By Greg LeRoy
A recent op-ed by former state Sen. Raymond Lesniak — bashing Gov. Phil Murphy’s efforts to reform the state’s economic development programs and save New Jersey from the failed system Lesniak long championed — belongs in a museum. I suggest a natural history exhibit, right next to the mastodon and giant sloth as an artifact from the discredited “buffalo hunting” school of economic development.
Instead of acknowledging that New Jersey’s corporate tax giveaways — which, frankly, reside in a strata of corruption all their own — have utterly failed, Lesniak proposes staying the course. My advice: Use this scandalous moment to overhaul the state’s incentive system. With key reforms in place, New Jersey can spend less and get more.