TRENTON-Gov. Jon Corzine has taken a major step toward fulfilling his early promise to overhaul New Jersey's economic development efforts. After taking office in January, he appointed businessman Gary Rose as his chief economic advisor, and several months of subsequent meetings with public and private officials across the state have now resulted in a formal economic strategy proposal.
"People have thought that there was an adversarial relationship, real or perceived, between government and the business community," Corzine said as he unveiled his proposals late last week. "That has got to stop."
The 34-page proposal offered up by the Corzine administration is wide-ranging, including everything from support for a stem-cell research center to improving the basic educational skills of the state's children. But at the heart of the plan are two new funds aimed at spurring investment. The good news for taxpayers is that the public seed money for both funds is already in the state's recently-passed budget.
For one, the Edison Innovation Fund is already seeded to the tune of $150 million, targeting early-stage technology ventures. The other, the Urban Fund, has $185 million already set aside to assist start-up companies in the state's cities. State officials project that the seed money could leverage as much as $500 million of investment for each fund, or a total of about $1 billion. Besides capital investment, job creation is at the heart of both funds.
"New Jersey has created only 18,000 jobs so far this year," Corzine pointed out in his presentation. "Less than 40,000 new jobs in any given year is not adequate. In the boom years of the 90's, New Jersey was creating between 60,000 and 70,000 jobs. If we can create jobs, we can solve some other problems, such as generating tax revenues."
Another focus of the economic game plan is for the various state agencies and departments involved in the economic development process in one way or another to work more closely together. Details of the streamlining process were not spelled out during the presentation.
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