Why I started New Jersey Plus

I love that New Jersey is a diverse state in every way, whether it is our people, culture, food, art, etc. We have city people, suburb people, shore people, mountain people, and even Turnpike people. There are about 8.7 million people in this state, which is the 11th highest population in the country. New Jersey is a small state too, ranked 47th in the US in total area size. You don’t have to travel far in New Jersey to experience all of it.

New Jersey is unique because it can offer so much despite its size. It has a history as an immigrant gateway with a strategic location in the middle of the Northeast Corridor (Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston). We have a diverse array of natural assets and our residents are among the most highly educated in the country. New Jersey has a promising future because of our diversity, size, location, and educated population. Whether we achieve this promising future depends on whether our state and local leaders can successfully manage a wide range of economic, infrastructure, and social issues. Over time, the state has become a microcosm of the problems we have across the nation. For example:

• New Jersey had the slowest economic growth in the entire country since the 2008 Great Recession.
• Since the late 1980’s, New Jersey’s schools have transformed into “apartheid schools”- they are among the most racially segregated schools in the United States.
• Despite a 1975 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling requiring municipalities to provide their fair share of affordable housing to poor and moderate-income people, most affluent towns in the state have fought to avoid this legal obligation.
• The state needs to make massive improvements to its mass transit system while owing around $49 billion to the state workers’ pension system.
• Somehow at the same time, the state must raise and save money because it is currently so broke that it can’t afford to survive another natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy.

How do we build a better New Jersey that is economically healthy, socially just, and structurally durable?

On top of these issues, New Jersey also has to keep up with the rest of the world. Our world is changing at a more rapid pace than at any other time in human history. Social media has become more than tweets, likes, and selfies- the personal data that millions of Americans type into Facebook everyday was used by foreign entities to influence our national elections. Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is already here. The McKinsey Global Institute recently published a report stating that AI can possibly cause up to a third of the American workforce to switch to new occupations by 2030, a mere 12 years from now. Global warming and climate change will disrupt access to clean water, food, and clean air for communities all over the world.

What is New Jersey’s role in this world and how do we manage these disruptions?

This is the backdrop of only some of the major issues our state faces as we continue moving along in the 21st Century. The future of New Jersey is at stake and what it looks like will highly depend on our younger generations. We are not entitled, lazy, or impatient, as the media make us out to be. We are the ones who are going to lead our state into the future. We are the students, teachers, cops, artists, doctors, lawyers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and elected officials that are going to make New Jersey a better, equitable, and socially just state. We will build a New Jersey where future generations will want to live and grow.

We have a say in determining the future, and this is why I started nj+. It’s a space that I hope will amplify underrepresented voices that inform, challenge, and provide solutions for the problems facing our state, nation, and the world. It’s also a space that acknowledges diversity and the power that comes from sharing our different experiences and knowledge. By sharing our stories, ideas, and culture, we can create stronger connections and empower each other to make a difference in New Jersey.

My hope is that nj+ brings out the best in us and that you are willing to be a part of it. If you want to contribute content or have suggestions on topics nj+ should cover, please reach out. We want to collaborate and support changemakers.