More New Jersey businesses planning to close — Are you surprised? (Opinion)

Ask just about any New Jersey small business owner how tough it is to stay afloat in this state and you'll get an earful. You'll probably hear a few expletives in there as well.

It's difficult enough to start and maintain a business anywhere but when you have the heavy boot of New Jersey big government on your neck every month, it's suffocating.

A new survey release says that 28% of New Jersey small businesses are planning to call it quits, with another 31% saying they are still deciding whether to close or sell.

It would seem puzzling to most rational people why the state would re-elect a governor who is so callous and unsympathetic toward businesses, but they did. Maybe it's because most people have some connection to someone in their family who is part of the cartel of insiders who make their living from government.

Their fear is changing anything that might interrupt the gravy train. Well, the train out of this state has been full of frustrated entrepreneurs and people seeking greener pastures and lower taxes.

New Jersey is the WORST state in the country for business taxes. Not just last year but year after year.

It's confounding that the electorate would continue to elect people like Phil Murphy and many in the Legislature that would be so damaging to the business climate and to opportunity.

The new survey may be an indication of even more people heading south to more business-friendly and liberty-minded states. Whether it's the Carolinas, Tennessee, Georgia, or Florida, you will find plenty of former New Jersey residents trying to make a living and raise a family without the extra burden of a state bureaucracy on their backs.

For those of us hanging on it's frustrating and confusing. Maybe after continuing devastation the next four years promises to bring, voters might wake up.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis Malloy's own.