New Jersey Policy Perspective

New Jersey Policy Perspective drives policy change to advance economic justice and prosperity for all New Jerseyans through evidence-based, independent research, analysis and advocacy.

We are a “think-and-do tank:” Once our analysis is done, our communications and outreach teams gets it into the hands of the policymakers, advocates and partners best positioned to use it to improve lives and bolster the state’s economic prospects. Since 1997, NJPP has played an essential role in advancing progressive state policies.

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Publications

Outdated and Ineffective: Why New Jersey Needs to Update Its Top Anti-Poverty Program
- May 22, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Brittany Holom-Trundy
Very Big, Very Few, and Far Away: Majority of Companies That Would Pay the Corporate Transit Fee Are From Out-of-State
- May 14, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen
Budges and Taxes Infrastructure
No Matter What You Call Them, Private School Vouchers Are Bad for New Jersey
- April 16, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Mark Weber
Budges and Taxes
New Immigrants Drive Economic Growth in New Jersey
- April 15, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Marleina Ubel
Economic Development Immigration
Social Equity Excise Fee Revenue Should Support Those Harmed Most by Cannabis Prohibition
- March 27, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Marleina Ubel
Budges and Taxes Criminal Legal System
The FY2025 Budget Should Use Corporate Tax Revenue to Support Public Investments
- March 11, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen
Budges and Taxes
Evaluating Governor Murphy’s Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2025
- March 8, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen, Brittany Holom-Trundy, Alex Ambrose, Marleina Ubel
Budges and Taxes
What to Look for in the New Jersey Budget for Fiscal Year 2025
- February 22, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen, Brittany Holom-Trundy, Alex Ambrose, Marleina Ubel
Budges and Taxes
Fare Hikes Will Not Fix NJ Transit’s Structural Financial Issues
- February 13, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Alex Ambrose
Infrastructure
Family Leave Expansion Is Good for Business, Improving Retention and Reducing Labor Costs
- February 6, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen
Family Economic Security Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave
State of the State 2024: Rapid Reaction
- January 25, 2024
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen, Brittany Holom-Trundy, Alex Ambrose, Marleina Ubel
Budges and Taxes Climate Justice Economic Development Education Infrastructure
Fines and Fees Disproportionately Harm Low-Income Families
- December 14, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Marleina Ubel
Criminal Legal System
Arbitrary Time Limits on Emergency Assistance Prevent New Jerseyans From Receiving Supports They Need
- December 14, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Brittany Holom-Trundy
Housing
New Jersey’s Lowest Income Families Could Lose Their Emergency Assistance
- December 12, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Brittany Holom-Trundy
Housing
Civilian Complaint Review Boards (CCRBs) Foster Transparency, Fairness, and Safety in Policing Practices
- December 11, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Marleina Ubel
Public Services, Budgets, and Economic Development
Family Leave Expansion Would Advance Equity and Eliminate Fear of Retaliation for All of New Jersey’s Workers
- December 1, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen
Family Economic Security Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave
New Jersey’s Transition to Clean Energy Must Be Equitable
- November 30, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Alex Ambrose
Climate Justice
Building on Existing Programs Will Help Support New Jersey’s Families
- November 30, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Brittany Holom-Trundy
Family Economic Security
Extending Emergency Assistance Would Help New Jersey Residents Avoid Hunger and Homelessness
- November 30, 2023
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Brittany Holom-Trundy
Housing
More Than 50,000 Kids in New Jersey Could Miss Out on the Child Tax Credit
- July 14, 2021
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Peter Chen
Up to 55,000 qualifying families in New Jersey may miss out on Child Tax Credit payments because the IRS does not have their information on file.

Budges and Taxes Economic Development
Four Ways New Jersey Can Improve Health Care Using American Rescue Plan Funds
- June 21, 2021
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Brittany Holom-Trundy
As state budget discussions come to a close this month, New Jersey lawmakers and advocates alike should turn their attention to the ways that the American Rescue Plan (ARP) can complement the […]

COVID19 Healthcare
A War on Us: How Much New Jersey Spends Enforcing the War on Drugs
- June 16, 2021
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Jenna Mellor
This report highlights state budget spending dedicated over the past decade to arrest, prosecute, and incarcerate residents for drug war violations. This analysis is contextualized with the racist origins of […]

Criminal Legal System
Early Education Matters: Connecting High-Quality Pre-K to K-3 Classrooms
- May 20, 2021
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Gordon Macinnes
Early education has long served as a crucial asset to families across the Garden State. Thanks to years of state investment, New Jersey leads the nation in providing high-quality pre-kindergarten […]

Education
State Takeover of Camden Schools Did Not Improve Students’ Academic Performance
- May 13, 2021
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Michael Hayes, Pengju Zhang, Julia Sass Rubin
There is no evidence that the 2013 state takeover of Camden’s public schools has improved students’ standardized test scores.

