New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden/Burlington) released the following statement slamming Governor Christie’s out-of-touch comments for proclaiming “New Jersey is doing quite well” economically at a press conference:
“If Governor Christie thinks that New Jersey’s unemployment rate continuing to hover near 10 percent is ‘doing quite well,’ then he isn’t living in the state of New Jersey, he’s living in a state of denial.
“While the unemployment rate of the nation and all our neighboring states has decreased significantly over the past three years, New Jersey has been treading water, weighed down by Chris Christie’s job-killing vetoes of economic growth legislation.
“It doesn’t matter how many baseless attacks and 30-second sound bites the Governor makes, the numbers don’t lie. Each month, New Jersey falls further and further behind the nation and our neighboring states.
“Moreover, the data suggest that many of the jobs New Jersey is adding are not the kind of good-paying middle-class jobs that will drive the strong economic recovery our state desperately needs. Yet in spite of this reality, Governor Christie inexplicably continues to reject and dismiss efforts by Democrats to create more and better jobs for a real, middle-class recovery.
“Perhaps instead of being quick with a one-liner, the Governor should join with Democrats in supporting legislation to create more and better middle-class jobs.”
A comparison of state and national unemployment rates from Aug. 2009 – Dec. 2012 can be viewed here.