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Greenwald: Perhaps Bush Thinks Christie’s Doing a “Heckuva Job” in NJ, But Middle-Class Families Know Otherwise

Assembly Majority Leader Louis Greenwald (D-Camden/Burlington) on Thursday released the following statement in response to the ongoing controversy regarding Governor Christie’s remarks insulting middle-class families. Christie, as reported by various news outlets, expressed fears that America is turning into a “paternalistic entitlement society” where people are “sitting on a couch waiting for their next government check.”

“Governor Christie’s remarks insulting New Jersey’s hard-working middle-class families are disgusting. Perhaps former President George W. Bush, with whom Christie stands on providing massive tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, might think Christie is doing a ‘heckuva job’, but New Jersey’s middle-class families know otherwise.

“Even in the face of a 20% increase in property taxes on his watch, Governor Christie continues to stand in the way of providing tax fairness and 20% property tax relief to 95% of New Jersey households. His ‘shared sacrifice’ message seems to be: millionaires should share in even greater tax breaks, while middle and working-class families make all the sacrifices.

“Under this Governor, our unemployment rate exceeds the national average and those of our neighboring states. Hundreds of thousands of people are searching for jobs that the Christie administration has failed to create. And yet, to the Governor, these hard-working and struggling men and women are apparently just sitting on the couch lazily waiting for government checks?

“His words are insulting to them, to the middle-class families struggling to get by on his watch, and to all those who believe the Governor should focus on creating jobs, rather than creating sound bites for right-wing extremists.”