Education
New York Approves $2.1 Billion Relief Fund for Immigrants — New Jersey Should Do the Same
- April 9, 2021
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Vineeta Kapahi
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought increased recognition of immigrants’ critical contributions to our communities and economies. Our nation’s immigration policy and safety net programs, however, still do not reflect this […]

Immigration Unemployment Insurance
Valuing Our Time: Strengthening New Jersey’s Overtime Law
- October 24, 2019
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Nicole Roderiguez
A prosperous New Jersey depends on the livelihood of all our workers. In fact, the state economy benefits most when workers are able to earn fair pay for all the […]

Overtime Wages
Fast Facts: Driver’s License Expansion Would Pay for Itself and More
- May 28, 2019
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Erika J. Nava
Expanding access to driver’s licenses to all New Jersey residents, regardless of immigration status, would make the state’s roads safer and its economy stronger. The proposal would also pay for […]

Immigration
Immigrant Small Business Ownership is a Cornerstone of New Jersey’s Economy
- March 18, 2019
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Erika J. Nava
On any given day and in every corner of the state, immigrants – both documented and undocumented – wake up and set out to work at small, local businesses that […]

Immigration
Gov. Christie Guts Family Leave Bill in Conditional Veto
- July 21, 2017
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Jon Whiten
Today Gov. Christie gutted a landmark bill improving New Jersey’s paid family leave program (A-4927), taking out every single important policy change and leaving behind modest mandates to improve the […]

Paid Sick, Family, and Medical Leave
Fairly and Adequately Taxing Inherited Wealth Will Fight Inequality & Provide Essential Resources for All New Jerseyans
- June 24, 2017
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Sheila Reynertson
As wealth and income gaps between average New Jerseyans and the state’s wealthiest households continue to grow, policymakers must take steps to address this extreme inequality. One of the most […]

Budges and Taxes
It’s Time for New Jersey to Rebalance the Economic-Development Scales
- May 10, 2017
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Jon Whiten
Because of legislative changes made in 2013, New Jersey’s surge in corporate tax subsidies has risen to unprecedented levels, further cramping New Jersey’s ability to invest in schools, transportation and […]

Budges and Taxes Jobs
Increasing the EITC Will Boost New Jersey’s Workers and Their Families
- January 18, 2017
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Jon Whiten
Increasing New Jersey’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to 35 percent from 30 percent of the federal EITC will provide over half a million New Jersey working families with a […]

Budges and Taxes
New Jersey Has Modest Public Pension Benefits
- December 14, 2014
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Stephen Herzenberg
While one of the central tenets of repeated calls for major changes to New Jersey’s public pension system is the claim that public employee pensions are overly generous, retirement benefits […]

Unions and Worker Power
Taking Bold Action on Transportation Will Give New Jersey’s Economy a Firm Foundation for the Future
- April 14, 2014
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- David Rousseau and Gordon MacInnes
In order for its economy to remain competitive, New Jersey needs a state-of-the-art transportation network and must be willing to make the investments this requires. With the funding needed to […]

Budges and Taxes Infrastructure
Invest in New Jersey: Improve Our Roads and Bridges
- June 26, 2013
- New Jersey Policy Perspective
- Gordon MacInnes
Fixing New Jersey’s crumbling roads and bridges is vital to energizing the state’s lagging recovery from the Great Recession. Without a sound transportation system that allows businesses to cheaply and […]

Infrastructure

New Jersey Policy Perspective

Publications

Outdated and Ineffective: Why New Jersey Needs to Update Its Top Anti-Poverty Program

Very Big, Very Few, and Far Away: Majority of Companies That Would Pay the Corporate Transit Fee Are From Out-of-State

No Matter What You Call Them, Private School Vouchers Are Bad for New Jersey

New Immigrants Drive Economic Growth in New Jersey

Social Equity Excise Fee Revenue Should Support Those Harmed Most by Cannabis Prohibition

The FY2025 Budget Should Use Corporate Tax Revenue to Support Public Investments

Evaluating Governor Murphy’s Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2025

What to Look for in the New Jersey Budget for Fiscal Year 2025

Fare Hikes Will Not Fix NJ Transit’s Structural Financial Issues

Family Leave Expansion Is Good for Business, Improving Retention and Reducing Labor Costs

State of the State 2024: Rapid Reaction

Fines and Fees Disproportionately Harm Low-Income Families

Arbitrary Time Limits on Emergency Assistance Prevent New Jerseyans From Receiving Supports They Need

New Jersey’s Lowest Income Families Could Lose Their Emergency Assistance

Civilian Complaint Review Boards (CCRBs) Foster Transparency, Fairness, and Safety in Policing Practices

Family Leave Expansion Would Advance Equity and Eliminate Fear of Retaliation for All of New Jersey’s Workers

New Jersey’s Transition to Clean Energy Must Be Equitable

Building on Existing Programs Will Help Support New Jersey’s Families

Extending Emergency Assistance Would Help New Jersey Residents Avoid Hunger and Homelessness

More Than 50,000 Kids in New Jersey Could Miss Out on the Child Tax Credit

Four Ways New Jersey Can Improve Health Care Using American Rescue Plan Funds

A War on Us: How Much New Jersey Spends Enforcing the War on Drugs

Early Education Matters: Connecting High-Quality Pre-K to K-3 Classrooms

State Takeover of Camden Schools Did Not Improve Students’ Academic Performance

New York Approves $2.1 Billion Relief Fund for Immigrants — New Jersey Should Do the Same

Valuing Our Time: Strengthening New Jersey’s Overtime Law

Fast Facts: Driver’s License Expansion Would Pay for Itself and More

Immigrant Small Business Ownership is a Cornerstone of New Jersey’s Economy

Gov. Christie Guts Family Leave Bill in Conditional Veto

Fairly and Adequately Taxing Inherited Wealth Will Fight Inequality & Provide Essential Resources for All New Jerseyans

It’s Time for New Jersey to Rebalance the Economic-Development Scales

Increasing the EITC Will Boost New Jersey’s Workers and Their Families

New Jersey Has Modest Public Pension Benefits

Taking Bold Action on Transportation Will Give New Jersey’s Economy a Firm Foundation for the Future

Invest in New Jersey: Improve Our Roads and Bridges

EARNCon 2024

September 11-13