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

Four Facts About New Jersey’s Economy Chris Christie Won’t Talk About At The Republican Convention Tonight

By Pat Garofalo

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However, the “New Jersey experience” under Christie has been anything but rosy. Here are some key economics stats to know before Christie hits the stage tonight:

– New Jersey ranked 47th in the nation in GDP growth in 2011. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

– The Garden state’s unemployment rate of 9.8 percent is fourth highest in the nation, trailing only Nevada, California, and Rhode Island. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

– New Jersey lost 12,000 jobs last month, the most in the country. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

– The state ranked 44th in personal income growth in 2011. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)

Christie has focused on cutting taxes for millionaires (while blocking a millionaires’ surtax), slashing social spending, and opposing plans to help New Jersey’s workers. He’s cheered the firing of public sector workers and scuttled important infrastructure projects on false pretenses.

Finally, he’s handed out a record number of corporate handouts, while getting little for it in terms of job growth. And for this, he’s been rewarded with a huge speaking slot at the Republican convention, from which he will likely proclaim Republican economic ideology a stunning success.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/08/28/760501/christie-rnc-keynote/

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

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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.”

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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:


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

The Comeback Skid

By PAUL KRUGMAN

There will be two big stars at the Republican National Convention, and neither of them will be Mitt Romney. One will, of course, be Paul Ryan, Mr. Romney’s running mate. The other will be Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, who will give the keynote address. And while the two men could hardly look or sound more different, they are brothers under the skin.

How so? Both have carefully cultivated public images as tough, fiscally responsible guys willing to make hard choices. And both public images are completely false.

I’ve written a lot lately deconstructing the Ryan myth, so let me turn today to Mr. Christie.

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Even if the comeback were real, this would be a highly dubious idea. By all accounts, New Jersey still has a significant structural deficit, that is, a deficit that will persist even when the economy recovers. Furthermore, the Christie tax-cut proposal would do very little for the middle class but give large breaks to the wealthy.

But in any case, the good times are by no means back, and neither is the revenue boom that was supposed to justify a tax cut. So has the very responsible Mr. Christie accepted the idea of at least delaying his tax-cut plan until the promised revenue gains materialize? Of course not.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/27/opinion/krugman-the-comeback-skid.html