Chris Christie in 2013 Governor's State of the State speeches
On Corporations:
Continue small business tax relief: no return to tax-&-spend
In the budget which governs the current year, even with growth in the national economy slowing again, we have been able to achieve balance with not only no new taxes, but with a second year of small business tax relief.And let me make this point
clearly and unequivocally. Despite the challenges, I will not let New Jersey go back to our old ways of wasteful spending and rising taxes. We will deal with our problems but we will continue to do so by protecting the hard earned money of all
New Jerseyans first and foremost. We will not turn back. Look at all of those things some called impossible, that we have made a reality.
- A real 2% property tax cap
- Interest arbitration reform.
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Pension and health benefit reform.
- Teacher tenure reform.
- $1.3 billion in new capital investment in all our universities for the first time in 25 years.
- A ground breaking teacher contract in Newark that finally acknowledges merit pay.
Source: N.J. 2013 State of the State Address
Jan 8, 2013
On Education:
Combine $8.9B in more funding with needed reform
A top priority must be to continue New Jersey's record of excellence in education, and to fix problems where we are failing:- Ensuring accountability by passing the first major reform of tenure in 100 years;
- Establishing performance-based pay in
Newark through hard-nosed collective bargaining;
- Implementing inter-district school choice, which has tripled its enrollment in the last 3 years and will grow to 6,000 students next year;
- Growing the number of charter schools to a record 86 in NJ;
- Signing the Urban Hope Act to turn failing schools into Renaissance Schools in Newark, Trenton, and Camden;
And finally, investing the largest amount of state aid to education in NJ history- $8.9 billion in this year's budget, over
$1 billion higher than in Fiscal Year 2011. In NJ, we have combined more funding with needed reform. Both money and reform of our schools are essential, but neither alone is sufficient. In NJ, we are leading the way for the nation by providing both.
Source: N.J. 2013 State of the State Address
Jan 8, 2013
On Environment:
New Jersey is being short-changed on Hurricane Sandy relief
Just three months ago, Sandy hit. Sandy was the worst storm to strike New Jersey in 100 years. 346,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Nearly 7 million people and 1,000 schools had their power knocked out. 116,000 New Jerseyans were evacuated or
displaced from their homes. 41,000 families are still displaced from their homes. Sandy may have damaged our homes and our infrastructure, but it did not destroy our spirit. Make no mistake. We will be back, stronger than ever. We now look forward to
what we hope will be quick Congressional action on a full, clean Sandy aid bill--now, next week--and to enactment by the President. We have waited 72 days, seven times longer than victims of Hurricane Katrina waited. One thing I hope everyone now clearly
understands--NJ will never stand silent when our citizens are being short changed. The people of NJ are in need, not from their own actions but from an act of God that delivered a natural, human, and financial disaster.
Source: N.J. 2013 State of the State Address
Jan 8, 2013
On Jobs:
75,000 new private sector jobs since taking office in 2010
Sandy may have stalled New Jersey's economy, but there is plenty of evidence that New Jerseyans have not let it stop our turnaround. The direction is now clear. Here is the latest economic report:- Unemployment is coming down.
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2011 was our best private sector job growth year in eleven years and 2012 is also positive.
- Personal income set a record high in New Jersey for the seventh quarter in a row.
- Gross income tax receipts are exceeding the Administration's projections
for this fiscal year prior to Sandy.
- Sales of new homes are up.
- Consumer spending is up.
- Industrial production is up.
Since I took this office, participation in New Jersey's labor force is higher than the nation as a whole and the number of
people employed has grown. That means that more people have the confidence to be out looking for jobs, and more people actually have jobs. In total, we have added nearly 75,000 private sector jobs in New Jersey since we took office in January 2010.
Source: N.J. 2013 State of the State Address
Jan 8, 2013
On Social Security:
Pension reform: raise retirement age, suspend COLAs
Our pension system, which was on a path to insolvency, is now on much more sound footing. We tackled the problem head on--modestly raising the retirement age, reducing incentives for early retirement, suspending COLAs until the plan is 80% funded, and
yes, asking for something slightly closer to market in terms of employee contributions.In total, the pension and health benefits reform package that you passed will save taxpayers over $120 billion over the next 30 years.
Just as importantly, it will help make sure the pension is actually there when our public employees and school teachers retire. Other states have noticed: this reform is becoming a model for America.
When we combine this needed discipline on spending
and taxes, with responsibility in addressing our long-term liabilities, with pro-growth actions on the regulatory side, we have made New Jersey a better place to do business.
Source: N.J. 2013 State of the State Address
Jan 8, 2013
Page last updated: Dec 05, 2018