I never cease to be amazed at the supersized vanity and total immunity to introspection that is characteristic of the political class, specifically in this case the New Jersey legislative leadership. The possibility that it is their policies, the taxes, the mountains of paperwork, the labor laws, the environmental laws, the land use policies etc etc etc etc etc, that have created the worst business environment in the country is not even considered. They act is if this situation was suddenly thrust upon them, like they are heroic doctors, brought in to try to save a barely breathing poisoning victim . Well who poisoned the patient? Capitalism? No, it is their gradual surgical removal of capitalism that is causing all the problems. It is obvious to anyone with a brain in their head that they that poisoned the patient. And their cure? A shot of potassium chloride of course. In other words, more government, less capitalism.
The latest poisoning being proposed by Senate President Sweeney (Todd) and Assembly Speaker Oliver is a particularly noxious blend called “Back to Work NJ”. While it contains some simplifications of certain taxes, which is good, these are mostly taxes that should not exist in the first place. (There is no simpler tax than no tax.) And the bad parts of this brew are real bad. For example:
A-3389/S-2370, a law to “expand the state’s Business Relocation and Retention Assistance Grant program to allow more companies to benefit and keep jobs in-state.” and A-3353, a law “that would create the New Jersey Closing Fund to stimulate economic activity by encouraging and promoting the retention and expansion of existing business and industry and creating and attracting new business and industry to the state.”
If I wanted to be charitable I would say that they are using taxpayer money to bribe companies into putting up with the living hell that Trenton has created for businesses. However, since I see no justification for being charitable to these people, I will state what I believe this really is: a new multi-million dollar slush fund to dole out favors to their friends (and themselves, no doubt).
And then there’s S-2454, which “would provide targeted tax credits for investments in new, emerging biotech businesses.” Apparently the market isn’t smart enough to know what would be a good investment for the future. Since the New Jersey Legislature is so much smarter than the millions of people that make up the market, the Legislature should be making all the investment decisions. Maybe they would be more circumspect if it was their own money being put at risk, instead of money stolen from their constituents.
Another part of this package would “create a loan forgiveness program for students who pursue jobs in fields with marked labor shortage”. Of course the free market with it’s price signals is totally incapable of allocating labor resources. It will be much more efficient to just allow the state legislature decide who does what jobs in our society. Really, the magnitude of their egos is breathtaking.
In the 1960s, industrial planners working for the Japanese government determined that Honda had no future in the car business and should stick to making motorcycles. Oops! I guess they were a little bit off. Does anyone believe that the pack of squirrels that currently occupies the statehouse could do any better in planning an economy?
If New Jersey wishes a return of the healthy economy we enjoyed a generation or so ago, we must return to the economoc policies we had at that time. Undo every law, tax and regulation enacted since 1975, and forbid Trenton from imposing any more of their “solutions” on us. Injecting any more of their medicine is going to kill the patient.
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