The state needs to create more affordable housing, develop the health care sector and “reconstruct” the state’s business incentives, said Assemblyman Lou Greenwald (D-6) at an Oct. 17 Business Roundtable sponsored by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.
The majority leader said it is difficult for people to enter the homeowner market when the average cost of a home in New Jersey is $500,000. “Some call it ‘affordable housing’, but it’s really ‘workforce housing,’” Greenwald said. “We have to get our arms around the housing issue.”
Greenwald also said it is critical that the state alter how it determines the success of business incentives in a “work-from-home” economy when some current incentives measure success by on-site job growth.
He said the state’s incentives should focus on attracting business in the health care sector.
“Health care,” Greenwald said, “is New Jersey’s number one industry. It’s a mainstay of employment, and it’s essential for the people of New Jersey.”
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