Tired of Gov. Christie's Contempt For Middle Class New Jersey Families

CHAIRMAN CURRIE: "KNOW WHAT? I'M TIRED OF CHRIS CHRISTIE'S CONTEMPT FOR MIDDLE CLASS NEW JERSEY FAMILIES"

(Trenton) — Today, the New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chair responded to the latest out-of-touch statement to come out of the mouth of New Jersey's failed, absentee governor, Chris Christie.

Yesterday, the governor -- the fourth highest paid governor in the country -- told a group of lawyers in Washington, DC that he was "tired of hearing about the minimum wage."

"Know what? I'm tired having to explain to Chris Christie that New Jersey's middle class families matter more than the wealthy corporate interests that he caters to," said the Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee John Currie. "Parents aren't focused on their kids making a higher minimum wage; they are working two or three minimum wage jobs themselves, just to make ends meet. That's even harder to do in Governor Christie's economy, which has raised taxes on the most vulnerable, neglected the needs of Sandy survivors, and wasted taxpayer dollars. It's not just that he's out of touch, he's contemptuous toward most New Jersey families and his policies are vindictive."

Governor Christie, who spends much of his time neglecting his messes in New Jersey while campaigning out of state, pays his attorney's $350 in taxpayer funds per hour to cover his political tracks, and enjoys an annual family income of about $700,000.

Currie is not the only one tiring of Chris Christie's detachment from the economic reality he created. Recent polling confirms that New Jerseyans are growing tired of Chris Christie's callous indifference to their needs.

In 2013, Christie vetoed a minimum wage increase in New Jersey that would have directly benefited 241,000 of his constituents -- the same people who voted overwhelmingly to effectively override that veto at the ballot box.

CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION'S MOVIE TRAILER BIZARRELY CELEBRATES HIS BROKEN PROMISES AND FAILURES

Video Mocks Pain of Middle Class Families Suffering in the Christie Economy

(Trenton) -- Today, the Christie administration created yet another reason to be publicly ridiculed, releasing an 80 second web video that mimics a blockbuster movie trailer and mocks the promise that the governor made to pensioners -- a promise that he promptly broke.

"Sandy victims continue to suffer from the Christie administration's neglect and the rest of the state's economy is in ruins, and yet the governor is mocking the pain and suffering he's causing middle class families -- it's completely offensive, especially since this was probably the work of staff that received 23 percent raises," said Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, John Currie. Sadly, the governor's bizarre Hollywood fantasy is not the action drama his team imagines, it's a horror film that never seems to end."

 

The Christie economy is the definition of failure. Superstorm Sandy survivors are still paying mortgages on their uninhabitable homes. Christie's economic stewardship has resulted in a record six state credit downgrades. His overly optimistic revenue projections blew a gigantic hole in New Jersey’s 2014 budget. And, New Jersey ranks 49th in the nation in private-sector job growth while unemployment has been consistently high compared to its neighbors.

CHRISTIE STILL BURDENING MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES WITH HIS FAILURES SAYS CURRIE

6/25/14

(Trenton) — Today, before a select crowd in Camden County, Chris Christie’s truth-defying narrative took center stage, as the governor denied responsibility for an array of policy concerns.

Notably, to plug a projected $2.75 billion budget shortfall created by Christie's overly optimistic revenue projections, the governor wants to cut planned pension contributions. His approach is to break the promises he made to hard working New Jerseyans, dismiss Democratic proposals, blame others for his mistakes, and then to personalize the state's challenges.

“It's shocking and disturbing that Governor Christie has no proposal to repair New Jersey’s troubled economy, and that he is incapable of accepting responsibility for his actions. In his carefully selected public appearances, he tells a few jokes, and then spins fictional tales that serve his political purposes but not our needs,” said John Currie, Chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee. "Chris Christie needs to stop burdening middle class families with his failures, and start being truthful about the messes he created."

Governor Christie was willing to literally dance around his scandals on late night television earlier this month, but he refuses to acknowledge the severity of federal probes into his administration’s misuse of public funds, and prioritizes Republican campaign activities over New Jersey’s needs.

