How Chris Christie Destroyed New Jersey's Economy and Middle Class

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/26637-focus-how-chris-christie-destroyed-new-jerseys-economy-and-middle-class

New Jersey governor Chris Christie is “tired of hearing about the minimum wage.” That wasn’t a campaign slogan for his re-election last year, but something he confided to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – the DC lobbying arm of multinational corporations. Oligarchs like the Chamber’s members love Christie so much, they already threw their weight behind him in the prelude to the 2012 elections, despite Christie turning down Mitt Romney’s offer to be his running mate. But Christie, the virulent class warrior who bestows bountiful gifts upon his rich benefactors and calls the Koch Brothers “great Americans” while simultaneously punishing the middle class, represents the new face of the GOP – hard-nosed, stubborn, and eager to blame drastic economic conditions on those preyed upon by his biggest campaign donors.

Pundits who have predicted the end of Christie’s presidential potential forget the short-term memory of American voters. Those pundits have forgotten that Americans re-elected George W. Bush to a second term despite Bush acknowledging Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, and Bush’s Secretary of Defense acknowledging that his claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction ready to use against the U.S. were completely unfounded. Christie is certainly a top contender for the 2016 nomination, and he’ll be running on his alleged economic acumen. However, electing Christie based on the success of his economic policy would be like electing George W. Bush on the success of the Iraq War. Despite over 70 percent of Americans supporting President Obama’s proposal to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, Christie steadfastly refuses to give the smallest wage increase to his constituents. Christie vetoed a very modest proposal to increase New Jersey’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.50 an hour and index it to inflation, over a three-year period. The MIT living wage calculator shows that for a single adult with a child living in New Jersey, a living wage – one that allows a family to maintain a modest lifestyle and pay their bills on time – would be $22.01 an hour. Christie claims increasing the minimum wage would kill jobs, but ignores economic data showing that every state that has increased the minimum wage is seeing a faster rate of job growth than states that haven’t, and lower unemployment rates as a result.

[UTUSN]

1. *Who* finds this repulsive bully/thug "refreshing" and "appealing" (we are told)?!1 n/t

[stillwaiting]

3. Conservatives that love to belittle and mock liberals. nt

[CanonRay]

2. That is what these idiots do when they get in power

Look at Kansas, look at Wisconsin. Michigan. Maine. Their ideas are terrible and they do not work in practice. Period.