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A government shutdown delays federal services but does not reduce the tax burden for New Jersey residents.

The ongoing partial government shutdown is delaying services for New Jersey residents, but it is not giving them a tax break. The state's taxpayers will continue to send far more to Washington, DC, than they get back and cover the cost of federal programs, whether or not they use them.

According to the Rockefeller Institute’s 2025 balance-of-payments report, New Jersey sent $154 billion in federal taxes to Washington in 2023 and received $135 billion in federal spending back, leaving a negative balance of $18.9 billion, or about $2,011 per resident. Massachusetts had a per-capita shortfall of $967, while Washington had $7 negative. The rest were positive, includ

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