NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt and College Republican Chairwoman Ashley Rosone Tell Governor Murphy To Close The Book On Free College

February 7, 2018

Trenton, NJ – In response to Governor Phil Murphy’s renewed push for state subsidized college tuition, and his belief that $200 million in new annual state spending does not invite “sticker shock”, NJGOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt and College Republican Chairwoman Ashley Rosone offered the following remarks:

“$200 million might not cause ‘sticker shock’ to a guy who pays $200 thousand a year in property taxes, but Phil Murphy needs to accept that Goldman Sach’s leaders like Jon Corzine and him will never represent middle America because they will never understand New Jersey’s working class. $200 million in additional taxes isn’t free. I would hope that $200 million more in annual taxes would be treated with the same respect with which working New New Jerseyans will have to earn it,” Chairman Steinhardt said.

Yesterday, the Burlington County Times reported that Governor Murphy offered the following comments: “If you talk about free community college for all — it sounds like ‘Oh my Lord that’s a big sticker shock’ — but, in fact, we think it’s an about $200 million annual expense,” Murphy said Tuesday during a roundtable meeting on the issue of college affordability at Rowan College of Burlington County in Mount Laurel.

Chairwoman Ashley Rosone is a senior at Thomas Edison State University and a leader on advocating for conservative solutions to college affordability. She said, “Phil Murphy seems to be on a spending spree to satisfy his liberal base and free college has been a talking point for him since the start of his campaign. The truth is we don’t need to raise taxes to make college more affordable. We can lower the existing costs by making sure students stay on track to graduate on time and work to synchronize college training with the needs of the private sector.”

“Phil Murphy’s promise of free college tuition is the classic political bait and switch. While he dangles the “sounds good” carrot of “free education”, he glosses over the $200 million dollar stick that will beat New Jersey’s already battered taxpayers over the head, year after year, forever. Two years of free tuition for a lifetime of tax increases isn’t a bargain, it’s another bad deal that New Jerseyans just can’t afford,” said Chairman Steinhardt. “We can’t fund our public schools now, and the Governor has already indicated that he will renege on his promise to fully fund public education this year. Before we reach into New Jersey’s taxpayers’ pockets for more money, we should focus on better managing the programs and resources we have today.”

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