any of their proposals, would stop the flight of New Jersey’s suffering families and employees to other more affordable states. To the contrary, all of their plans would make that problem worse.

“This single-party government run by Democrats has failed New Jersey. Our great state deserves better."

Is THIS The Way To Attract Amazon? Really?

In response to Trenton Democrats various proposals to increase taxes on New Jersey’s residents and businesses by billions of dollars this year, State Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) issued the following statement:

In response to Trenton Democrats various proposals to increase taxes on New Jersey’s residents and businesses by billions of dollars this year, Sen. Joe Pennacchio issued the following statement. (SenateNJ)

“Recently New Jersey offered Amazon 5 billion dollars to locate its headquarters in Newark. It is difficult to believe that as New Jersey offers Amazon a 5 billion dollar incentive with one hand, it is pinching their pockets and all business pockets in New Jersey with the other hand. Perhaps they were hoping Amazon would not notice.

“This type of business incentive/non-incentive insanity simply reinforces New Jersey as the least business-friendly state in the country. The billion dollars in new employer taxes proposed will wipe out any goodwill New Jersey may have earned through corporate giveaways.

“This is not a way to attract and retain businesses in New Jersey. This is not the type of government the citizens of New Jersey deserve."

Don't Miss This, Sunday 7/1 At 10 AM!

.@POTUS to @MariaBartiromo on trade deals: "Every country is calling every day saying, 'Let's make a deal, let's make a deal.' It's gonna all work out."

Tune in Sunday at 10a ET on @SundayFutures on @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/vJ18DbZ85s

— FOX Business (@FoxBusiness) June 30, 2018

WOW! 13,000 Great New Jobs On Tap!

YOUR tax cuts, 6 months in 

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the first real overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced taxes for the middle class, made American employers more competitive, and ensured that all American workers are able to keep more of their hard-earned money.

Six months later, unemployment has fallen to 3.8 percent, and more than 500 companies have announced benefits for their workers that include pay raises, bonuses, and expanded education support. Today, the President will highlight stories from working families that show how tax cuts have made their hard work pay off like never before.

Watch President Trump's speech live at 12:15 p.m. ET.

More: Promise made, promise kept on tax cuts for Americans 

Video of the day: President Trump breaks ground on new factory 

With President Trump in attendance, electronics manufacturer Foxconn broke ground yesterday on a huge new plant in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Once fully operational, the 20 million square foot campus will employ 13,000 American workers.

"It would never have happened without the promise of the Trump tax cuts and the President's personal intervention," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross writes. "As important as the new factory is to the workers of Wisconsin, the facility is also a symbol of what is to come: It is the first of a large number of investments in advanced manufacturing facilities being reshored from overseas locations back to the United States."

Watch President Trump help break ground on the new plant. 

Secretary Ross: Foxconn investment is a sign of more to come.

Photo of the Day 

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead 

President Donald J. Trump participates in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Foxconn Facility | June 28, 2018

Well, Will They Give Us A Nickel For Every One We've Saved? Will They?

From our friends at Save Jersey:
By Matt Rooney

(reprinted with permission)

So tired of paying New Jersey taxes you’re tempted to scream into a bag?

Fair warning: the bag is now being taxed, too.

A-3267/S-2600 passed the legislature this week; if signed into law, the plastic and paper bags you obtain when checking out at supermarkets, retail outlets, restaurants, and pharmacies (either part of a “chain” or larger than 2,000 square feet) would henceforth carry a 5-cent “fee.” 

The customer pays the fee, not the store, and that could add up if you do a lot of shopping. 1 cent is retained by the storefront but, while there is supposed to be a dedicated fund for the revenue, there’s an out built into the legislation for reappropriation to the general fund.

But it’s not a “fee” at all, is it?

My first problem (0f many): (1) The “fee” is actually a tax by any other name.

It’s not a mere matter of semantics. When you pay a fee, by definition, you’re supposed to receive a service of some kind in return for your payment.

For example, paying someone for garbage collection or the use of a facility (e.g. tennis courts) is payment for a service.

A bag is not, has never been, and never will be considered “a service.” It’s a single-use good you’re using to convey another good.

Secondly: (2) Follow the money. If the goal is really helping the environment, the legislature would simply outlaw the use of plastic and paper shopping bags outright!

The real goal here is $$$, which is why there’s a general fund loop hole, and the so-called working class will be hit the hardest (there’s a loophole for those on public assistance, but that leaves a lot of “working poor” New Jerseyans paying for this environmental nonsense). Trenton will rake in millions with little-to-no appreciable benefit to anyone other than the Trenton machine.

