Small business, big impact: Gopal urges shift in state’s job strategy

CVS was giving COVID shots while the independently owned pharmacy likely was still
closed. Home Depot was selling anything and everything residents needed while the
local hardware store wasn’t allowed to open.

What do actions taken during the opening years of the Murphy administration have to
do with the opening years of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s administration? Nothing and
everything.

State Sen. Vin Gopal (D‑Tinton Falls) said how New Jersey treats its small to medium-
size businesses will be the key to growing the economy in the next four years.

Speaking before a packed room of business leaders at the Princeton Marriott at
Forrestal last Friday during an N.J. Business & Industry Association Public Policy
Forum, Gopal said New Jersey’s policies have been far more generous to major
corporations than to smaller firms that lack the resources to navigate complex
regulations and rising labor costs.

He made it clear he sees a gap in how New Jersey approaches economic development
and that the state must shift more of its attention toward the employers who make up
the everyday foundation of local economies — those small and mid-sized businesses.

“I think New Jersey’s done pretty good by corporations over these last several years,”
he said. “I think New Jersey can do a lot more for small businesses and mom-and-
pops.”

While he acknowledged that major companies such as Amazon and Netflix receive
ample attention — and that incentives do help bring marquee employers to the state —
Gopal said the smallest firms often face the steepest challenges.

He nodded toward several small employers from his district in the room (ACI Medical and Dental School in Eatontown; Solar Landscape in Asbury Park) as examples of the
kinds of companies New Jersey should be championing.

The panel included Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Woodbridge), Sen. Declan
O’Scanlon (R-Middletown) and Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R‑Middletown).

They offered thoughts on a number of economic issues, including the state’s rapid
increase in its minimum wage (it’s now $15.92/hour, up from $8.60, when Murphy took
office in 2018).

Gopal said he took criticism for opposing past hikes — not out of ideological objection,
he said, but because of the impact on local businesses that lacked the financial cushion
of larger companies.

“The mom and pops are the ones that couldn’t absorb that cost,” he said.

The Republicans on the panel, when asked about boosting job growth, argued the state
has sent the wrong signals to employers through its tax policies, regulatory structure
and wage mandates.

O’Scanlon said a state’s job market ultimately hinges on consistency and predictability,
which includes clear and consistent messaging — and action from government that
proves it understands its actions have an impact on business and job creation.

“New Jersey has been wildly inconsistent on that front,” O’Scanlon said, arguing that
mandates — particularly wage mandates — send a negative message to employers
deciding whether to locate or expand in the state.

He even referenced the infamous line that nearly cost Murphy re-election: If taxes are
your thing, maybe New Jersey’s not your state.

That was a horrific message to send, O’Scanlon said.

Scharfenberger said the state must focus on taxes and modern-day mobility.

He noted the obvious, that New Jersey has one of the highest corporate business taxes
in the state — and noted how that doesn’t play well in 2026, because companies have shown they can move just a few miles across state lines and reduce their tax burden
significantly.

“It’s not the 1950s,” he said. “You can operate pretty much anywhere.”

New Jersey’s workforce, location and transportation assets should be huge advantages,
Scharfenberger argued — but only if the state makes itself more financially competitive.

“We just have to make the bottom line a little bit more attractive for businesses to retain
them and certainly attract them,” he said. “Taxes are always the big kahuna.”

Coughlin took a bigger-picture view: He said the state must continue to invest in talent
and innovation — and be realistic at the same time.

He said the current job numbers (the state has one of the highest unemployment rates
in the country) represent a moment-in-time snapshot and that long-term growth requires
investing in workforce quality, higher education, infrastructure and innovation hubs like
the HELIX project in New Brunswick.

“We need to make sure that we continue to have an educated workforce (and) well-
trained employees,” he said.

Coughlin noted that external corporate decisions — like Amazon restructuring its food
distribution network — can cost the state hundreds of jobs in a single day, well outside
Trenton’s control. But he said New Jersey’s job is to remain competitive, attractive and
prepared.

“We have to figure out how to attract good jobs in the state,” he said. “Working with the
business community to try to find solutions that make sense.”
Including …

“Reducing taxes would be terrific,” he said.