Strengthening New Jersey’s Business Climate [New Jersey Business (NJ)]
By Birritteri, Anthony | |
Proquest LLC |
Economic Outlook Panel Sizes Up the Recovery
During the economic panel discussion at this year's
Moderator
"NJM invests its premium dollars conservatively, but you cannot get the [investment] returns today that you got a few years ago," Flynn said. "We need the broader U.S. and global economies to turn around."
The insurance company bases its premiums on payroll, but with the past recession and tepid recovery, the workers' compensation premium [for all insurance companies in the U.S.] has dwindled," Flynn said.
Flynn sees stability in 2012. "We have some optimism for the future, but it is cautious optimism," he said, adding that he was pleased with the positive results of
The issue is the lack of significant job creation. While GDP has already inched past its peak from late 2007, the nation only added 2.5 million jobs since the start of 2010. "While this sounds good, we have to add more than 6 million additional jobs to get back to pre-recession-level employment;" Steindel said, adding that the nation should get back to 2007 employment levels by 2015.
The situation is "radically" different in
His forecast is for staggered growth. Corporate America has incredible amounts of cash and companies are getting into a position of restocking because there is a pent up demand for capital goods," he said.
Focusing on
Discussing the real estate industry,
Regarding the legal environment, McBride says rates are flexible today with companies taking bids for legal representation. Getting paid is also a challenge. "I tell my partners to work out a payment schedule with their clients. Keep communications open because things will turn around;" he said.
The views of certified public accountants was presented by
"While 40 percent of CPAs are still pessimistic about domestic conditions [in the U.S.], 37 percent feel that way in the Northeast," Hedinger said. "On the upside, 59 percent expect their businesses to expand in the next 12 months. Approximately 45 percent believe the economy is heading towards a double dip recession, down from 61 percent in the previous quarter.
"The bad news is 50 percent of companies don't plan to return to pre-recession employment levels for at least 12 months, a third don't expect to get to that level in the foreseeable future and 25 percent report they have too few employees, but remain reluctant to hire because of economic uncertainties."
Discussing the dichotomy that exists in healthcare,
To cope with the dilemma, hospitals, physician groups and other healthcare providers have been consolidating operations, but that also means fewer jobs.
"In our attempt to reconcile pursuing a mission like this (delivering quality healthcare), we are looking at entirely different formats of delivery," Ostrowsky said. "You will see and have seen an incredible movement to merge the financing and delivery of healthcare. Insurance companies are buying hospitals. The hope is to produce higher quality and more efficient services."
State's Top Legislative Leaders Discuss Key Business Issues
In a session moderated by
Panel participants were additionally pleased with the results of
"I am thrilled with the survey results because it shows that we worked hard ... in a bipartisan fashion," said
"When you look at
Assemblyman Republican
High property taxes, however, are still impeding growth in the state.
Assembly Majority Leader
Sweeney said the
Kean added that sick pay reform for public employees must also happen in order to solve the property tax crisis. "We need to control municipal government expenses, and we have to give municipalities more tools so that they can make the tough decisions on behalf of their citizens."
He added that state government is taking care of its problems, but those problems took 30 years to come to fruition. They may not be quickly solved. However, "
Lt. Governor Says Job Creation is the Common Denominator
Lt. Governor
Yet, the Lt. Governor did point out the strides the administration was making. Compared to 117,000 private-sector job losses in the state prior to the administration taking office, some 50,000 private-sector jobs were created in 2011. She pointed to the
Additionally, she said businesses are gaining confidence in state government, as reported in
Saying that her job is to bring jobs to the state, "so that workers can give their families a decent standard of living," the Lt. Governor mentioned companies that are remaining and expanding operations in
Many of these companies received incentives from the state's
Guadagno mentioned that
Political Panel Discusses 2012 Election Possibilities
In a wide-ranging panel discussion moderated by "NJ Today" Senior Correspondent Michael Aron, Former Republican Governor
Hodes, of Public Strategies Impact, said the key to President
"It's going to be an interesting dynamic," he said.
Florio, on the other hand, said he didn't see Obama getting 50 percent of the vote and that the president's best chance was for a credible third-party candidate to fragment the electorate.
"(Obama) won't get more than 48 percent of the vote," said Florio, of
Looking ahead to the 2013 legislative races, DiFrancesco disputed the conventional wisdom that the newly drawn legislative districts preclude having a Republican majority in the near future.
"With the right amount of money and the right candidates, Republicans can win with this map," DiFrancesco said.
Pascrell, of
"I think the governor at the top of the ticket is a chief concern of the Democratic party," he said.
Senators Sweeney & Oroho Receive the Paul L. Roast Award
In presenting the award to both legislators,
Of Sweeney, Crane said the
Commenting on Senator Oroho, Crane said the Senator has been a tireless advocate of small businesses. "As a member of the
Oroho was a sponsor of a law that allows small businesses to carry their net operating losses forward for as long as 20 years, similar to large corporations. He also sponsored legislation that will implement a single sales factor formula. "We were taxing
Clifford Lindholm, Ill, Presented with the
NJBIA Chairman
Lindholm is a NJBIA trustee and president and CEO of
"Thanks to Cliff's efforts,
Lindholm thanked the NJBIA staff, including its Government Affairs team, for making his work at the association meaningful. "Under the leadership of
Copyright: | (c) 2012 New Jersey Business & Industry Association |
Wordcount: | 2752 |
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