NJBIZ Poll Results

Readers fear the worst for New Jersey“Government in New Jersey does not support business growth, or work to maintain or draw new business to the state,” wrote Donna DiDomenico, of Developmental Specialists, in response to the most recent NJBIZ poll.

Her attitude was in line with the vast majority of the 468 responders, who overwhelmingly felt New Jersey’s economic recovery will lag that of the United States. Thirty-five percent of responders were almost evenly divided in saying the state will be in better or average shape when the U.S. economy recovers, while 59 percent say the Garden State will be worse off; seven percent were unsure.

Susan Jon Fredericks, of Renaissance Title Agency, says she has seen firsthand how sluggish a recovery will be.

“The mortgage process has become a long, drawn-out process — most sales of homes are short sales or foreclosures, and many people are taking pay cuts just to keep their jobs,” she wrote.

Other intangibles will hurt the state’s recovery, wrote reader Vince Spero, who mentioned “Wall Street’s collapse, financial freeze-up by the banks, increased unemployment and high taxes” as chief among the culprits. Meanwhile, Allen Shanosky, of Applied Image Inc. , pointed to unique unemployment trends, “in particular, the white-collar jobs that have been lost in the most recent downturn, [which] will take substantially longer to recover, if at all.”

Some voiced optimism for the state’s future, though. Bruce Davidson, of the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry in New Jersey, praised Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s “difficult choices throughout his administration” as a reason the state will emerge strong. And reader Ron Henry said the infrastructure projects now under way will put New Jersey “in good stead, relative to other states, as the national economy begins recovery.”

But in his response, Angelo Harasts, of Tri-State Computer Solutions, said the state will emerge from the woods only “in spite of ourselves — we continue to have a net loss of businesses and residents moving out of the state due to taxes and fees.”