(TRENTON) – Assembly Majority Leader
Louis Greenwald on Monday criticized Governor Christie’s callous decision to
conditionally veto democratic legislation (A-2162) that would raise the minimum
wage to $8.50 an hour and boost it annually based on increases in the Consumer
Price Index.
“The Governor has
essentially told working class families that they’re on their own.
“Families
struggling to get by on a minimum wage salary have not seen a legitimate
increase in more than six years. Phasing in a dollar increase over the next
three years essentially forces them to wait nearly a decade for an increase that
will lag well behind the cost of living increases by that
time.
"Governor
Christie's attempt to use the Earned Income Tax Credit to distract from his veto
of a minimum wage increase is beyond cynical. New Jersey's working families
won't be fooled, as they remember it was the Governor himself who attacked
working families by slashing this bipartisan program in the first
place.
“Boosting the
minimum wage would improve the quality of life for countless families drowning
in increased costs and decreased wages, spark consumer spending and, as
statistics have shown in other states, decrease the unemployment rate. It is a
sad, sad day when the Governor ignores these pressing
priorities.
“Our only
recourse now is to present voters with a constitutional amendment and hope they
will have more compassion for their neighbors than this Governor,” said
Greenwald (D-Camden/Burlington), a prime sponsor of the measure vetoed
today.
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