The fact is, Chris Christie’s policies have seriously undermined New Jersey’s economy, resulting in record six state credit downgrades, with further downgrades threatened, a massive hole in the New Jersey’s 2014 budget, the highest unemployment levels in the region, and a job creation rate that is ranked among the worst in the nation.

STOP BREAKING PROMISES AND BURDENING MIDDLE CLASS WITH YOUR MISTAKES, CURRIE SAYS TO CHRISTIE

(Trenton) — As Governor Chris Christie prepares his budget plan for next year, New Jersey Democratic Party Chairman John Currie is urging the scandal-plagued governor to tell the truth about the State's fiscal situation and the impact his inflated revenue projections and poor financial decisions have had on New Jersey's middle class taxpayers in his Budget Address on Tuesday.

News reports indicate that Governor Christie’s poor economic stewardship has grown the state's budget shortfall to an estimated $565 million while New Jersey's middle class families have been forced to shoulder the burden. 

“For four straight years, Chris Christie has stuck it to New Jersey’s middle class families with his failed conservative priorities and shady accounting,” said John Currie, Chairman of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee. “He's broken promises to state workers and school children alike, and he's actually refused money from the federal government. It is cowardly for him to ask women, children, and the hardest working among us to shoulder the burden for his mistakes while he continues to inflate revenue projections and ignore simple fiscal realities. To restore common sense to the state budget, Governor Christie should first cut out all of his nonsense and tell taxpayers the truth.”

What to watch out for in the governor's budget blueprint:

    •    Increased Property Tax Burdens
As NJ Spotlight reported, during the last fiscal year, Christie decided "to shift property tax rebate payments, which average $518 for senior citizens making up to $150,000 and $409 for other homeowners earning up to $75,000, from May to August… to cover a $473 million revenue shortfall."

    •    Plans to Pinch Public Worker Pensions
Governor Christie reportedly is looking to further pinch from public workers' state pension funds in order to address the "nearly $1 billion" shortfall expected under the plan he enacted. This would be consistent with the national GOP playbook which calls for dismantling worker protections.

    ▪    Cuts that Undermine Educational Opportunity
Chris Christie’s ongoing fight with educators and the state’s educational system, have undermined the ability of New Jersey’s school children to learn and achieve their full potential. In 2010, the governor made $1 billion in cuts to education in violation of the law, putting at-risk and poor students at an increased disadvantage. 

    •    Excuses For Not Funding For The Transportation Trust Fund
Borrowing for the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) under Christie will be at record high, while pay-as-you-go financing is at all-time low. As NJSpotlight explained the cost of the bond premiums used to plug a funding hole will be paid off by taxpayers in higher-interest payments over the next 31 years.

    •    Tax Cuts for the Rich
Data demonstrates that despite the blustery GOP rhetoric, trickle down economic policies (also known as tax cuts for the rich) do not work. And, as one Budget Analyst noted, “the state’s finances can ill afford talk of a tax cut.” 

    •    Rosy Growth Scenarios
New Jersey Policy Perspectives reported that the state’s reliance on “overly optimistic revenue projections means the state continues to face a budget shortfall – one that could be as large as $1.16 billion.”

    •    Health Care Cuts
As the Star-Ledger and Politifact reported, the nearly $7.5 million for family planning services that Christie eliminated from his first budget for fiscal year 2011 would have been matched 9-to-1 by federal funds. In other words, rather than saving $45 million a year, and provide more coverage, Christie chose to deny thousands of women access to mammograms and other basic health care services. 

President Obama's Weekly Address 2/1/14: Restoring Opportunity for All

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, the President discussed the goals he laid out in the State of the Union address to expand opportunity for all so that every American can get ahead and have a shot at creating a better life for their kids.

President Obama's Weekly Address 9/21/12: Congress Must Act Now to Pass a Budget and Raise the Debt Ceiling

WASHINGTON, DC— In his weekly address, President Obama said that the economy is making progress five years after the worst recession since the Great Depression, but to avoid another crisis, Congress must meet two deadlines in the coming weeks: pass a budget by the end of the month to keep the government open, and raise the debt ceiling so America can pay its bills. Congress should vote to do these now, so that we can keep creating new jobs and expanding opportunity for the middle class.

