Christie a millionaire? Facts vs. the Courier-Post

by: Jason Springer

Mon Apr 05, 2010 at 10:30:00 AM EDT

I was reading the Courier Post editorial about how the Governor should lead by example and take a modest pay cut to his salary as Governor to show his own sacrifice. Then they look at him in the context of the previous resident in Drumthwacket and the teachers themselves:

Christie's predecessor, Jon Corzine, only took $1 a year as pay. Of course, he was a millionaire many times over. Christie is not a millionaire and has young children to support.
So to, however, teachers aren't rich. Most of them have families to support and bills they struggle to pay.

Now wait a minute, are they really comparing the Governor's net worth and struggles to that of the teachers? I clearly remembered during the campaign that it was a battle of the rich guys, so I did a quick search using the google and found this:

Christie previously provided The Star-Ledger with copies of his tax returns from 2003-2007, and estimated the net worth of he and his wife at $3.8 million. The newspaper reviewed those returns -- and the federal financial disclosure reports Christie filed for the years he was U.S. Attorney -- to describe his finances, including his income, how much he paid in taxes, and his range of assets and investments.

I don't really know how much more evidence you need than the IRS. Just because Jon Corzine was the wealthiest governor in recent history doesn't mean that the comparatively less rich Chris Christie is a man of the people. He's still a millionaire! The average New Jersey resident has an income of $38,000, Chris Christie made $448,720 in 2008, up from about $373,000 the year before. His net worth is around $3.8 million. Despite what many assume due to his relative modesty compared to Corzine and what is now stated in Courier Post editorial, Chris Christie is a very rich man.

I don't begrudge someone for having or making money, but when they go after people who struggle to get by and the media helps distort their own standing to make the argument, we've got a problem. Now that they know he's a millionaire, maybe they'll call on him maybe they'll call on him to share in the sacrifice and enact policies for other very wealthy folks to do just the same.

Jason Springer :: Christie a millionaire? Facts vs. the Courier-Post

Tags: Courier Post, Chris Christie, Millionaire, millionaires tax, super rich, tax cuts, budget, (All Tags)

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Christie a millionaire? Facts vs. the Courier-Post | 5 comments

It doesn't matter (0.00 / 0)

To me, it doesn't matter whether Christie is a millionaire hypocrite or not. The thing I worry about is the harm he is doing not only to New Jersey's citizens, but the state as a whole. Lets look at an example. There was another posting this morning about the closing of Fort Monmouth. As bases are closed, there is a tremendous opportunity for local businesses to step in, take advantage of tax breaks, and set up shop in the former military facility. See, for example, http://www.sc-tac.com/ for what South Carolina has done for the former Donaldson Air Force Base. Now fast forward say 8 years to the end of the Christie administration (I have nightmares about that). New Jersey's infrastructure has crumbled due to lack of care and maintenance. Mass transit is fragmented, unaffordable, and limited. Other than private schools for the very wealthy, our schools have deteriorated significantly due to lack of funding. Now imagine that you are a small businessman, looking for an industrial park to start a new high-tech venture. Maybe the Fort Monmouth Industrial Park has what you are looking for, but the shoddy infrastructure and lousy schools cause you to make the decision to locate to South Carolina or elsewhere.

The bottom line is that for New Jersey to compete for 21st century businesses, we need to have the infrastructure and educational system that will attract those companies. Apparently, our Governor does not care about this, and as long as he and his cronies are doing OK, the citizens of New Jersey be damned.

Blog: http://www.deciminyan.org

by: deciminyan @ Mon Apr 05, 2010 at 14:42:19 PM UTC

by: you @ soon

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Buyers remorse (0.00 / 0)

It will only be a matter of time when Jersey voters realize what they have done. Sure our State has problems, but they can't be fixed by taking a chainsaw to the budget. People at the top have done very well for themselves the during the last decade, on the other hand many in this State live paycheck to paycheck and cannot afford the huge tax increases that the Governor's budget will force on low and middle class folks trying to eek out a living in this State, especially the people in Trenton that are being hit twice as hard. Had enough yet?

by: bluescat1 @ Mon Apr 05, 2010 at 15:17:13 PM UTC

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Christie cuts his own taxes (0.00 / 0)

"Chris Christie made $448,720 in 2008, up from about $373,000 the year before."

That's "Christie Hood" for you. He takes from the poor, keeps some for himself, and then gives the rest to his rich pals and contributors.

That's "Bourbon" economics for you. He must have learned about public finance from Louis XVI's finance minister.

I wonder how much of a tax break his brother Todd gets.

http://christiegonewild.blogsp...

by: ken bank @ Mon Apr 05, 2010 at 19:09:29 PM UTC

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Christie has Corzine (0.00 / 0)

to thank for cutting his taxes ,Corzine let that expire ,do you think it has something to do with his $5 million new job as CEO of MF Global Holdings. ? ...nah !

by: speedkillsu @ Mon Apr 05, 2010 at 21:17:56 PM UTC

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Please learn how to type punctuation. (0.00 / 0)

It's so basic, really.

As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

by: Jersey Shore John @ Tue Apr 06, 2010 at 03:07:53 AM UTC

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