Details Christie will overlook in his keynote

[ProSense]

Details Christie will overlook in his keynote

By Steve Benen

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will enjoy a very high-profile role at the Republican National Convention next week, delivering the keynote address. He's very likely to use one of his favorite phrases, touting a "New Jersey comeback."

I don't doubt Christie's remarks will be well received in Tampa, but his "comeback" story will be undercut by the fact that New Jersey's unemployment rate has gone up since he took office, reaching a 35-year high, even as most of the country has seen improvements. The L.A. Times added that the governor "may not be an ideal keynote speaker."

The latest Labor Department report, released Friday, shows that New Jersey's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8% in July, the fourth-highest in the country.... The Garden State is also one of only two states, along with neighboring New York, to have hit a new high in unemployment in the past four years. Other have seen their unemployment rates drop, in some cases significantly, from the recent highs during the economic downturn that began in 2008. <...>

New Jersey's unemployment rate stood at 9.7% when Christie took office in January 2010.

The governor blames the problem on Democrats in the legislature. Funny, when President Obama points to Congress, Chris Christie calls it a failure of leadership and a hollow excuse.

Yesterday, the New Jersey governor also told reporters, "It's really sad that you have elements of the media and Democrats that are rooting for failure. You've never seen the Democrats so excited as you saw them last week when unemployment went up."

Christie is apparently unfamiliar with the Romney campaign and congressional Republicans.

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http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/21/13394199-details-christie-will-overlook-in-his-keynote

Christie is another Republican fraud.

Is he kidding? Gov. Chris Christie wants more tax cuts for the rich

A few days after saying New Jersey is so broke it must cut medical benefits for retirees and freeze their pensions forever, Gov. Chris Christie now says he wants to cut income taxes for the rich.

Think about those priorities. Middle-class families just lost their property tax rebates. Schools lost nearly $1 billion in funding, their biggest hit ever. Thousands of working poor families were closed out of health care programs. And our colleges and universities were whacked hard, forcing tuition hikes as the state scholarship programs run dry.

The governor said those cuts were necessary because the state’s vaults were empty. He was the guy telling us to live within our means, to face hard realities. And now this — a tax cut that would blow a new hole in the budget.

The governor says cutting top tax rates will spur business investment. The truth is it would shower benefits on the wealthy indiscriminately. Yes, some of the money might be invested in New Jersey. But much more would be invested outside the state, and even outside the country. The only thing that would stay here for sure is the budget gap it would create.

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http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2010/09/is_he_kidding_gov_chris_christ.html

N.J. unemployment jumps from Christie budget cuts
18,100 government workers and teachers out of work

The loss of 18,100 government and school jobs in July bumped New Jersey unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage point to 9.7 percent, the first monthly increase since reaching a high of 10 percent in December.

The lost jobs included 14,700 in local and county government and public schools and 3,600 related to the winding down of the U.S. Census.

Another 3,100 jobs were lost in the private sector.

The loss in government and school jobs can be contributed, at least in part, to Gov. Chris Christie's decision to cut state aid to local government by $445 million and $820 million to public schools as he attempted to close a $10 billion budget deficit.

more

http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/economy/nj-unemployment-jumps-from-christie-budget-cuts

<...>

In New Jersey, where about 3,000 teachers were let go in May, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration worries that the federal aid will only forestall difficult decisions later, and it is unclear how much will be spent immediately.

“It’s a real double-edged sword,” said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor. “This money will not be there next year, and we’re not going to get back up to the funding that they had previously been used to.”

<...>

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/business/economy/18teachers.html?_r=2&pagewanted=all

Chris Christie Gets Booed At Seton Hall Commencement

New Jersey governor Chris Christie was loudly booed at Seton Hall's graduation ceremony earlier today, where he delivered a commencement address to the university's 2,281 graduates. One student even yelled "shut up" in the middle of the speech.

The Setonian has more:

Christie acknowledged those who did not welcome him, and began his speech as a "proud alumnus" of Seton Hall.

He referred to a New York Times Magazine cover that referred to him as "the disruptor," and said, "I think a disruptor is someone who is willing to challenge the status quo."

"You need to be a disruptor in the way that your heart and your mind tells you to be a disruptor," he added.

Christie has been a subject of controversy after he proposed heavy budget cuts to New Jersey's education system.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/17/chris-christie-gets-booed_n_863181.html

ALEC and Old Yeller

Well, whaddya know: it turns out that Governor Yells-at-people is very much an ALEC guy. From NJ.com:

A Star-Ledger analysis of hundreds of documents shows that ALEC bills are surfacing in New Jersey, where Republican Gov. Chris Christie is trying to remake the state, frequently against the wishes of a Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Drawing on bills crafted by the council, on New Jersey legislation and dozens of e-mails by Christie staffers and others, The Star-Ledger found a pattern of similarities between ALEC’s proposals and several measures championed by the Christie administration. At least three bills, one executive order and one agency rule accomplish the same goals set out by ALEC using the same specific policies. In eight passages contained in those documents, New Jersey initiatives and ALEC proposals line up almost word for word. Two other Republican bills not pushed by the governor’s office are nearly identical to ALEC models.

As a resident of New Jersey, yeah, I got a problem with that.

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/02/alec-and-old-yeller/

N.J. revenue shortfall increases at least another $50M in May

By Salvador Rizzo/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON — Once again, the latest revenue numbers are pushing hard against Gov. Chris Christie’s claims of a "Jersey Comeback."

Tax collections failed to meet expectations in May, continuing a months-long trend that is cranking up the pressure on New Jersey’s finances just as Christie and Democratic lawmakers are racing to strike a tax-cut deal by the end of this month.

Revenues were $50 million to $100 million under target last month, according to a memo sent to lawmakers by David Rosen, the budget chief of the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services.

Meanwhile, the Christie administration said the shortfall was closer to $28.9 million in May and questioned Rosen’s credibility as a budget analyst.

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http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/nj_revenue_shortfall_increases.html

[dogknob]

1. Better get a bucket!

[HopeHoops]

3. Ah, but it is a wafer thin!

[HopeHoops]

2. If it falls under "reality", it won't be included.

[ProSense]

4. Kick! n/t