One program aimed at reversing the trend, according to Franzini, is a re-packaged Edison Innovation Fund, which Gov. Jon Corzine introduced last month. Backed by $150 million of state money, it's looking to leverage $350 million in private capital to keep New Jersey in the forefront for technical and pharmaceutical jobs. It's a technology-focused program similar to Business Employment Incentive Program, one of New Jersey's successes in that area. The re-packaging involved switching the program's funding from bonds, which will be paid in the future, to a more fiscally sound pay-as-you-go system, a change that had been recommended for years.
Related to the Edison Innovation Fund, Corzine makes personal calls to CEOs of New Jersey businesses to keep them in-state, Franzini explained. Similarly, he calls outside CEOs in an effort to get them to bring their business in-state.
As far as the economy in general, New Jersey is 59 months into its recovery from the last recession, James Hughes, dean of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, told conference attendees. This is significant because that's the average length of the past 10 recoveries.
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