A $2 Billion budget gap is a terrible thing, but how we go about closing that gap can either help or hurt our New Jersey quality of life.
By Rob Kealey
As one of the residents who has lost their job to the distressed economy and seen his revenues severely reduced, I have only one choice, reduce my costs to meet my new circumstances until conditions improve. I urge you to take the same approach to matching the cost of our government to our new circumstances and not to default to the time worn script of raising taxes and further reducing my already reduced standard of living.
Past actions by past governors and our current crop of legislators have successfully made New Jersey one of the worst places to live and do business. I suspect that this may have contributed to my current unemployment. We have tried to spend and tax our way to prosperity, and history does not seem to support that approach to economic vitality. In fact it seems to support the opposite, and the losers, as always, are we on the bottom.
As an industry titan I suspect that you understand this, but political expediencies make doing the right thing tough. Certainly it is easier to cave than to do the heavy lifting needed to right our ship of state.
I ask you to give us a government that actually works and serves those functions that are truly essential. Let us as individuals and communities take care of the nice to have stuff on our own. I suspect your response to this budget crisis will have a big effect on how soon conditions improve and I get back to work.
Sincerely,
Rob Kealey

