By Scott E. Rutter
After World War II, the Greatest Generation didn’t just win a war — they built America. That same potential exists today, but New Jersey is failing to tap it
Today, while states like Texas and Florida aggressively court veteran entrepreneurs and the next generation of innovative companies, New Jersey is letting history slip through our fingers. The very industries we pioneered are relocating. The artificial intelligence companies that will define the 21st century — the modern equivalent of Bell Labs — are setting up shop elsewhere.
And we’re missing the key ingredient that could reverse this trend: strategic investment in our veteran community and their families.
Support vs investment
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most states, including New Jersey, “support” veterans and their families with basic services and ceremonial gratitude. But support is passive. Investment is active. Investment means recognizing veterans and veteran family members not as beneficiaries of charity, but as catalysts for economic growth.
States that understand this distinction are winning. They’re not just offering veterans and their families help — they’re offering them opportunity. They’re creating ecosystems where veteran-owned businesses and family enterprises can thrive, attract capital, and scale. They’re implementing tax incentives that make it financially attractive for companies to hire veterans and their family members and contract with veteran-owned firms. They’re removing barriers to entrepreneurship and actively recruiting veteran talent and their families.
The result? These states are capturing the next greatest generation of innovators, business leaders, and job creators — both veterans and their family members who share their values and work ethic.
Veterans and their families
The data is compelling. veterans start businesses at rates 45% higher than non-veterans. But we often overlook another crucial resource: veteran family members. Military spouses and children develop unique skills through frequent relocations, adapting to new environments, managing households during deployments, and building communities from scratch. They bring resilience, adaptability, project management expertise, and cross-cultural competency that employers desperately need.
Veterans bring leadership experience, problem-solving skills honed in high-stakes environments, and an unparalleled work ethic. Many have managed million-dollar budgets, led diverse teams, and operated sophisticated technologies—often before age 30. Their spouses have often managed complex family logistics, pursued portable careers, and demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit out of necessity.
Just as WWII veterans returned with technical skills from radar operation, aircraft maintenance, and communications that directly translated to civilian innovation, today’s veterans return with expertise in cybersecurity, drone technology, logistics systems, artificial intelligence applications, and advanced manufacturing. Their family members bring complementary skills in healthcare, education, business administration, and technology. T
These aren’t just employees — they’re the founders and workforce of tomorrow’s Fortune 500 companies.
But only if we invest in them.
Losing N.J.’s historical advantage
New Jersey should be leading this charge. We have a proud military tradition. We have world-class universities. We have proximity to capital markets. We have the infrastructure that once made us an industrial giant.
What we lack is vision.
Bell Labs didn’t just happen. It thrived because New Jersey created an environment where innovation could flourish. Today, that environment exists in Austin, Miami, and Raleigh—not Newark or Trenton. The AI companies that will define the next century are setting up headquarters in states that have rolled out the red carpet for entrepreneurs, including veteran entrepreneurs and their families.
Meanwhile, New Jersey hemorrhages businesses, talent, and tax revenue. We rank near the bottom in business climate surveys. Young veterans and military families leaving military service look at our tax structure, regulatory environment, and cost of living and choose to build their companies elsewhere.
The Texas and Florida Model
Texas and Florida understand something fundamental: veteran entrepreneurs and their families don’t need handouts — they need runway.
These states have eliminated state income taxes for all residents, making them immediately attractive to business owners. They’ve streamlined business registration and licensing. They’ve created veteran-specific business accelerators with access to capital, mentorship, and government contracts—often including programs specifically for military spouses. They mandate meaningful percentages of state contracts go to veteran-owned businesses — and then they actually enforce it.
The results speak for themselves. Texas has seen explosive growth in veteran-owned technology companies. Florida has become a magnet for defense contractors and cybersecurity firms founded by veterans and their family members. These businesses generate jobs, tax revenue, and innovation—not just for veterans and their families, but for entire communities.
The New Jersey Veterans Investment Act
Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill has a unique opportunity. As a veteran herself, she understands what’s at stake. But understanding isn’t enough — we need bold action.
New Jersey should pass comprehensive legislation that doesn’t just “support” veterans and their families but actively invests in them as economic drivers:
Economic investment, not charity: Implement aggressive tax incentives for companies that employ veterans and veteran family members and contract with veteran-owned businesses. Mandate that 15-20% of state contracts go to veteran-owned firms — with teeth behind the requirement.
Remove barriers to entrepreneurship: Create a graduated scale of income tax reductions for veteran residents and their families. Offer property tax incentives that make New Jersey competitive with Florida and Texas. Make it financially rational for veteran entrepreneurs and military families to choose New Jersey.
Build the infrastructure: Establish veteran business accelerators in partnership with our universities, focusing on high-growth sectors like AI, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing. Create direct pathways from military transition to business ownership for both veterans and their spouses. Recognize that many successful veteran-owned businesses are family enterprises.
Recruit aggressively: Actively recruit veteran-owned companies to relocate to New Jersey with the same intensity we once recruited pharmaceutical companies. Target veterans and military families leaving service at nearby military installations and offer them compelling reasons to start their businesses here.
Healthcare and quality of life: Ensure veterans and their families receive healthcare within New Jersey, not at distant VA facilities. Provide recreational access that makes our state attractive to military families. These aren’t just benefits — they’re recruitment tools that recognize the whole family’s sacrifice and contribution.
Employment opportunities: Provide veteran family members with preference ratings for state, county, and municipal employment. Recognize that military spouses face unique employment challenges due to frequent relocations and should be prioritized for remote work opportunities and professional licensing reciprocity.
The bottom line
The time for half-measures has passed. New Jersey can either lead the nation in veteran and military family investment and reclaim our position as an innovation hub, or we can continue watching our economic future relocate to states that understand what we apparently don’t:
Investing in veterans and their family members isn’t charity. It’s the smartest economic development strategy available.
The choice is ours. The clock is ticking.
Calling your elected representative in the state Assembly or Senate is the most effective way to influence policy. To find your state Assembly member and Senator to voice your position, go to the New Jersey Legislature website’s Legislative Roster.
Scott E. Rutter, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, is a decorated combat veteran, business owner, and CEO of The Valor Network of Glassboro, N.J. Find his forthcoming book “Damn Fine Soldiers” (Simon & Schuster) in July 2026.