Trenton is almost always up to no good. We know this! And that’s invariably true whenever they get cute with how they choose to name their acts of deceit. 

Now, THIS Is A Step In The Right Direction . . .

The New Jersey Senate has approved legislation sponsored by Senator Joe Pennacchio to increase New Jersey’s maximum income tax deduction for property taxes to $15,000.

The New Jersey Senate has approved Sen. Joe Pennacchio’s legislation to increase New Jersey’s maximum income tax deduction for property taxes to $15,000. (SenateNJ.com)

“By increasing our state income tax deduction for property taxes from $10,000 to $15,000, we’re providing real property tax relief to New Jersey residents,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “This was a bipartisan effort that I was glad to lead the charge on.”

Pennacchio proposed increasing the state’s deduction for property taxes following the passage of tax reforms in Washington that limited the federal SALT deduction for state and local taxes to $10,000.

His legislation, S-64, increases the maximum deduction that residents could claim for property taxes when they file their state income taxes to $15,000, a 50 percent increase.

“It would be hypocritical of us to criticize the federal limitation of the deduction for property taxes to $10,000 when New Jersey has long had an identical limit,” added Pennacchio. “While I had hoped to make all of our property taxes deductible, today’s Senate vote represents a good step in our efforts lower New Jersey’s crushing tax burden. I’m glad that after being the first to discuss this proposal last year, I was able to convince my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to move this initiative forward for taxpayers.”

Revealed: My NJ Property Tax Horror Story!

It's sad but relentlessly true: New Jersey property taxes are monstrously high.
And New Jersey government officials at all levels have done basically nothing about it ever! Not now. Not a decade ago. Not there or four or five or six decades ago. Nothing!

Case in point: The annual property tax on my home in South Jersey was once $2302. That was in 1988. I've since sold the home, but today the taxes on that same home are $9371. That represents an increase of 700%. Now, you may say that 30 years have passed and taxes naturally went up. But, during those same 30 years the cost of living has only increased by about 115%. What was $2302 in taxes in 1988 would only be less than $5,000 today -- not $9371. We're talking about 115% vs. 700%.

Where oh where did all that money go?
What happened?
It couldn't have been just the cost of living. The government collected way, way, WAY more than enough money to make up for the COLA increases.
Where did the rest of the money go?
Your guess is as good as mine!

A postscript: Such is the nature of stratospheric New Jersey property taxes that some of my fellow residents of the Garden State may actually think taxes of less than $10,000 annually are a bargain inasmuch as they may be paying 15, 20, 25 or 30 thousand dollars a year or more. I get that. But whether you measure them at the high or low end of the scale, New Jersey property taxes are onerous and disgraceful! And, they are NOT offset by lower taxes anywhere else or anything else in the state. That's arguably the cruelest tally of all. 

The Outrageous SHAME Of The Garden State!

From our friends at Save Jersey:

By Matt Rooney (reprinted with permission)

May 3 was “tax freedom” day in New Jersey, the Save Jerseyans, the day to which our residents needed to work until their paychecks satisfied their total average tax burdens for 2018.

We’re tied with Connecticut and D.C. for having the second latest tax freedom date in the United States, surpassed only by New York (they’re working until May 14th):

Why so late?

Did you miss yesterday’s big news?

On Tax Freedom Day Eve, Fire Marshall Phil (Murphy), a Democrat and our governor, actually said “I don’t know the exact number” when asked how much a massive new public union deal would cost N.J. taxpayers. He doesn’t know! And he has the temerity to admit it:

So yeah, it’s no mystery why 1/3 of our year is spent working to pay the government instead of enriching our own families!

Not with guys like Phil at the reins who never ask ‘how much’ when they’re buying votes with house money.

Federal tax reform is the straw that will break the camel’s back; the exodus of wealth to lower tax states has been underway for years, but a combination of SALT changes and our state’s unwillingness to adapt to them (by lowering property taxes) will doom us.

No one in Trenton is working for us. We’re working for them, and to serve their ever-moving standards of “fairness” and other subjective concepts invented to cultivate votes and secure their own reelections. That’s not how things are supposed to be but they are and it’s expensive  and it’s wrong, friends. Very wrong.

Surviving The Apocalypse? Well, Cockroaches And . . .

From our friends at the Save Jersey Blog

By The Staff (reprinted with permission)

Governor Phil Murphy doubled-down on his desire for a millionaire’s tax at Thursday’s Chamber of Commerce event in Washington, D.C., raising the ire of some New Jersey conservatives.

