News from Majority Leader Greenwald

Greenwald: Christie’s Actions Prove He is No Friend to NJ’s Middle-Class

New Catchphrases Can’t Hide Christie’s Coddling of Super-Rich

(TRENTON) – Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden/Burlington) released the following statement Wednesday on Gov. Chris Christie’s discovery of the middle-class:

“Gov. Christie is pursuing an agenda that seeks to misinform, rather than reform. 

"Gov. Christie's new slogan is just like New Coke - a marketing ploy that New Jersey's middle-class families aren't buying and Chris Christie shouldn't be selling. Yet no amount of slogans can change one thing: Chris Christie's policies of putting tax cuts for millionaires ahead of property tax relief and job creation are crippling New Jersey's middle-class families.

“I’m actually shocked that Gov. Christie even knew the phrase ‘middle-class’ considering how he’s repeatedly coddled the super-rich. Still, I suspect we’ll see his new catchphrase tossed into the dustbin alongside his ‘New Jersey Comeback’ signs and broken property tax relief promises.

“Actions speak louder than words, and Gov. Christie’s actions show he is no friend to the middle-class. Whether it’s overseeing soaring property taxes and unemployment, stripping away support for women’s health care or rejecting a tax break for seniors, Gov. Christie has made clear the middle-class is not his priority.

            “If Christie is truly interested in the middle-class, he will rethink his vetoes of bills that would have, among other things:

·        Tripled property tax credit for middle-class homeowners, helping blunt the net 20 percent property tax hike Christie has overseen;

·        Created jobs through the Back to Work NJ program and numerous other initiatives, helping blunt the 9.8 percent unemployment rate Christie has overseen;

·        Restored vital health care funding for women;

·        Helped expand health insurance access;

·        Helped seniors by expanding an income tax exclusion for retirement income;

·        Delayed his raid of municipal affordable housing funding; and,

·        Helped small, women and minority owned businesses more easily qualify for economic development loans.

“If Gov. Christie wants to reverse his assault on the middle-class, then he’s welcome to join our ongoing fight to protect them, but the proof will be in his actions, not his slogans.”