Bracken on this week’s Business Summit: ‘We’re not playing the blame game’

Two-day ReNew Jersey summit, which starts Wednesday in Atlantic City, aims to be about solutions

File photo New Jersey Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Tom Bracken was among those who appeared.

Tom Bracken, the CEO of the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce, has never been shy about offering a critical eye of how the business and government are interacting.

But this week, when more than 500 are scheduled to attend the ‘ReNew Jersey Business Summit: A Time for Answer,’ which starts Wednesday at the Borgata, Bracken said the emphasis will be on looking ahead and offering ideas and solutions.

“The goal is to bring together subject experts from business, politics, education and labor to discuss the problems stifling New Jersey’s economy, and propose the actions needed to shift into a full-throttle economic recovery,” he said.

“We’re not playing the blame game. We’re not finger pointing. We’re going to produce solutions.”

The event, which is a replacement for the annual Walk to Washington train trip that was postponed due to the pandemic, is expected to bring a who’s who of business and political leaders, including Gov. Phil Murphy, who will deliver keynote remarks on Wednesday afternoon.

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The in-person Summit will feature a two-day general session of discussions about how to re-ignite New Jersey’s economy, and it will devise ways to grow jobs and make New Jersey more business friendly.

The discussions will focus on, but not be limited to, four main topics:
· taxes and incentives;
· health care costs;
· infrastructure and environment issues;
· the labor shortage.

Bracken said the solutions will be presented to the state’s legislative leaders, who will participate on a panel discussion on Day 2 of the Summit.

The ReNew Jersey Business Summit will feature a pair of networking receptions – an evening cocktail reception on April 13 and a morning breakfast reception on April 14; and it will include a business expo on April 13 for New Jersey businesses to showcase their products and services.

“We expect this to be the single largest business event in the state this year on a scale comparable to our Walk to Washington,” Bracken said. “There is a strong desire among business people in New Jersey to improve the state’s business climate, and to network. This event will provide a prime opportunity for both.”

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