New Jersey Citizen Action released the following statement today in response to the New Jersey Senate’s Select Committee on Economic Growth’s hearings on corporate tax subsidies.

“Today was a public relations exercise for south Jersey political boss George Norcross and the politically connected corporations who have benefited most from a corrupt and mismanaged corporate subsidy program,” said Dena Mottola Jaborska, Associate Director of New Jersey Citizen Action. “The room was packed with his political supporters who were paid for the day, fed and bussed over to take up space in the hearings. Meanwhile, many New Jersey taxpayers who help subsidize corporate tax cuts were shut out of the hearings, once again unable to participate in a process that will decide their economic future.”

“From the very start the hearings on New Jersey’s corporate subsidies have been closed to public comment, with only a select few able to speak. This is not democracy. Taxpayers must be allowed to have a voice on any public program, especially one that has cost our state so much for an apparently negligible return. Today’s hearing is an ugly example of what influence peddling can buy and demonstrates how urgently we need meaningful reforms. It’s been 11 months since the Comptroller report detailing the program’s many problems and abuses and we have yet to see a reform plan from our State Legislature. Any New Jersey corporate tax subsidy program must include hard caps on spending, shorter term limits on rewards, and effective oversight to ensure all New Jerseyans benefit, not just politically connected corporations.”

New Jersey Citizen Action is a statewide advocacy and social service organization that fights for social, racial and economic justice for all while also meeting the pressing needs of low and moderate income New Jerseyans through education and direct service.