The New Jersey that Gov. Phil Murphy described in his state of the state message, where everyone can flourish, is one we all can support.

We all want a New Jersey economy that is fair and strong for all of its citizens, and one where, as the governor said, social progress and economic progress go hand in hand.

Most of the successes recited by the governor today helped create the fairer economy he wants, and we are well on our way to achieving it. Now we need to focus on the stronger economy because without it, a fairer economy will not be realized.

The strong criticism of the EDA today by the governor was very aggressive.

The EDA has been a strong part of the state’s economic growth for decades and has provided significant opportunities for companies to thrive in our state. The audit uncovered some instances where policies and procedures were not followed, and that needs to be corrected. However, we cannot diminish the EDA in its entirety because of these occurrences.

To create a stronger economy, we need a strong EDA that has competitive incentive programs, we need to control taxes and reduce the regulatory burdens placed on the business community. Also, to get our state back to the level of prosperity we deserve, we need to combine the above with an aggressive look at making government more efficient at all levels. The combination of all these will give us a pathway to the future that the governor described.