"[F]inally we have a governor who is as teed off as the rest of us at how government spending and taxes have skyrocketed over the past decade."
- Reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger
Let's just say it. I'm sick. Sick about the direction this country is going. I'm just not happy about it. I can't see a silver lining anywhere...
Except in Jersey. I don't watch Jersey Shore so I don't have any funny jokes about why on earth I care about New Jersey, but seriously, my eyes are on Jersey. And it's because of THIS guy:
Governor Chris Christie. He is serious. He will not go back on his word. His state is in serious financial doom...and he's vowed to fix it without increasing the insane tax burdens his residents are already laden with. There's a great opinion piece by William McGurn in The Wall Street Journal, chronicling some of Christie's defenses to his critics...their arguments to him and his no-nonsense responses...I LOVE them.
Critics: The children will be the ones to suffer from your education cuts.
Christie: "The real question is, who's for the kids, and who's for their raises? This isn't about the kids. Let's dispense with that portion of the argument. Don't let them tell you that ever again while they are reaching into your pockets."
Critics: Why not renew the 'millionaire's tax'?
Christie: "The top 1% of taxpayers in New Jersey pay 40% of the income tax. In addition, we've got a situation where that tax applies to small businesses. I'm simply not going to put my foot on the back of the neck of small business while I want them to try to grow jobs by giving more revenue to New Jersey."
Critics: Budget cuts are unfair.
Christie: "The special interests have already begun to scream their favorite word—which, coincidentally, is my 9-year-old son's favorite word when we are making him do something he knows is right but does not want to do—'unfair.' . . . One state retiree, 49 years old, paid, over the course of his entire career, a total of $124,000 towards his retirement pension and health benefits. What will we pay him? $3.3 million in pension payments over his life, and nearly $500,000 for health care benefits—a total of $3.8 million on a $120,000 investment. Is that fair?"
Critics: State budget cuts only shift the pain to our towns.
Christie: "[L]et's remember this, in 2009 the private sector in New Jersey lost 121,000 jobs. In 2009, municipalities and school boards added 11,300 jobs. Now that's just outrageous. And they're going to have to start to lay some people off, not continue to hire at the pace they hired in 2009 in the middle of a recession."
I want to see this guy succeed. I want him to lead by example and buck the current trend of spend-money-we-don't-have. Buckling down, making cuts and giving the already taxed-to-death citizens a bit of a break will truly be the thing that pulls us out of this recession.
Source:
McGurn Opinion - Wall Street Journal
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