Corzine's economic growth strategy wins praise from experts

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New Jersey native John M. Bonforte Sr., whose Long Branch manufacturing company is making way for redevelopment, chose a new location in the state, but he had a hard time justifying that decision.

He thought state regulators' demands to get permits for some of his machines was excessive. He couldn't find a program with incentives to keep him here. And when he visited Georgia in search of a new location, he dined with the Peach State's governor himself.

"I can't begin to tell you how the state of Georgia treated us," said Bonforte, owner of Monmouth Rubber and Plastics Corp., a company with 47 employees that bought a facility in the Burlington County town of Riverside.

New Jersey's answer to what has become a common complaint was unveiled earlier this month, when Gov. Corzine introduced his economic growth strategy, a mix of what the administration described as common-sense ideas and the groundwork needed to make the state more competitive.

Experts praised Corzine for setting the state's economic mission and taking responsibility for seeing it through. But they said the plan isn't flawless; left unanswered are long-standing issues, including the cost of doing business in New Jersey.

"This administration has recognized that, for too long, New Jersey has governed like the French and managed like General Motors," said Patrick J. O'Keefe, chief executive officer of the New Jersey Builders Association. "The chief executive has said, "Enough. We're going to do it differently.' Having said that, we haven't seen (how it will play out)."

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"The printed document, it was motherhood and apple pie," said Donald M. Scarry, a Mount Laurel economist who recently worked at the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. "But I think it's going to be better than the printed document looks."