As Gov. Phil Murphy signs the final budget of his tenure, one thing is abundantly clear: New Jersey Democrats represent corporate interests, not working families.
The $58.8 billion budget is Murphy’s largest yet -- a sprawling, deficit-ridden package that prioritizes enriching hospital administrators, university bureaucrats and politically connected city governments over the needs of everyday New Jerseyans. Despite record-high spending, the plan pushes the state deeper into debt, well over the current $24,000 in liabilities per resident.
Murphy and legislative Democrats had a chance to deliver real value for the people footing the bill. Instead, they gambled New Jersey’s long-term fiscal health on corporate welfare and pet projects -- leaving state workers and pro-growth initiatives behind.
The consequences are stark. Even as spending soared, the budget cut $50 million in health benefits for police officers, teachers, and other public employees and $35 million economic redevelopment and growth grants.
Yet, lawmakers found billions to reward entrenched interests. The budget delivers a staggering $3.6 billion in direct subsidies to hospitals, alongside an additional $45 million from an opioid settlement, while New Jersey families struggle to pay healthcare bills. Colleges received hundreds of millions more, even as tuition remains unaffordable and administrative bloat goes unchecked.
The giveaway gravy train didn’t stop there. Lawmakers handed $20 million to subsidize horse racing. They funneled $10 million to bail out Trenton, a city plagued by crime and corruption, without meaningful reforms on the way or oversight attached. And rather than investing in law enforcement, the budget includes $2 million for politicized nonprofit research on gun violence.
To help pay for this political patronage, Democrats turned on the working class. The budget raises taxes on vaping products, cigarettes, and sports betting -- measures that will disproportionately affect lower income residents. It’s the clearest possible signal of who Trenton is working for, and who they’re willing to squeeze.
This isn’t progressive governance -- despite what NJ Democrats want to tell you. It’s a lobbying Christmas tree for the well-connected, and one that leaves working New Jerseyans with the bill. Murphy and Democrats have shown us exactly where their priorities lie: not with workers, not with families, but with party insiders.
New Jersey deserves leadership that puts affordability first. The state continues to get more and more expensive, from the cost of housing to energy bills. Gov. Murphy is leaving behind a bloated budget and a broken trust. In November, voters should remember exactly who this budget served, and who it didn’t.
Sam Raus is the David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at Young Voices, a political analyst and public relations professional. Follow him on X: @SamRaus1.
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