He’s called ‘an egotistical elitist’
To the editor:
As a New Jersey voter, I have always voted for the candidate whose ideology best represented the interest of the middle class and poor of New Jersey. Chris Christie is not that candidate. Chris Christie is an egotistical elitist who has done very little for the middle class and poor.
At the beginning of his term, he waged a deliberate war against labor unions. He signed legislation that removed the ability of teachers, police and other public workers to collective bargaining for protection of their pensions and health care. He also wanted to pass budgets that would cut social and economic programs. He cut $800 million from education, which resulted in 600 teachers losing their jobs. He eliminated after school education for more than 15,000 low-income children and he also cut $21 million in elderly health services.
It is also important to remember that Governor Christie has taken away the homestead rebate from senior citizens, which has resulted in a $1,200 per year loss of income to every senior citizen household. He has done away with COLA for retired state workers, which has resulted in a $325 decrease in these workers incomes.He closed six family planning clinics between 2010 and 2011; instead, he vetoed four bills that would have expanded family planning. He also vetoed equal-pay legislation.
In all, he vetoed more than 150 bills passed by his Democratic legislature. These vetoes blocked bills to allow marriage equality to gays and lesbians, to increase the minimum wage and to increase taxes on those making more than $1 million a year. Twice, he vetoed a bill that would make it easier for people to rent or buy foreclosed properties as affordable housing.
He wants to privatize the N.J. Lottery, which would eliminate 800 jobs throughout the state. He refuses to take a permanent stand against fracking, which is a dangerous process and has been proven to destroy the environment. This governor is also part of the Republican team attempting to suppress voting rights nationwide by making it harder for minorities, youth and senior citizens to vote.
After four years of arrogant rhetoric from this governor, New Jersey still has the seventh-highest unemployment rate in the country and 66 percent of the roads in our state are in poor or mediocre condition. Repairing these roads would create badly needed jobs, but instead, New Jersey taxpayers funded corporate bailouts to the tune of $82.1 billion without showing any signs of job growth.
The people of New Jersey are tired of Governor Christie’s arrogant rhetoric. The truth is that the rich, super-rich and the big corporations receive 80 percent of all the welfare in our state. Governor Christie calls it subsidies.
In spite of the bipartisan face that Christie puts forth to the people of New Jersey, remember Governor Chris Christie is a Republican. He is exactly like the 26 Republican governors across the country and the GOP members of Congress. Their principles and philosophy are exactly the same.
Don’t let his “making nice” with President Obama fool you. When it comes to “doing,” Christie will do the biding of the Republican Party, and not what is good for the people of New Jersey.
Joseph Tenore
Hillsborough