“High taxes are New Jersey’s very problem, not the solution. Governor Murphy’s plan to hike the New Jersey income tax should be rejected out of hand,” said Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26), a 2018 GOP primary candidate for congress in New Jersey’s 11 district. “The Governor’s hint that an income-tax hike could be temporary is a classic political con job that we all know too painfully well in New Jersey. As Ronald Reagan rightly said, nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program. Of course any income-tax increase from Governor Murphy would be permanent — ‘we need more’ has become the mantra of Trenton’s tax hikers, and there never will be enough tax money to satisfy Governor Murphy’s spending ambitions.

“The truth is that just two things might survive an apocalypse:  cockroaches and New Jersey liberal tax hikes. Governor Murphy’s pledge to increase incomes taxes should be abandoned immediately,” added Webber.

Murphy faces resistance from more than just the state’s minority Republican caucus.

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) has said he considers any income tax increase to be a “absolutely last resort.”

That Was Then; This Is Now? Whatever . . .

We've been hearing a lot of talk lately that New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney is not totally on board with the high-spending, tax happy policies of his fellow Democrat, Governor Phil Murphy. 
Sweeney's making lots of noice about how we're pricing people out of New Jersey and how the state is simply becoming unaffordable.
But as you listen to Sweeney and read about the ongoing dustup (if that's what it really is) keep in mind a story that we ran right here in 2011 -- seven long years ago:

With United Van Line's annual study of state by state population shifts showing New Jersey tied with Illinois for the highest proportion of residents migrating out of state, Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean, Jr. today suggested a strong correlation between New Jersey's increased tax burden over the last decade and the loss of population to other states.

"I agree with the Senate President that the high cost of living in New Jersey is the driving force behind so many people leaving the state," said Kean (R- Union). "So it defies logic that the $8 billion in higher taxes imposed upon the people of this state by an unchecked Democratic legislature have had no impact on that cost of living."

According to 2010 census data, residents who moved out of New Jersey were most likely to end up in Pennsylvania. 20, 231 moved to New Jersey's western neighbor, putting it ahead of Florida's influx of 12, 503 New Jersey residents.

"It simply cannot be coincidence that we're losing a greater percentage of our population than any other state save for Illinois and simultaneously have the highest tax burden," Kean continued. "A huge share of the people leaving our state end up in Pennsylvania, where the top income tax rate is less than half of New Jersey's and corporate and property taxes are far lower, or Florida, with no income tax at all. This is a trend about which Republicans have been sounding the alarm for years."

Kean urged the Majority to work with Republicans to reverse the state's uncompetitive tax and spending climate.

"I'm glad that some in the Democratic leadership are now becoming concerned about the affordability crisis job creators and residents face in New Jersey," he said. "However, making our state competitive with our neighbors will require more than cleverly named half measures and rhetoric. I encourage the Majority to work with legislative Republicans and the Governor in this year's budget to break the state's addiction to spending so that we can reverse the massive tax hikes foisted upon New Jersey residents during the McGreevey and Corzine eras. In order to fix the problem, everyone needs to admit that the Democrats' economic agenda during the last decade took our state in the wrong direction."

Crumbs? . . . Hell No! 'This Is A TSUNAMI!'

The founder of the hugely successful Home Depot chain talks taxes and President Trump's tax cut and, to no one's surprise, he doesn't mince words!

No Matter What, Don't Forget These Figures!

Illegal Immigration: 

The Total Cost to Taxpayers!

Sometimes, A Graph Tell The Whole Story . . .

Until Donald Trump won the 2016 election, America was stagnant.
We were just sort of plodding along.
Some days were better than others, but mostly we were just stuck in the mud. We were mired in a "low expectations" swamp. We were told that we had to get used to this; that America's glory days were over; that the "GoGo" years had passed us by; that America could no longer expect robust growth; that we would no longer lead the world.
But none of that was true. None of it!
In fact, it was no truer than "If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor; if you like your insurance plan, you can keep your plan."
And here's the chart that proves it all.
Just look at what has happened: Stocks setting records every day; the lowest unemployment rate in 45 years; the lowest black unemployment rate EVER; companies building, expanding, hiring IN AMERICA; taxes cut across-the-board; corporations upping salaries and giving their employees bonuses.
And all this in just 12 quick months.
It's truly breathtaking, America. And it's unprecedented.
And remember: This is just the beginning!
Avanti!