From the Democratic Party of Virginia:
RICHMOND — Kissing the ring of the nation's most notorious loser Eric Cantor has become a rite of passage for 2016 GOP hopefuls, and Chris Christie wants in on the action too. Fresh off a day of riling up right-wing extremists at CPAC, where he reminded participants that he voted to defund Planned Parenthood five times, Christie is once again not in New Jersey. While Christie is in town convincing Virginia Republicans that he's a viable presidential candidate, take a look at how his time in New Jersey stacks up with the Commonwealth.
“If Virginia Republicans want to seriously compete in 2016, they should stay far away from Chris Christie's horrible economic ideas,” said Morgan Finkelstein, spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Virginia. “Christie's record reads like a step-by-step guide of how not to run a state. Virginia Republicans couldn't have picked a more polar opposite to the progress made by Governor McAuliffe here in the Commonwealth.”
Some key comparisons:
Virginia: Stellar AAA Credit rating
New Jersey: Downgraded eight times during Christie's tenure… and falling
New Jersey’s Credit Rating Was Downgraded A Record Eight Times Under Christie’s Governorship. “Standard & Poor's became the latest agency to downgrade New Jersey's credit rating on Wednesday, the state's eighth such downgrade since Gov. Chris Christie (R) took office in 2010. Last week, Fitch decided to do the same. In its statement explaining the move, S&P directly cited major revenue shortfalls and the governor's decision to reduce pension contributions this fiscal year for the state's public workers.” [Huffington Post, 9/10/14]
Virginia: 267 economic development deals, resulting in 5.58 billion in capital investment in Governor McAuliffe's first year
New Jersey: CNBC ranked New Jersey The 43rd best state in which to do business. [CNBC, 6/3/14]
Virginia: Lowest unemployment rate since 2008
New Jersey: Christie doled out billions in tax breaks for big corporations, but saw little increase in job creation
Asbury Park Press Editorial: “Christie Has Never Had A Coherent Jobs Policy, Unless One Considers Massive Tax Credits To Huge Corporations An Effective Strategy.” “New Jerseyans can rightly feel abandoned by the governor, a man they saw as their champion. In fact, Christie has never had a coherent jobs policy, unless one considers massive tax credits to huge corporations an effective strategy. If that’s the case, the governor needs to ask himself how the plan is working.” [Editorial, Asbury Park Press, 9/17/14]New Jersey Has Regained Just Half The Jobs It Lost In The Recession. “New Jersey has regained only about half the quarter-million jobs that it lost during the recession, while the U.S. has more than made up its job losses.” [Asbury Park Press, 1/23/15]
And a few more fun Christie economic facts, courtesy of the Factivists:
- New Jersey ranked at or near last in the nation in job creation and has an unemployment rate higher than the national average.
- New Jersey’s property taxes are the highest in the nation, and Christie has raised net property taxes on seniors and the middle class by more than 20 percent.
- New Jersey’s debt has increased more than fifty percent – from $51 billion in 2009 to more than $78 billion today.
- The governor’s administration remains under federal and state investigation, amid ethical questions surrounding the Port Authority and the George Washington Bridge scandal.
For the Commonwealth's sake, let's hope bad policy isn't contagious.
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