Christie should stop blame game and get to work
Published: Thursday, March 24, 2011, 6:00 AM
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Star-Ledger Editorial Board The Star-Ledger
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Star-Ledger file photoGov. Chris Christie
[LEFT]Chris Christie has been governor for more than a year now, but he keeps pretending that he is not a bit responsible for the problems that surround him. Here are two recent examples:
He claims that Democrats are to blame for the 4.1 percent spike in property taxes last year because Jon Corzine’s cap had so many loopholes. And Democrats will be to blame next year, too, he says because they’re not adopting key reforms aimed at cutting local costs.
His critique of the Democrats is dead-on. But what about his own share of the blame?
Christie cut roughly $1.3 billion in aid to schools and towns this year. In response, schools and towns tightened their belts, with mass reductions in teaching staffs and police departments. They closed libraries, charged schoolkids to play sports or join clubs, and negotiated tougher contracts. And still they had to raise taxes.
It is beyond silly to deny that cuts in state aid played a role. And the governor can’t blame these cuts entirely on the recession, either. His insistence on lower taxes for the richest 1 percent, in the face of this crisis, played a role as well.
We heard more of this blame game when Christie discussed the recent court decision on school funding.
"Its crazy, just crazy," he said. "This is like saying ‘We’ve got a broken system, and we spend on it much more than anyone else, so to fix it, let’s spend more money.’ "
The state Supreme Court, in this story, is the enemy of reform. But the inconvenient fact is that the court has never blocked sensible school reform.
If the governor wants to cut school waste, he should propose a way to achieve it. The state runs the three largest districts in the state, so he can start there. He is also welcome to reform tenure, expand charter schools, pay teachers by merit or push any other reform he wants. The Supreme Court has never stood in his way.[/LEFT]
So please, Gov, give it a rest. Pointing fingers is not leadership. This game of wedge politics makes for good YouTube moments. But how about getting to work fixing the problems?
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The Thinker [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 6:41AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]If this were a conservative paper instead of a liberal one we could substitute Obama for Christie and Bush for Corzine. Liberals make this argument just like the SL editorial board.
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cecilia [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 10:58AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]thetinker- Oh I see! So if Corzine did something wrong and Christie does the same thing, then that's OK?
Wait, I thought Christie was supposed to be an IMPROVEMENT over Corzine.
Stupefying logic by wing-nuts!
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njEGO [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 2:08PM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]I love this argument. Any time somebody criticizes Christie, somebody tosses in Obama. Somebody criticizes Obama, somebody drags in Christie. Just because either one of them might be doing a lousy job doesn't mean the other one is doing any better. Maybe they both suck. I also love the comment below about Christie following Obama's example. Really???????? A republican from NJ is modeling his ideology from a democratic President? What world does that make sense? I'm sure Christie sat down and said to himself..."let's see, Obama is not getting the response and the support from people that he hoped for, let me do the same thing in NJ!" It's become a contest of "who sucks less----Christie or Obama". Well, my guys sucks less, cause yours sucks more. Excellent way to justify the current political climate.
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estowisdom [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 7:08AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]Wedge politics, blaming the previous office holder, these are all tactics employed by Obama. Christie is just following the Obama example. We will suffer from the destruction caused by Obama for decades and continue to suffer the impact of Democratic party rule in New Jersey. Every urban area in New Jersey suffers from the corruption and ineptitude of the Dems running these areas. Christie can only do so much.
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nancy8 [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 7:24AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]When is the Star Ledger going to print honest journalism?
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cecilia [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 10:53AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]Nancy- Can you point out ONE specific thing that the SL said that was not factual.?
Of course you can't!
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njEGO [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 2:02PM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]What was dishonest about that article?
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jeftaxpayer [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 7:29AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]good luck with that!
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onemorestep [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 7:41AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]Stop reading this site. Plenty of sites that will cheerlead your causes.
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mickey2829 [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 7:50AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]sometimes he does act like a democrat when he blames everyone else.
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ricecakess [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 8:11AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]I dont get how people can just say "He's cutting taxes for the rich!"
If Person A raises the Wealthy's tax rate to 99% and Person B follows him up by reducing them to 98%, is he really "cutting their taxes"? In a literal manner, yes. But that statement completely ignores the big picture
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cecilia [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 11:10AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]TOO STUPID TO REPLY TO!
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triplechin [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 12:38PM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]cecilia - I second that!! there most of been some funky stuff in the coffee this morning!
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cecilia [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 12:49PM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]Actually it's just one moronic multi-poster!
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123bengal [SIZE=1]March 24, 2011 at 8:35AM[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=1][/SIZE]"But the inconvenient fact is that the court has never blocked sensible school reform." As I recall it was this court that demanded the Abbott districts to receive state aid in the amount equal to the amount the top end districts spend per pupil. The court should revisit and ask themself has the spending formula brought the positive results they expected?
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