HILLSBOROUGH: New Jersey’s Financial Troubles Threathen the Future of the State

To the editor:, As a young adult, who will inherit the financial troubles of New Jersey, I fear for the future of the state., The state government’s credit rating has been lowered a record ten times under the current gubernatorial administration. The state pension fund is gravely underfunded and would cost billions of dollars to fix. All in all, the state government of New Jersey has accumulated over 200 billion dollars in obligations while only possessing just under twenty-five billion dollars in assets available to meet those obligations., According to the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, New Jersey ranked as the worst state in long-run solvency and the second worst in budget solvency. These financial problems will only get worse as the years pass unless something is done about it., Fortunately, New Jersey has an advanced economy with skilled individuals to fulfill the labor needs of its companies. To attract more businesses to the state, personal and corporate taxes need to be reduced. According to the Tax Foundation, the best way for the government to increase its revenues would be through economic growth. Lowering taxes would put more money in the pockets of individuals to spend. Corporations would also have more money to invest in New Jersey. We also need to reevaluate costly regulations and reduce spending dramatically., It is not too late to fix the problem now, but if it is not addressed soon, New Jersey risks losing so much of what makes it great., Thomas Vlattas, Hillsborough