(TRENTON) – Assembly Budget Chairman Lou Greenwald and Assembly Budget Vice Chairman Gary Schaer – who has more than two decades experience in the financial markets – released the following statements Friday on a Bloomberg report about Gov. Chris Christie causing problems with a bond sale by saying health care costs could “bankrupt” the state:
Greenwald (D-Camden):
“Words matter, and you can’t constantly be on stage trying to be bombastic. The reality is that people are listening and they cannot always differentiate when someone is going for style points and when it’s reality.
“I take no solace in how a Wall Street expert called this a ‘rookie’ mistake by our governor. Gov. Christie has been in office for more than a year now. He is not a rookie. He was elected to govern New Jersey and it’s time he started doing so responsibly.”
Schaer (D-Passaic/Bergen/Essex):
“The timing of the governor’s comments were particularly ill-advised.
“It seems, unfortunately, that the governor is not as aware of the financial markets and how they work as one would have assumed. His comments effectively served to spook the capital markets and sent the wrong message.
“The capital markets are extremely volatile, and given the overall national issues that so many states and municipalities are dealing with any negative comments have dramatic consequences.
“Given the skittishness of the market overall, especially regarding tax-exempt debt, there is real concern, and one comment can significantly affect the market. “
