TRENTON (February 28, 2017): In response to today’s budget address by Governor Chris Christie, the following statement may be attributed to Laurie Ehlbeck, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) New Jersey State Director.
We agree wholeheartedly with the Governor’s assertion that had we seen additional tax cuts and effective reforms over the past seven years, more jobs would have been created, and the economy would be stronger. It’s unfortunate that he did not have the support of the legislature in his willingness to make the changes to the pension system that would have had aided not only small businesses but taxpayers throughout the state several years ago. Hopefully, lawmakers will take today’s proposal into consideration.
New Jersey is lagging behind the rest of the nation economically; we lack the ability to compete with our neighbors and the mass exodus of our residents to friendlier states continues to rank number one in the nation. The small business community needs our lawmakers to make dramatic and effective changes to the policies that dictate our economic condition. Until they do, the anemic growth that we have seen over the past several years will remain.