New Jersey Cannot Afford Absentee Governor

New Brunswick, NJ – Buono for Governor Campaign Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman today issued the following statement:

“It’s clear that Governor Christie’s top priority is advancing his own political career, not improving the lives of working and middle class families. While the Governor was on The Jimmy Fallon Show slow-jamming the news, New Jerseyans have been slammed by his failed economic policies that have left 400,000 people out of work and caused property taxes to increase by 20 percent. His so-called “Jersey Comeback” was nothing more than empty rhetoric as too many New Jersey workers and families struggle everyday to make ends meet. New Jersey cannot afford to have an absentee Governor who will spend the next four years pandering to conservatives in the cornfields of Iowa instead of rebuilding our economy and creating good-paying jobs right here in New Jersey.”

President Obama's Weekly Address 5/11/13: Growing the Housing Market and Supporting our Homeowners

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama said seven years after the real estate bubble burst, our housing market is healing. The administration’s policies have helped responsible homeowners save money on their mortgages and stay in their homes, and the President’s consumer watchdog agency is working to protect consumers from being taken advantage of on their mortgages, but there is still more work to do. The President urges Congress to quickly confirm Mel Watt to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and take action to give every responsible homeowner the chance to refinance and save money on their mortgage, so that we can keep growing the housing market, support working families, and strengthen the economy.

President Obama's Weekly Address 3/2/13: Congress Must Compromise to Stop the Impact of the Sequester

In his weekly address, President Obama tells the American people that a series of harmful budget cuts—called the sequester—have taken effect because Congress failed to act. Because Republicans in Congress refused to compromise to close tax loopholes for the wealthiest Americans, hundreds of thousands of Americans will lose their jobs or see their paycheck reduced, and middle class families will be hurt. Congress must join the President now to replace these cuts with a balanced approach that reduces our deficit while also making smart investments in areas that help our economy grow.

The Sequester

From the White House Blog -

Starting today, our government will need to grapple with a set of arbitrary budget cuts that will hurt the economy, make life harder for middle-class families, and threaten our national security. That's what Washington means when it talks about the sequester.

Not everyone will feel the consequences of these cuts immediately, but if sequestration is allowed to continue, it will make life more difficult for Americans all across the country. That's a fact that no one disputes.

And the reason we are here is because some members of Congress have made a choice to prioritize these cuts over closing tax loopholes for the wealthy. But there is still time for them to make a different choice and undo this manufactured crisis.

Today, President Obama discussed this situation and answered questions from the press. "This is not a win for anybody," he said. "This is a loss for the American people."

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: Back To The Failed Top-Down Policies That Crashed Our Economy

Learn more about Romney and Ryan: http://OFA.BO/hunUfC

Paul Ryan is the mastermind behind the extreme GOP budget plan. It's a plan Mitt Romney endorses.

But what does that budget mean for America? The GOP budget plan hurts seniors, it hurts middle-class families, and it hurts students. All to pay for tax cuts for those at the top..

How Romney’s plan would increase taxes on the middle class

An independent report found that Mitt Romney’s plan to cut taxes for the wealthy will leave middle-class Americans footing the bill. Watch Deputy Campaign Manager Stephanie Cutter breaks down what Mitt Romney's tax plan means for families and how President Obama's plan will cut the deficit while still making the investments we need to grow and keep middle class families strong.

To see how each candidate’s plan would affect middle-class families like yours, check out this online tax calculator.

President Obama's Weekly Address 6/23/12: Congress Must Act on Transportation Bill and Student Loans

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama spoke about the urgent need for Congress to act now on two common sense measures to help hardworking middle class families. Unless Congress takes action in the next week, thousands of workers will be sent home from their jobs and millions of students will see their interest rates double. At a time when hundreds of thousands of construction workers are eager to get back on the job, it makes no sense to let transportation funding run out. And at a time when a college education has never been more important to finding a good job, it makes no sense to hit 7.4 million students with the equivalent of a $1,000 tax. It’s not too late, but time is running out for Republicans and Democrats to come together on these common sense measures to help our nation recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression.