Report Criticizes Interstate Job Piracy [AUDIO]

A Washington think tanks says New Jersey is one of a number of states that needs to stop the game of reshuffling jobs from one geographic location in the country to another.

Greg Leroy of the research center, Good Jobs First, cites New Jersey as an example of a state wasting billions trying to lure jobs from New York and elsewhere with tax breaks and other enticements. New Jersey is singled out in the report for its use of programs such as the Business Employment Incentive Program (BEIP) to give huge subsidy deals to Wall Street firms moving across the Hudson.

He said instead New Jersey should direct resources to in-state businesses, expansions, and start-ups.

Leroy said, "Austerity and the fiscal cliff negotiations are going to make dollars tighter than ever. So states have to be really cost effective about the way they spend money for economic development."

"Engaging in this kind of race to the bottom may look like a modest boost to New Jersey's jobs numbers, but it's not sound policy for two main reasons," New Jersey Policy Perspective president Gordon MacInnes said. "First, there is no other effort being emphasized by New Jersey to grow new jobs in the state - the only arrow in the state's quiver is to pass the tax obligations of businesses onto the backs of individual taxpayers. And second, we are increasingly seeing New Jersey companies using supposed offers from other states as leverage to obtain tax breaks for staying put - even if they truly had no intention of leaving in the first place."

Leroy said states like New Jersey should compete for jobs on the basics, such as how good is your workforce and how good is your infrastructure.