Gov. Christie embarrassed by property tax figures, so he erases them: Editorial

[proverbialwisdom]

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/10/if_property_tax_numbers_dont_suit_his_message_gov_christie_wipes_them_from_the_record_editorial.html

Gov. Christie embarrassed by property tax figures, so he erases them: Editorial


The Assembly voted to end the Christie Administration's practice of suppressing property tax rebate data last week
(Tony Kurdzuk/Star-Ledger)

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board on October 08, 2014

Gov. Chris Christie has expunged several years of data regarding property tax rebates, a sure sign that he is trying to hide his atrocious record. What other motive would explain it?

The data Christie has hidden demolishes his claims of success in taming this beast. He liked to talk about how the rate of increase is down, and that’s true. Rates bumped up only 1.7 percent last year, down from a peak of 7 percent per year a decade ago.

But that’s only half the story. Christie also slashed rebates that were earmarked for the elderly and middle-class. Compare the records: Jon Corzine sent out just over $6 billion in rebates during his four years; Christie slashed that to just over $1 billion.

The net effect is that the burden on the average family in New Jersey has increased much faster on Christie’s watch. An analysis by NJ Spotlight showed that the burden rose by 18.6 percent in Christie’s first three years, triple the rate of increase under Corzine.

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[n2doc]

1. You would think people would notice huge increases in Property tax bills

They sure went up here in Georgia these last 6 years.

[tridim]

4. Republicans still think Obama raised middle class taxes.

So, willful ignorance with an assist by Faux Newz. Par for the fucking course.

[George II]

10. Generally property taxes are paid by the bank that holds the mortgage....

....and when they go up the bank increases the monthly "mortgage" payment. I suspect most ignorant homeowners just assume their "mortgage" has gone up, not their property tax.

[ladjf]

2. Anyone in America has got to know that Christie is exploiting his own citizens in order to

advance his personal agenda.

[calimary]

3. Everyone except many voters in New Jersey, evidently.

Why do they keep voting for him? He IS where he is now because of them.

I'm inclined to blame the voters more. They just go for the sloganeering and the commercials and the swagger and bluster. They don't bother reading in a little bit, digging down below the surface - even just a little bit. Checking around and not just taking it from the slick, well-produced, well-financed, well-message-massaged and focus-tested and otherwise "frank-luntz'd". Ill-informed, apathetic, and lazy voters. They like his alleged "forcefulness" and "in-yer-face" schtick.

When you have masses of voters who just go for schtick, you WILL have total reckless irresponsible blustering jerks in office. Guaranteed.

[Cosmocat]

5. My sad evolution matches yours

Scumbags like Christie are scumbags, it isn't their fault, really.

They are who they are.

But, as noted, and frankly it has gotten WORSE, people will not see or ignore, time after time after time, republicans screwing them over in every possible way, from shifting tax burdens on to them to caging or keeping them from voting, act in the most childish and ignorant ways, and turn around and gleefully vote for them while making snarky remarks about the evil liberal boogyman.

I USED to have this romantic notion that the electorate was wise, but today ...

No fucking way.

[NewJeffCT]

6. Christie was re-elected once

It's not like he's been in office forever. He was elected the first time in 2009 to replace the horribly unpopular Corzine. And, in 2013, the Democrats ran a mediocre candidate against him because everybody was afraid of his popularity. It was doubtful even Cory Booker would have beaten him, though. He wasn't just popular in NJ at the time - he was pretty popular all around the country.

I'm not from NJ, but I don't think it's really fair to bash NJ over Christie. If he gets re-elected in 2018, then you'll definitely be able to say that.

Before he was governor, he was US Attorney in NJ for 6-7 years under Bush, which was an appointed position, and before that, he was (surprise, surprise) a lobbyist.

[calimary]

7. Even so, when most of New Jersey was in love with him, I'd read and heard and seen enough

to know he was vile as hell, and just another poseur - merely a little louder and more obnoxious and in-yer-face than most of 'em. So actually, and genuinely with all due respect, I'd have to disagree. No I DON'T think it's unfair to bash NJ over Christie. I've got a big fat sequin-studded neon sign that says "Thanks, PAL!" for every one of 'em.

Sorry, but they should have known better. They could have looked a little closer. They could have at least considered the alternative. And they could have been just a wee bit more resistant to "in-yer-face." Or maybe I'm just the odd one. I have NEVER found "in-yer-face" to be attractive - under ANY circumstances, whether it be in a candidate or not. I've just never found it attractive or compelling. I've always found it rather piggish. But that's just me. Meantime, their breathless gushy romance with him as some sort of "different" republi-CON, with their clouded rose-colored glasses firmly positioned on the bridge of their noses - foisted this asshole on the rest of us and now WE have to deal with him and contain him and make sure he doesn't spread like some political Ebola virus and Heaven forbid get anywhere close to the White House.

Gee, yet another highly-ambitious, scheming, calculating, bullying, swaggering, loutish, jam-it-down-your-throat, my-way-or-the-highway CONservative hard-ass. What could POSSIBLY go wrong???

I think it's entirely reasonable to start putting the blame where it belongs. With the voters who are willfully blind and ill-informed, and swallow this shit from this type of candidate, from this particular political party of his. AND equally as much - putting blame on all the voters on our side who decided to fall in with the perceived "majority" OR gave up before the fight even started because they figured there was no use in even voting. THAT is the most egregious sin of all, in my opinion. The GOP electorate has been so dumbed-down that it's expected they'll buy the wrong thing. But the voters on OUR side should certainly know better!!! And they should NEVER stay home on Election Day and concede defeat before they've even suited up to fight.

As voters, the decision is in OUR hands. The responsibility is in OUR hands. The consequences are certainly on our necks, and in our pocketbooks.

[thesquanderer]

8. More damage to his presidential ambition.

His own state's legislature has rebuffed him on this, 71-1.

http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/14/09/29/assembly-targets-governor-s-suppression-of-rebate-data/

His attempt to conceal the data will only make it a bigger issue in any campaign he might run. Maybe he could have tried to explain away bad numbers. Maybe he could have tried to explain why the numbers were not being made available. But trying to explain how his bipartisan state legislature was almost unanimously against him is going to undercut any explanations he might offer.

[blkmusclmachine]

9. Mmm

[sammy750]

11. New Jersey ranks NO. 1 with Gov having been in prison.

I suspect C Christie could be another one. He is really walking a thin line in his actions as Governor. From not distributing Sandy relief aid to using the money to help his buddy build new projects. It is amazing how slow it taking all those that are looking into his affairs are taking. But with Republicans the felons and criminals usually get a free pass and are elected.