RUDDER AND ADDIEGO: STATE WASTES TAXPAYER DOLLARS WHILE CHASING JOBS FROM NEW JERSEY

CUTTING WASTE AND FOCUSING ON JOB CREATION ARE TWO KEY INGREDIENTS TO TURNING AROUND ECONOMY           

Assemblyman Scott Rudder and Assemblywoman Dawn Marie Addiego today said there is no excuse for state government to continue wasting taxpayer dollars while imposing taxes, fees and regulations on New Jersey businesses that have resulted in devastating job losses for New Jersey.

“There is a direct tie between government efficiency and the ability of a state to attract businesses and generate economic growth,” said Rudder, R-Burlington. “When businesses look at a state that is awash in corruption, burdened with excessive taxes and regulation and on the brink of a fiscal disaster, they are going to be reluctant to locate or expand operations in that state.”

New Jersey has lost 10,400 private sector jobs during the first two months of 2008 and this is continuing a trend over the past two years. Economists at the Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy today released data showing that in 2007, New Jersey was among the ten worst states in creating private sector jobs, trailing far behind neighboring states like New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut in creating private employment opportunities.

These reports come at the same time that recent legislative budget hearings and state audits have uncovered millions of dollars in wasteful or inappropriate government spending. Rudder and Addiego said that  businesses are reluctant to incur the expenses associated with operating in a high tax state like New Jersey where navigating regulations imposed by often times inefficient state departments is even more costly.

“The most recent job growth numbers show that our state has lost its competitive edge and that our taxpayers are losing employment opportunities,” said Addiego, R-Burlington. “Waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars drives up the cost of government, and in recent years that cost has been passed onto taxpayers and businesses in our state. We must address the first problem if we are to successfully address the second.”

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