Recorded on 9/22/2020, Steve Adubato is joined by Senate President Steve Sweeney (D) – NJ, to discuss the economic impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey and the revised FY 2021 budget, including the Millionaires Tax and the tax break for the middle class. Senate President Sweeney also discusses the importance of affordable, quality child care and his thoughts on vote-by-mail in New Jersey.

Sweeney explains how the COVID-19 crisis has turned New Jersey and the world upside down. He says financially New Jersey was struggling before COVID-19 and that we need to get serious about change. He mentions school consolidations. For example, Salem County with less than 11,000 students spends $226 million a year, and Vineland, with the same demographic and 11,000 students, spends $180 million a year. Sweeney says, “It’s finding ways to reduce the burden. Yes, it’s going to require change, it’s going to require us to look at things differently. You can change, do things smarter, do things better, and we need to do that.” He says we also need to look at the employee pension system.

The Senate President is in favor of helping the middle class with a tax break. One way to do that, would be bringing in more jobs. Sweeney is determined to bring offshore wind energy and careers to New Jersey. He says, “The benefit to New Jersey was jobs. The manufacturing jobs. We’d be paying middle class manufacturing jobs.”