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Upon
taking office Christie declared a state of emergency, signing an
executive order that froze spending, and then, in eight weeks, cutting
$13 billion in spending. In March he presented to the Legislature his
first budget, which cuts 9 percent of spending, including more than
$800 million in education funding; seeks to privatize numerous
government functions; projects 1,300 layoffs; and caps tax increases.
Teachers unions are incensed, fighting Christie’s proposal that — in
order to avoid cuts to education — teachers accept a one-year wage
freeze and contribute 1.5 percent to the generous-by-every-standard
healthcare plans they now enjoy for free.
Christie is adamant about lowering taxes. After taxes were raised 115
times in the last eight years, he said the wealthy are tapped out.
Property taxes rose nearly 70 percent in the last decade, and studies
show top earners — the 1 percent of taxpayers paying 40 percent of
income tax — are fleeing the Garden State.
The goal is not just to crawl out of crisis but ultimately to lead,
said Christie in his budget address. “If we make the tough decisions
now, we will be one year ahead of 80 percent of the states in the race
to economic growth. If we fail to act, we will fall even further behind
... by going first, we can become first.”
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Wow. Before turning in, I checked e-mail. A blogger, whose judgments about people I find entirely copacetic (save for a curious lapse with left-tard Ezra Klein?)sent this memo (in its entirety).
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| There are very few, if any, Republicans who earn girl bonerz. The party is
loaded with grievously ambitious pretenders who, while adept at
responding to shifts in the political winds, never display the skill to
tack into them. By my count, along with Sarah Palin, Christie
makes two. Let us pray.
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