After Eight Years Of Radical Spending & Broken Promises, NJ Taxpayers Are Left With Higher Bills, Smaller Rebates, & A State On The Brink

Sunday, October 5, 2025, 12:45 P.M. ET. 4 Minute Read, Opinion, By Jennifer Hodges: Englebrook Independent News,

TRENTON, NJ.- When Phil Murphy took office as New Jersey’s governor in 2018, the state carried a modest $577 million budget surplus. As he prepares to leave office on January 1, 2026, Murphy will hand over a state reeling from a projected $1.5 billion budget deficit, despite growing New Jersey’s annual spending plan to a record-breaking $58 billion. This is not progress. It is fiscal mismanagement, and New Jersey taxpayers are left paying the ultimate price.

     Murphy swept into Trenton on a wave of promises about “affordability” and “real relief” for working families. His administration’s centerpiece program for property owners, the ANCHOR (Affordable New Jersey Communities for Homeowners and Renters) rebate, was supposed to put up to $1,500 back in the pockets of homeowners crushed under the nation’s highest property tax burden. Instead, many New Jersey families are now opening envelopes with checks of $700 or $800, far less than the governor pledged.

     This is not relief. This is a bait-and-switch.

     The facts are plain. New Jersey’s average property tax bill now exceeds $9,400. Murphy himself touted ANCHOR as proof that he was serious about tackling affordability. But his administration’s “adjustments” and eligibility restrictions have gutted the promise of complete relief. And while Murphy spins the program as “historic,” taxpayers are left wondering how less money than promised qualifies as a success.

     Republicans in Trenton have been blunt. “This is just another broken promise by a radical left Democrat who talks about affordability but fails to deliver when it counts,” said State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). He’s right. Murphy has perfected the art of the soundbite but failed to produce results that actually lighten the crushing financial load on New Jersey families.

     The fiscal picture is even worse when we take a step back. In less than eight years, Murphy has transformed a $577 million surplus into a $1.5 billion deficit, even while presiding over record-high revenues. Instead of controlling spending, Murphy has bloated the state budget to over $58 billion, a figure that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. New Jersey is not better off; it is sinking further into debt.

     Supporters argue that rebates, even smaller ones, are better than nothing. That argument collapses when stacked against Murphy’s own words and promises. New Jerseyans were told they would get real, substantial relief. They didn’t. They were told affordability was a priority. It wasn’t. They were told Murphy would fix the state’s fiscal house. He didn’t.

     As Regina Egea of the Garden State Initiative put it: “He keeps saying affordability is his top priority, but families aren’t seeing it in their wallets.” That statement sums up Murphy’s tenure: a steady stream of slogans, with little to show in the lives of ordinary people.

     The reality is that Murphy’s governing philosophy is built on radical spending, expanding government, and promising programs that fail to deliver. Property taxpayers are not only still waiting for real relief, they are now staring down a future in which the state budget deficit balloons, services come under pressure, and Trenton once again turns to taxpayers to bail out the mess.

     Murphy’s defenders will blame inflation, Washington, or any number of external factors. But leadership is about results, not empty promises and excuses. New Jerseyans are paying the highest property taxes in America and watching their state’s fiscal stability collapse under Murphy’s watch.

     When Murphy exits office in 2026, he will leave behind a legacy of broken promises, broken finances, and a crime-ridden state. For a man who promised to make New Jersey more affordable, Murphy has done the opposite. The only thing he has truly delivered is more debt, more frustration, and less trust in government. With the 2025 Election less than thirty days away, New Jersey residents should think long and hard before they pull the lever for another Democrat to run the state. 

Editor’s Note: This op-ed is based on reporting from New Jersey Treasury budget records, statements from Gov. Murphy’s office, and comments from lawmakers, including Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), and policy experts such as Regina Egea of the Garden State Initiative.