NJ Activists Rally On Budget: ‘We Want Justice, Tax The Rich’

NEW JERSEY — Activists from across New Jersey rallied at the Statehouse this week to demand “tax justice” ahead of Gov. Phil Murphy’s final budget address.

Murphy, who is term-limited and can’t run again this year, will be giving his final spending plan speech on Feb. 25. A crowded field of candidates is running to replace him in the 2025 election.

“Over the past seven years, we have made historic progress in advancing this mission, but we’re not done yet,” Murphy said. “And over the next year, our absolute top priority—as it has been since Day One—is delivering economic security and opportunity to every New Jerseyan.”

Some advocates and economists have been raising red flags about a looming, multi-billion dollar budget gap, however – warning that it may mean cuts to key social services throughout the state.

On Thursday, a coalition of advocacy groups rallied in Trenton to demand that lawmakers balance the budget on the backs of the state’s richest corporations and people – not the lower and middle class.

Watch video footage of the rally below, or view it online here.

Organizers pointed to a recent study that found New Jersey would be able to raise nearly $4 billion more per year if it jacks up taxes for super-wealthy corporations and residents, hikes its sales tax and reforms its tax code. Read More: NJ Can Raise $4B By Taxing The Rich, Hiking Sales Tax: Study

“New Jerseyans are struggling to keep pace with the rising costs of health care, child care, groceries, housing and other essentials,” said Maura Collinsgru, director of policy and advocacy at New Jersey Citizen Action.

“We must find ways to raise revenues to address any deficit issues rather than considering cuts to programs and services families depend on to make ends meet,” Collinsgru urged.

“Any cuts to state programs and services would put families like mine into crisis,” agreed Mercedes Morán, a community leader and member of Make the Road New Jersey.

“I’m calling on Governor Murphy and New Jersey leaders to stand with working families like mine and make the wealthy pay what they owe,” Morán said.

Trina Scordo, executive director of NJ Communities United, said that New Jersey should be taxing millionaires and billionaires more – and re-investing that money in the people of the Garden State.

“For too long, we’ve been told to sacrifice more—work longer hours, pay higher taxes, stretch our families thinner,” Scordo urged. “But when do they sacrifice? When do they pay their fair share?”

Amy Torres, executive director at New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice said that “enough is enough.”

“I refuse to let lawmakers talk about fiscal cliffs unless they tell us how they’re protecting our most precious resource: our people,” Torres said.

Debbie White, president of the Health Professionals and Allied Employees union, said that New Jersey needs to invest more in health care – especially at a time when so many federal cuts are taking place.

“We know that the budget cuts by the new administration will benefit the wealthy at the expense of our most vulnerable populations,” White said.

This position was echoed by another labor leader, Dennis Trainor, the vice president Communications Workers of America (CWA) District 1.

“We demand tax justice so that we can overcome the federal threats,” he said.

Advocates got support at Thursday’s rally from Sen. Britnee Timberlake, a Democrat who represents the state’s 34th legislative district.

“The federal government, right now, is saying to states, ‘If you don’t get on the same page as our agenda, we will cut your funding; we’ll roll it back,’” Timberlake said. “That’s why it’s important for the entire legislature to make sure we’re filling gaps, so if the federal government wants to pull their support, we step forward and say: ‘Not here in NJ!’”

The senator called for corporations to “step up” and fill some of the funding gaps.

“We call for a hard look at the budget that Gov. Murphy is working on right now to make sure we’re filling some of the budget gaps that are coming out of or being created out of Washington’s nonsense,” Timberlake said.

• See Related: Here’s Who Will Suffer From Trump Funding Freeze In NJ, Advocates Say

REPUBLICANS PITCH ‘DOGE OF NJ’

Meanwhile, state Republicans are planning to respond to Murphy's final budget speech after the governor's news conference at a press conference of their own. The response will be held at the Statehouse and can be livestreamed online here.

Several Republican lawmakers have pitched New Jersey's own version of the federal Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claiming that state spending has grown out of control.

Assembly members Alex Sauickie and Christopher DePhillips have introduced legislation that would bring a version of DOGE to New Jersey, with the task of determining “how to better save public funds and how to implement greater efficiencies in government functions.”

The proposed New Jersey Delegation on Government Efficiency would be under the state auditor's office, and include up to 20 members of the public.

“Taxpayers want accountability for how their hard-earned money is spent,” DePhillips said. “And they do not want to read about the waste after the budget is already passed and signed.”

• See Related: Bringing DOGE To NJ Proposed By Lawmakers

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.