It looks like New Jersey voters have defeated a proposal to allow betting on college sports in the state, or on games involving New Jersey teams. With 97% of precincts reporting, more than 56% of New Jerseyans voted “no” to the proposal versus 43% supporting it. As of Wednesday afternoon, the outcome still had not been officially called.
A second ballot question, asking whether nonprofits should be allowed to use proceeds from games of chance, such as raffles, to support their organizations was approved, with 64% voting “yes.”
One reason for the tight governor’s race is discontent among New Jersey businesses about their recovery from the pandemic, the economy overall and taxes. That’s the word from two of the state’s top business leaders, Michelle Siekerka from the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce’s Tom Bracken. Bracken is a member of the NJ PBS board of trustees. Both say the next governor, whoever that is, should double down on improving the business climate in the state.
As debate continues in Washington on a massive social spending bill, an agreement was reached on a plan to curb prescription drug costs. And a proposal is being discussed to lift the cap on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT, for five years.
The Federal Reserve announced it will soon scale back on its monthly purchases in the bond market, something it was doing to help support the economy through the pandemic.
