18,100 government workers and teachers out of workThe loss of 18,100 government and school jobs in July bumped New Jersey unemployment rate up 0.1 percentage point to 9.7 percent, the first monthly increase since reaching a high of 10 percent in December.
The lost jobs included 14,700 in local and county government and public schools and 3,600 related to the winding down of the U.S. Census.
Another 3,100 jobs were lost in the private sector.
The loss in government and school jobs can be contributed, at least in part, to Gov. Chris Christie's decision to cut state aid to local government by $445 million and $820 million to public schools as he attempted to close a $10 billion budget deficit.
more The article also mentions that Christie vetoed a jobs bill.
Also, what did Christie have to say about the recent
federal aid:
<...>
In New Jersey, where about 3,000 teachers were let go in May, Gov. Chris Christie’s administration worries that the federal aid will only forestall difficult decisions later, and it is unclear how much will be spent immediately.
“It’s a real double-edged sword,” said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the governor. “This money will not be there next year, and we’re not going to get back up to the funding that they had previously been used to.”
<...>
Updated to add this from June:
By Ryan McNeely
The conservative movement is enamored with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, calling him the
next Reagan and suggesting that he
run for President in 2012. And in fact, though former Gov. Corzine was very unpopular, Christie managed to pick up the governorship of my home state while maintaining orthodox conservative views — no small feat in a state
that went for Barack Obama by over 15 points.
So why do conservatives have Christie-mania? Probably because he puts the
interests of multi-millionaires ahead of the well-being of low-income seniors.
Democrats want to re-impose a one-year tax on millionaires that has been vetoed by Republican Governor Chris Christie. The 10.75 percent tax on income above $1 million would hit 16,000 people, some of them likely to work as financial professionals just across the Hudson River in New York.
According to the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services, a retired couple living on a fixed income of $40,000 would see an increase of $1,320 in taxes under the governor’s plan while a family making $1.2 million would receive a tax cut of $11,598.
Here is yet another example of a conservative talking about budget deficits
when he doesn’t actually care about deficits. Christie has steadfastly refused to raise any taxes to help close the NJ budget shortfall, which at 37.4% is the second-worst in the nation behind Nevada.
The Democratically-controlled legislature
failed to override the veto, as every single Republican legislator voted against the millionaires tax. But at the very least this exposes what the modern conservative movement is really about — protecting the wealthiest .2% of New Jerseyans at the expense of the most vulnerable.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
