Kean: State Paying For Six Years Of Anti-Business Policies

April 1, 2008

Contact: Bill Murray / 609-292-5199
Senator Tom Kean (R-21)

Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr. said this in response to Governor Corzine’s announcement that he wants legislation authorizing the diversion of $260 million from the state’s surplus into the Unemployment Insurance Fund to avoid an immediate $350 million increase in unemployment taxes paid by employers:

“For six years, business leaders and the members of my party have been warning that the anti-business policies of the last six years would lead to economic stagnation and job loss in New Jersey.

“Now the state is being forced to funnel badly needed dollars into the unemployment insurance fund to deal with the reality created by these anti-growth policies. New Jersey led the nation in job losses over the last two months. In fact, published accounts indicate that in the first 25 months of Corzine’s term in office, New Jersey ranked 47th in job growth among the 50 states.

“Now the state will be forced to divert money from a dwindling surplus that the governor already plans to use to balance next year’s budget and pay for early retirement of state employees.

“I have urged the governor for months to prepare for an economic downturn by freezing current spending, impounding revenue and building up the surplus. My calls were ignored.

“I again urge the governor to freeze spending, and I call on him to revise his budget to include more real spending cuts in his more than $33 billion budget. It’s the only prudent thing to do when faced with a looming recession.

“I also urge my colleagues to vote against measures like paid family leave that will further burden our overtaxed and overregulated businesses while they struggle to prepare for a possible recession. Businesses that are already laying off workers will only accelerate job cuts if they are required to spend more of their earnings to meet state family leave requirements.”