Sen. Oroho Examines NJ's Fiscal Future

Steve Adubato sits down with Sen. Steven Oroho (R) – NJ, 24th Legislative District, to examine New Jersey’s fiscal future; the Path to Progress; and the school funding formula.

10/5/2019 #321

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt:

"Welcome to State of Affairs. I'm Steve Adubato. We are, in fact, coming to you from the NJTV Studio - that's the Agnes Varis NJTV Studio. We're pleased to welcome Senator Steve Oroho, Republican from the 24th Legislative District. That would be Morris, Sussex, and Warren counties? Yes it is. We've talked to you many times. Good to see you Steve. Good to see you Senator. Let's get into the fiscal... if I... if you had to give New Jersey's fiscal state, our fiscal state, a grade, what would it be? F. Come on... that was too quick. F. Why? The way... well, I gotta tell the truth, right? Because one of the things is New Jersey hasn't had real, honest discussions about where the real state of state is for many years. Now, our assets are... I'll give it an A. But our fiscal... so, can we get to an A? Absolutely. And we've been at an A within the last, call it, 25 years. Okay. The last couple of years with Governor Murphy? His grade on the economy and the fiscal state of New Jersey? Don't say "F" again. I won't... [laughter] I won't say "F." No, you can say what you want. No. Agreed. But I'd be... [laughter] I'll give... I'll tell you what. I'll give him a D+. What's wrong about it? Alright. And then we'll talk about what's right. Well... By the way, we'll give the governor an opportunity to, not just give himself a grade, but give the state a grade. Sure. Sure. Talk about his fiscal policies. We continue to work with the governor's team on trying to schedule that. Go ahead Senator. But ultimately, F goes way back. It's not just this administration. It goes... Democrats? Republicans? Democrats, Repub... you look right down and think Democrats, Republicans have... it's basically... that's the most bipartisan thing they've done. You know. Down in Trenton. Is screw up our state's finances? It's really the... finances, because there wasn't an honest discussion of either what the debt levels were, or... we've had the discussion about the Transportation Trust Fund. Yup. And we're having the same discussion... I'm sure we'll talk about it, but the pension and healthcare... Let's get right into it. Yeah. In fact, we have Senate President Steve Sweeney, we're taping that program today as well. The Senate President is gonna be talking about, quote, the "Path to Progress" report. Right. You were part of that? I was. What is that report? And why is it so relevant to the discussion we're having on the fiscal state of the state? Well, first of all, Senator Sweeney had asked Senator Sarlo and myself, and... Paul Sarlo? Who will be... Paul... right, right. ...right after this interview. He'll be coming in. He was a good partner..."